CA Final Exam Strategy - CA Krishnam Saraf (AIR 9)

Hello Everyone!

Through this article, I intend to describe my strategy for the CA Final exam. I have tried to address all the queries that I have received. Hope you all find it useful!

1. Handling pressure:

• I believe this is the least talked about, yet the most important aspect of CA Final exams. I think that our results are dependent 60% on your ability to handle pressure, and 40% on your studies.
• It is important not to give in to pressure and waste your valuable study time. In order deal with pressure effectively, you may try out the any of the below methods and decide which suits you best:

1. Talk to your family members / close friends. ( I followed this method)
2. Yoga / meditation.
3. Listening to music / watching motivation videos online.

2. Overall change in approach was done:

• Earlier - focus was to cover past questions of ICAI and practice manuals. Many of the questions asked in exams were directly picked up from these. It was acceptable to reproduce the answers as it is, for the sake of marks!
• Now - focus needs to shift towards covering ICAI Study Materials. Majority of the questions asked are new, and based on concepts covered in the study materials. It is important to have conceptual clarity as the questions asked are new.

3. Classes attended:

Law - Munish Bhandari sir pendrive lectures.

Elective (FSCM) - Sanjay Saraf sir pendrive lectures.

All other subjects - JK Shah classes.

Advice: You may attend any classes that you feel comfortable with. It can be 'all under one roof' like JK Shah, AJ, etc. or you may take subject wise separate classes. However, it is important not to be totally dependent on classes. 90% of your result will be due to your self-study and the efforts you put in. Classes would only play a complementary role!

3. Resources used / Subject specific advice:

The basic approach I used was - the primary material should be ICAI Study Material. Incase the primary material is Class notes, then it is important to run through the ICAI Study Material, and mark the extra questions and extra theory points!

a. Financial Reporting:

1. Primary material - Class notes and questions.
2. Run through ICAI Study material for extra questions only (theory part not that important)
3. Past MTPs, RTPs, Exam papers (from May 2018 onwards new syllabus) - Very important (as there are many new questions here)
4. Revisions - Bhavik Chokshi sir youtube videos.

b. SFM:

1. Primary material - Class notes and questions.
2. Run through old course Practice Manual for extra questions (as some exam questions are still directly picked up from here.)
3. Run through ICAI Study material for extra questions.
4. Theory in SFM is very important (20 marks).It should not be neglected. Questions asked in exams are direct and easy to answer. For this, I had used ICAI Study Material.

c. Audit:

1. Divided this subject into 3 parts:

• Other Chapters (1st priority - most important) - ICAI Study material (mark and remember key words)
• Professional Ethics / Company Audit (2nd priority) - Primary material is Class notes. (then run through ICAI Study Material for extra points)
• SAs (Least important) - Only class notes.

2. Advice:

• Multiple revisions for remembering. 'Other chapters' generally have the highest weightage overall in descriptive as well as MCQs. Hence, considered as 1st priority. SAs are considered least important because it has very low weightage in MCQs (also in descriptive section - sometimes questions are asked from the Pronouncement book, which is not possible to study in its entirety!)
• Writing practice is important.
• For Other chapters, focus on the headings used in ICAI Study Material. These are exactly reproduced in the question paper. At that time, it is important to recall the points given under that specific heading.

3. Also referred to Atual Agarwal sir's ABC Analysis on Youtube.

4. Also, for May 2021 onwards - ICAI has released MCQ and Case scenario booklet.

d. Law:

1. Primary Material - Munish Bhandari sir Main book
2. Run through ICAI Study Material for extra points.
3. Also, for May 2021 onwards - ICAI has released MCQ and Case scenario booklet.
4. Advice: Multiple revisions are required for remembering. Writing practice is important. Conceptual clarity is a must, since questions asked in exam are rarely repeated!

e. SCMPE:

1. Primary Material - ICAI Study Material (including case study book)
2. For May 2021 onwards - ICAI has released Case Study Digest.
3. Past MTPs, RTPs, Exam papers (from May 2018 onwards new syllabus) - Very important (as there are many new questions here)
4. Advice:

• Earlier - this paper was mainly sum-solving oriented. Now - focus is shifted to theory and case studies.(In January 2021 attempt, approx. 75 marks was theory). Hence, theory from ICAI Study material is very important. Mark the key words and incorporate the same in your answers.
• Writing practice is very important because this paper requires a different way of presenting answers. It is not completely theory based (like audit/law) or completely sums based(like SFM). It is a mixture of both.
• Put emphasis on the 'verb' used in the question. For example, if the question says 'EVALUATE' / 'ANALYSE' then merely solving the some numerically is not sufficient. You should also mention the non-financial aspects and analysis.
• Types of questions and their presentation:

a. Case study (20 Marks) - Presentation should be similar to the ICAI Case study book (broadly use these headings - Issues identified, Applicable Concept (incl. its definition), Solutions to the issues as per the concept mentioned above, Conclusion.)

