The official South African Department of Basic Education (DBE) archive lists the November 2023 NSC Grade 12 Accounting Paper 2 and its English Memo 2. The paper is worth 150 marks and allows 120 minutes; its four questions cover reconciliations, cost accounting, budgeting, and stock valuation and fixed assets.
Open the DBE’s 2023 November NSC exam archive to find the official question paper and marking guideline. Use the paper to attempt the questions, then use the memo to check your calculations and workings.
Download the official November 2023 Accounting P2 and memo
The DBE archive distinguishes documents by subject, language, and type. Look for Grade 12 Accounting Paper 2 in English and the corresponding Memo 2. The archive is the official source for these files; third-party copies may be useful, but they are not substitutes for the DBE versions.
Visit the DBE 2023 November NSC exam archive.
Exam format and question topics
The question paper sets a total of 150 marks for 120 minutes and suggests 30 minutes for each question. The marks are evenly divided into four sections:
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| Question | Topic | Marks | Suggested time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reconciliations | 40 | 30 minutes |
| 2 | Cost Accounting | 35 | 30 minutes |
| 3 | Budgeting | 40 | 30 minutes |
| 4 | Stock Valuation and Fixed Assets | 35 | 30 minutes |
| Total | 150 | 120 minutes |
These are the allocations for this specific 2023 paper, not a guarantee of the format or topic weighting in another exam session.
What each question tests
Question 1: Reconciliations — 40 marks
The first question combines a bank reconciliation for Mango Traders, using June 2023 information, with a creditors’ reconciliation for SEB Traders as at 31 August 2023. The bank task includes correcting cash-journal totals, calculating the general-ledger bank balance, preparing a bank reconciliation statement, and explaining two ways to address missing cash. In the scenario, cash intended for deposit is stolen while the cashier is travelling to the bank.
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The creditors’ task asks candidates to correct the Creditors’ Control Account and creditors’ list for errors and omissions, then calculate the amount due to Phuto Wholesalers.
Question 2: Cost Accounting — 35 marks
This question uses T-shirt production data for manufacturing-cost and cost-accounting work. It also includes a raw-material wastage calculation and a break-even analysis for Orion bulbs. The wastage calculation requires comparing the material required with the actual material used and applying the relevant cost per metre.
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Question 3: Budgeting — 40 marks
The budgeting section asks candidates to identify items incorrectly entered in a cash budget and distinguish items that do not belong in a projected statement of comprehensive income. It also tests calculations involving debtors’ receipts, discount allowed, interest on a savings account, payments to creditors, and rent expense, as well as explanations of changes made by a business owner.
Question 4: Stock Valuation and Fixed Assets — 35 marks
The final question starts with stock systems and cost concepts, then presents Clearview Electronics’ inventory scenario for Hawi and Yama printer models using specific identification. It includes opening stock, purchases and returns, units sold, prices, and a stockholding period, followed by fixed-asset transactions. The memo also covers distinctions between perpetual and periodic inventory systems and between weighted-average and FIFO valuation.
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Selected memo answers to check your work
The DBE marking guideline provides scenario-specific figures that can help verify particular parts of your attempt:
- Mango Traders cash journal: corrected receipts total R98,840 and corrected payments total R138,660.
- Mango Traders bank reconciliation working: the bank-account balance is R49,100.
- SEB Traders: the amount due to Phuto Wholesalers after the relevant corrections is R56,400.
- Orion bulbs: the 2023 break-even point is 149,145 units.
These are answers to the exam’s stated scenarios, not general accounting rules or statistics about real businesses. For the full workings, item-by-item allocations, and answers to the other calculations, consult the official DBE archive and open the English Accounting Paper 2 marking guideline. The paper itself provides the questions and figures needed for those calculations.
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How to use the paper and memo for revision
- Attempt the paper under timed conditions. Use the paper’s suggested 30 minutes per question as a pacing guide. The exam instructions say to answer all questions and use the supplied special answer book.
- Show your calculations. The DBE instructs candidates to show all workings to earn part-marks. A correct method can earn credit even if an arithmetic slip affects the final answer.
- Use the permitted calculator correctly. The paper allows a non-programmable calculator if desired and asks candidates to give applicable calculations to one decimal place.
- Mark against the memo, not just the final total. Follow the adjustment or calculation steps and compare signs, units, and figures. The marking guideline warns against awarding full marks where an item is partly incorrect and accepts alternative presentations in some calculations when signs and workings are clear.
- Review errors by topic. Separate mistakes in reconciliation adjustments, cost calculations, budget classification, inventory valuation, and fixed-asset treatment so you can target the specific skill that needs more practice.
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