EDUCATION BUREAU CIRCULAR MEMORANDUM NO. 74/ 2020 From : Secretary for Education To : Heads of Secondary Schools
including Special Schools with Senior Secondary Classes (excluding ESF schools and International schools)
Ref. : EDB/CDI/TE/08-05-21-04 Date : 20 May 2020
Direction of Development of the Business, Accounting and Financial Studies Curriculum and Assessment
Summary
This Circular Memorandum aims to announce the direction of development of the Business, Accounting and Financial Studies (BAFS), and the details of the refined curriculum and assessment (C&A) framework endorsed by the Curriculum Development Council (CDC).
Background
2. The CDC formed an ad hoc committee titled the Advisory Committee on
“Business-related Learning” in Technology Education KLA at Senior Secondary Level (the Advisory Committee) in 2015 to advise on the development of BAFS and related issues, which included the curriculum framework and arrangement on the assessment.
After in-depth deliberations on relevant information and views of different stakeholders, the Advisory Committee made recommendations on the direction of development of BAFS and proposed the refined C&A framework. The recommendations were endorsed by the CDC and the Public Examinations Board (PEB) in November 2019 and April 2020 respectively. The refined BAFS C&A framework will be implemented at Secondary 4 starting from the 2022/23 school year, leading to the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) BAFS Examination in 2025 and thereafter.
Details
3. The Advisory Committee collected views from schools and other relevant stakeholders through different channels (including the school survey and related briefing sessions, focus group meetings, liaison meetings, written submissions, etc.). With professional deliberation and careful consideration, the Advisory Committee concluded that the BAFS subject should be retained while the development of separate subject(s) or splitting of BAFS into separate subjects was not supported. The Advisory Committee also proposed to refine the C&A framework of BAFS so as to cater for the learning needs of students. The CDC and PEB supported the recommendations. Details of the
recommendations on the refined C&A framework are as follows:
BAFS curriculum framework (CF) (Please refer to Appendix 1 for details):
(i) Two-strand arrangement: The existing curriculum offers two strands of studies, i.e. Accounting Strand and Business Management Strand.
“Introduction to Accounting” and “Introduction to Management” will be moved from the compulsory part to the respective Accounting/Business Management elective modules with a view to enhancing the coherence of content in each strand.
(ii) Adjustment in the weighting of the compulsory part and elective part from 40:60 to 25:75: The compulsory part of each strand will have two common topics, i.e. ‘Business Environment’ and ‘Basics of Personal Financial Management’. In addition, the compulsory part of the Accounting Strand includes ‘Basics of Management’ while the Business Management Strand includes ‘Basics of Accounting’.
(iii) Streamlining of the curriculum content: The curriculum content is further streamlined for better flow and balanced weighting of content for the two strands of studies.
BAFS assessment framework (AF) (Please refer to Appendix 2 for details):
(i) Proportional adjustments in AF: The weighting, examination duration and number of questions in Paper 1 and Paper 2 will be adjusted on a pro rata basis in response to the change in the weighting of the compulsory part and the elective part from 40:60 to 25:75.
(ii) Separate examination papers will be provided for the two strands: The Accounting Strand will be composed of Papers 1A and 2A and the Business Management Strand Papers 1B and 2B. Same questions will be set in Paper 1A & 1B for the common topics in the compulsory part of the two strands.
Year of implementation: The refined C&A framework will be implemented at S4 starting from the 2022/23 school year, leading to the HKDSE BAFS Examination in 2025 and thereafter.
4. To enable schools to have a better understanding of the refined BAFS C&A
5. The EDB will organise two identical briefing sessions (Course ID: CDI020201118) on 18 June 2020 to introduce the direction of development of BAFS and its implementation details. Each school can nominate at most TWO representatives to attend the briefing sessions. The deadline for enrolment is 12 June 2020.
Support Measures for Schools
6. To facilitate schools and teachers’ preparation for the implementation of the refined curriculum, the EDB will continue to organise professional development programmes (PDPs) to broaden BAFS teachers’ horizons in the business world, share experience on learning and teaching, and disseminate good classroom practices. Besides, learning and teaching resource materials will be developed to support teachers in the implementation of the refined curriculum. For instance, educational multimedia resources to promote BAFS have been produced for students’ and parents’ viewing on HKEdCity at https://www.hkedcity.net/etv/resource/446481044.
Enquiry
7. For enquiries, please contact Mr. Patrick HO of the Technology Education Section, Curriculum Development Institute on 3698 3128.