b. Sum solving based questions (25-30 marks) - First present the numerical calculations. Then, mention the analysis (this carries approx 40% of the marks) which includes non-financial aspects as well. (For reference, you may refer ICAI answers of Decision Making chapter)

c. Direct Theory: - These are directly asked from the ICAI Study Material. Try to use the keywords mentioned in that material.

d. Indirect Theory - These are mini case studies created based on theory content given in the ICAI Study Material. To be able to answer these, it is important to understand the theory concepts given in the Study Mat. You may answer in your own words in such type of questions.

f. Elective (FSCM):

1. Primary Material - ICAI Modules + Class notes.
2. For Leasing and Factoring chapter - Also refer old course Practice Manual.
3. Past papers, MTPs and RTPs from May 2018 onwards.
4. Relevant chapters/areas from SFM subject and Law subject.
5. For May 2021 onwards, ICAI has released Case Study Digest.
6. Advice: Since this subject is vast, organizing the content with proper indexing is very important. You may make your own index, or use the ones given in classes. Don't be afraid to carry as many books as you want to the exam centre!

g. Direct Tax:

1. Primary Material - Class notes.
2. Run through ICAI Study Material and incorporate extra points in the notes.
3. For May 2021 onwards, ICAI has released MCQ Booklet.
4. Solving past questions as per updated provisions is very important. (as adjustments are repeated many times in the exams) (May refer to Bhanwar Borana sir's compiler or Atul Agarwal sir's question bank.)
5. Since this is perhaps the biggest subject, consider proper ABC analysis for revisions, especially exam day revision! (May refer to Atul Agarwal sir's ABC Analysis available on YouTube)
6. Advice: Try remembering important section numbers!

h. Indirect Tax:

1. Primary Material - Class notes
2. Run through ICAI Study Material and incorporate extra points in the notes.
3. For May 2021 onwards, ICAI has released MCQ Booklet.
4. Practice only few questions to gain confidence, because questions are almost always new. (May refer to ICAI Compiler of questions)

4. Mock tests:

• Wrote 1 paper of each subject under exam-like conditions. Target was to attempt full 100 marks paper always! I had written Nov 19 MTP of each subject.
• You may consider writing additional papers for weak subjects. You may also consider taking separate test series instead of writing MTP of ICAI.

5. Timelines:

(Since my original exam due date was May 2020, I'll share my original timelines and plans, so that it can be useful for others going forward)

• Classes were completed atleast 3-4 months before exams.
• Devoted some time each day to revise what is done in classes.
• By the time study leave had begun (5 months), I was done with SFM, FR and SCMPE self study.
• Planned to do 3 readings in total:

a. 1 detailed reading - Approx 10-12 days per subject (wrote Mock test as and when I completed each subject)

b. 1 revision - Approx 5-7 days per subject

c. Last day revision on exam days.

6. Planning:

• Made a brief planner in writing (allotting specific number of days to each subject). Tried not to dwell too much on it.
• Lagging a little behind the original plan is perfectly normal! We should not to panic in such situations. Try to cover as much as you can in the allotted time.

7. Last Day Revision:

• For each subject, made a list of chapters (starting from most important to least important). Revised the same in that order and tried to cover as much as I could.
• Advice: Although it may not be possible to revise everything on the last day, it is important to be confident that you'll still be able to solve those answers, because you've studied the content before!

I have attached the list for a few subjects as samples for your reference.

8. Approach towards MCQs:

• Covered ICAI Study material in detail for subjects having MCQ. (In my opinion, MCQ questions are asked from various small points/ paragraphs given in the Study Mat.)
• No separate question solving for MCQs.

9. Presentation tips:

• Good handwriting is NOT important.
• Write question number at the centre of the page.
• Start every question on a new page always!
• Financial Reporting: Working notes are important. Even if you are unable to solve the entire answer, but the working notes are correct, you will still be allotted marks for those notes.
• SFM: Writing formulae is NOT required. Method of solving CAN differ from Practice Manual solution, but ensure that solving is done step-wise (as marks are allotted step wise).
• Audit/Law: Standard format of answering questions - Provision applicable, Analysis of the case, and Conclusion.
• SCMPE: Refer point 3)e) above.
• Elective (FSCM): For questions that are directly asked from the module, don't be afraid to reproduce the entire answer as it is.
• DT/IDT: Working notes are important and carry marks. For big answers (such as computation of income, etc.), present the main answer in tabular form, and give explanation (i.e. why a particular item is added/subtracted) of each point in the working notes.

10. In conclusion:

• Self-discipline and dedication are key!
• Stay motivated and never lose heart, no matter the circumstances!
• I have tried to address as many points as I could think of. In case of any other specific query, please feel free to reach out to me. Would be happy to help!

All the best! :-)