Revising Principles of Accounting with Phone Apps and Spaced Repetition

Principles of Accounting comes with a thick textbook full of terms, account formats and debit-credit rules that blur together as the exam gets closer. Many students reread their notes again and again but still freeze on whether an item is an asset or a liability, or on the order of items in the Income Statement. The problem is usually not effort; it is that the revision method does not match how the brain stores information for the long term.

Your phone can become a useful revision tool rather than just a distraction. Combining spaced repetition with an easily available flashcard app lets you review the things you are about to forget at the right moment, in short sessions of a few minutes a day.

What is spaced repetition?

Spaced repetition means reviewing information at gradually increasing intervals. After you learn something, you forget part of it within days (the so-called forgetting curve). By reviewing just before you would forget, the memory strengthens each time, and the interval can stretch from one day to three days, a week, and beyond.

Compared with reading the same notes five times in one night, spaced repetition spreads the same effort across several days. Learning research shows this produces more durable memory for facts, definitions and formats, the kind of material that fills Principles of Accounting.

Why it suits Principles of Accounting

Principles of Accounting blends memory with understanding. You need to recall terms and classifications (current assets, non-current liabilities, revenue, expenses), the rules of double entry, and the layout of formats such as the Trial Balance and Statement of Financial Position. These are ideal for flashcards because the answers are precise and quick to test.

Once these basics become automatic, you can spend your longer study sessions on the more demanding numerical work, such as period-end adjustments and preparing financial statements, without getting stuck on the fundamentals.

What to put on a flashcard

Keep each card short and to a single idea. Good examples: term definitions ("What is a bad debt?"), account classification ("A motor vehicle is classified as?" answer: non-current asset), debit-credit rules ("An increase in an asset is recorded on the?"), and formulas (straight-line depreciation, the current ratio).

Avoid cramming a whole Income Statement format onto one card. Instead, break it into pieces: what goes into cost of sales, what counts as operating expenses, where depreciation sits. Small cards are easier to remember and to test.

Phone apps worth trying

Anki is a popular and highly flexible spaced repetition app; you build your own decks and its algorithm decides when each card is due. Quizlet is friendlier for beginners and offers test and game modes. Apps like Notion or your phone's plain notes app can also work alongside calendar reminders if you prefer your own system.

What matters is not which app is "best" but whether you use it every day. Pick one, write your cards in Bahasa Melayu because the SPM paper is set in Malay, and start with a single topic.

How to build a revision schedule

Start with short sessions of 10 to 15 minutes a day, ideally in spare moments such as waiting for the bus or after a meal. A spaced repetition app shows only the cards due that day, so the daily load stays small even as your total number of cards grows.

Add new cards gradually, after you cover a topic in school or class, rather than all at once. This keeps your revision aligned with the syllabus and avoids the panic of memorising hundreds of cards at the last minute.

Common mistakes to avoid

The first mistake is memorising without understanding. In accounting you need to know why something is recorded as a debit or a credit, not just recite the card's answer. Use cards to reinforce understanding you already have, not to replace it.

The second mistake is relying on flashcards alone. Cards are great for facts and formats, but Principles of Accounting also tests calculation and the assembly of full statements. Cards cannot replace working through structured and essay questions in writing.

Combine it with numerical practice

The best approach is to use flashcards for daily fundamentals and to reserve longer sessions (30 to 60 minutes) for full questions such as journal entries, control accounts, adjustments and preparing financial statements. Strong recall from your cards makes this practice faster, because you are not stopping to look up what a term means.

After marking your practice, turn each mistake into a new card. If you keep misplacing accumulated depreciation, make a card just for that. This way your revision targets your own weaknesses precisely.

How we help

In our online 1-to-1 lessons, an experienced teacher can help you choose which concepts to put on cards and check that you understand them.

Lessons in Bahasa Melayu or English start from RM50/hr, and the one-hour trial is paid at the teacher's rate. WhatsApp us for the exact rate.

FAQ

How many cards should I make? Start with 20 to 30 cards for one topic and add gradually. The quality of a card matters more than the quantity.

Can I pass using flashcards alone? It is not advisable. Cards support your basic recall, but you still need to practise full written answers to get used to the answer format.

Should cards be in Malay or English? Because the SPM paper is set in Bahasa Melayu, it is best to use Malay terms even if you study in another language.