Dr Gloria CHAN for Secretary for Education
Accounting Strand
Compulsory Part
(25%)1(a) Business Environment (8%)
Hong Kong Business Environment
Forms of Business Ownership
Business Ethics and Social Responsibilities 1(b) Basics of Management (9%)
Management Functions
Key Business Functions
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) 1(d) Basics of Personal Financial Management (8%)
Time Value of Money
Consumer Credit
Personal Financial Planning and Investment
Stock Trading as an Investment
Elective Part
(75%)2(a) Financial Accounting (60%)
Purposes and Role of Accounting
Double Entry System
Books of Original Entry and Types of Ledgers
Trial Balance
Period-end Adjustments Relating to the Preparation of Financial Statements
Financial Reporting for Different Forms of Business Ownership
Control System
Incomplete Records
Accounting Assumptions, Principles and Conventions
Financial Analysis 2(b) Cost Accounting (15%)
Cost Classification, Concepts and Terminology
Business Management Strand
Compulsory Part
(25%) 1(a) Business Environment (8%) Hong Kong Business Environment
Forms of Business Ownership
Business Ethics and Social Responsibilities 1(c) Basics of Accounting (9%)
Purposes and Role of Accounting
The Accounting Cycle
Uses of Financial Statements
Accounting Assumptions, Principles and Conventions
(1d) Basics of Personal Financial Management (8%)
Time Value of Money
Consumer Credit
Personal Financial Planning and Investment
Stock Trading as an Investment
Elective Part
(75%)3(a) Introduction to Management (13%)
Management Functions
Key Business Functions
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) 3(b) Financial Management (22%)
Financial Analysis
Budgeting
Sources of Financing
Capital Investment Appraisal
Working Capital Management
Risk Management
3(c) Human Resources Management (16%)
Functions of Human Resources Management
Development of a Quality Workforce
Appendix 1 Refined BAFS Curriculum Framework – Two-strand Arrangement
BUSINESS, ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL STUDIES
INTRODUCTION
The public assessment of this subject is based on the Business, Accounting and Financial Studies Curriculum and Assessment Guide (Secondary 4 - 6) jointly prepared by the Curriculum Development Council and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority. Candidates have to refer to the Curriculum and Assessment Guide for the knowledge, understanding and skills they are required to demonstrate in the assessment.
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
The public assessment of Business, Accounting and Financial Studies (BAFS) aims to assess candidates’ abilities to:
1. demonstrate knowledge and understanding of different areas of business;
2. apply such knowledge and understanding to familiar and novel situations;
3. analyse, synthesise and evaluate information in the context of business decisions, taking into account the integrated and dynamic nature of business problems; and
4. communicate facts, opinions, and suggestions in an effective manner.
MODE OF ASSESSMENT
Candidates are required to enter the examination in either of the two strands: Accounting or Business Management. The following table outlines the various components of the public assessment of the subject in HKDSE:
Component Accounting strand
Business Management strand
Weighting Duration
Public Examination
Paper 1A Compulsory part
Paper 1B
Compulsory part 25% 1 hour
Paper 2A Elective part
Paper 2B
Elective part 75% 2 hours 30 minutes
2025-HKDSE-BAFS
Appendix 2
PUBLIC EXAMINATION
Paper 1 Compulsory part
Candidates will attempt either Paper 1A or 1B. Questions will be set on the compulsory part of the curriculum.
There will be two sections as follows:
Paper 1A Accounting
strand
Paper 1B Business Management
strand
Weighting
(25%) Remarks
Section A 24 multiple-choice questions
24 multiple-choice
questions 17% All questions are
compulsory.
Same questions will be set for common topics in both strands.
Section B 3 short questions 3 short questions 8%
Paper 2 Elective part
Candidates will attempt either Paper 2A or 2B. Questions will be set on the elective part of the curriculum.
There will be three sections as follows:
Paper 2A Accounting
strand
Paper 2B Business Management
strand
Weighting
(75%) Remarks
Section A 4-5 short questions 5-6 short questions 33%
All questions are compulsory.
Section B 3 application problems 2 case studies 27%
Section C 1 long question 1 essay question 15% Answer one out of two questions.
Candidates are expected to be aware of the impact of standards issued by the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants upon the accounting definitions and treatments covered by this curriculum. In case where updates in the accounting standards would affect the BAFS curriculum and/or assessment, the Curriculum Development Institute and the Hong Kong Examinations and
