Building the Backbone: How to Set Up the Perfect Chart of Accounts for Every Sector – 14 November 2025

A well-designed chart of accounts is the heart of accurate reporting — yet most are copied, cluttered, or completely mismatched to the business. This session shows you how to design and implement a chart of accounts that fits your client’s industry, improves reporting accuracy, and makes month-end close a breeze.

Date:

14 November, 2025

Time:

09:00

Hours:

2 hours

CPD Units:

Category:

Financial Reporting

Group:

Channel 2: Growth

Format:

Live Event

Building the Backbone: How to Set Up the Perfect Chart of Accounts for Every Sector - 14 November 2025

R345,00 VAT incl.

Product Information

Your chart of accounts (COA) tells the story of your business — or your client’s — and how well it’s built determines how clearly that story is told. This practical, two-hour session dives deep into designing and implementing a COA that’s clean, logical, and tailored to each industry sector. We’ll explore how structure affects reporting, compliance, and tax, and how to avoid the duplication, inconsistency, and clutter that plague so many accounting systems. Whether you’re starting fresh or cleaning up an inherited mess, this session will equip you with templates, examples, and best practices to get it right. Because when your chart of accounts makes sense, everything else falls into place.

Presenter/s

What will set you apart

What Will Set You Apart (What Delegates Will Learn)

Understand how different industries structure their accounts for better analysis
Design a chart of accounts (COA) that supports management reporting and compliance
Know which accounts to include, merge, or split for clarity and control
Avoid the most common setup mistakes that cause messy financials
Apply sector-based examples for retail, manufacturing, construction, NPOs, and service firms
Create a scalable structure that supports growth, consolidation, and audit readiness

Event breakdown

Part 1 – Understanding the Foundation

The purpose of a chart of accounts: why structure matters
COA design principles – clarity, consistency, and scalability
How the COA drives reporting, budgeting, and analysis

Part 2 – Sector-Based Application

Sector examples and key differences:
- Retail: Cost of goods sold, inventory control, and sales categories
- Construction: Contract costs, WIP accounts, and retention management
- Manufacturing: Raw materials, labour allocation, and overhead absorption
- Non-Profit Organisations: Fund accounting and restricted vs unrestricted income
- Service Firms: Time-based billing, project tracking, and revenue recognition

Part 3 – Implementation and Practical Setup

Mapping your COA to accounting systems (Xero, Sage, QuickBooks, etc.)
Avoiding duplication, redundancy, and poor numbering logic
Balancing tax, management, and statutory reporting needs
Testing your COA through trial runs and reconciliations
Maintaining and updating your COA as the business grows

Part 4 – Wrap-Up and Tools

Review of COA templates and customisation checklist
Practical examples of sector-optimised reports
Q&A and discussion: solving delegates’ real-world COA challenges

Certificate

The following event is awarded 3 CPD units in Financial Reporting.