IU BUS-A 100: Basic Accounting Skills
A100 is Kelley's one-credit introduction to the accounting environment of the firm, a fast tour of financial, managerial, audit, and tax perspectives, required of all business majors as the gate into A201 and A202.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Indiana University Bloomington. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
One credit makes students file it under 'formality,' but it's compressed: the whole accounting mindset (accounts, debits and credits, basic statements) arrives in a few intense weeks, and the exams are unforgiving of vagueness. Treating it casually is how students arrive at A201 already behind.
What you'll cover
- • The accounting information environment
- • Debits, credits, and accounts
- • Basic financial statements
- • Financial vs. managerial accounting perspectives
The BUS-A 100 study guide
How to study for IU BUS-A 100, step by step.
- 1
Respect the compression
A100 covers the foundations of an entire discipline in a few weeks at one credit's apparent weight. Schedule real study time from day one. The pace forgives nothing.
- 2
Make debits and credits mechanical immediately
The double-entry logic is the single concept everything in A201 and A202 builds on. Work transactions until the direction of every entry is reflex, not deliberation.
- 3
Connect every entry to the statements
For each transaction you practice, trace where it lands on the balance sheet and income statement. The exams, and all of Kelley accounting after, test that linkage, not isolated bookkeeping.
- 4
Treat A100 as A201's opening act
The real payoff is arriving at A201 fluent in the basics while classmates relearn them. Master this material now and the three-credit courses get dramatically easier.
Today's BUS-A 100 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for BUS-A 100. Yours is built from your syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
- Review: The accounting information environmentReview · 25 min
Work back through the BUS-A 100 material on the accounting information environment. In the app, Fennie builds this from your own notes and syllabus.
- Practice: Debits, credits, and accountsPractice · 20 min
Targeted problems on debits, credits, and accounts, the kind BUS-A 100 actually tests.
- Quick quiz: Basic financial statementsQuiz · 10 min
Five generated questions to expose weak spots on basic financial statements before the exam does.
- Preview: Financial vs. managerial accounting perspectivesPreview · 10 min
A first pass over financial vs. managerial accounting perspectives so the next session starts from familiar ground.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is A100 at IU hard?
Not deep, but deceptively fast: a one-credit course covering the foundations of accounting in a few weeks. Students who treat it as a formality are the ones who arrive at A201 already behind. The material is the bedrock of the whole Kelley accounting sequence.
What does A100 cover?
The accounting environment of the firm (financial, managerial, audit, and tax perspectives) plus the mechanics of accounts, debits and credits, and basic statements. It's the required gateway into A201 and A202.
How do I do well in A100?
Drill transactions until debit-credit direction is reflexive, and trace every entry to its statement impact. The exams punish vagueness, and that linkage is exactly what A201 assumes on day one.
More IU courses
BUS-K 201: The Computer in Business
K201 is the famous Kelley course nearly every IU business student takes: hands-on Excel and Access skills plus information-systems concepts, recently refreshed to add data analysis and AI emphasis. It's an I-Core prerequisite, and a whole Bloomington tutoring economy exists because of it.
BUS-A 201: Introduction to Financial Accounting
A201 is Kelley's financial accounting course: the mechanics, measurement theory, and economic context of the financial statements. It's an I-Core prerequisite required of all business majors and a course whose grade Kelley admissions and recruiters actually look at.
BUS-A 202: Introduction to Managerial Accounting
A202 is Kelley's managerial accounting course: product costing, cost-volume-profit analysis, budgeting, and performance evaluation. It's the internal-decision-making counterpart to A201 and the other accounting prerequisite for I-Core.