In this article, we are sharing the tips & tricks on Preparing for Final CA Paper on Financial Reporting.
Table Of Contents
What is the structure of the CA Final FR paper?
What are the examiner’s expectations?
What should be the source of content?
What is the ideal learning methodology & time to be invested?
What is the appropriate order in which the syllabus should be studied?
How can I ace my exam writing skills?
How to prepare on the eve of the exam?
What are the major challenges faced by students while attempting the Exam on the D-Day and how must I prepare in advance to meet those challenges?
What is the structure of the CA Final FR paper?
FR at CA Final level is extremely concept-driven. It is important to acquaint yourself with the various topics to score decent marks in this paper.
You are required to attempt 5 out of 6 questions of 20 marks each. Generally, there is 1 elaborate question on consolidated financial statements or business combination.
What are the examiner’s expectations?
- Emphasis will be laid on conceptual clarity and understanding of each Ind AS.
- The examiner will assess the ability of the student to comprehend the question, relate the relevant Ind AS and exercise of good judgement.
- Presentation of the answers (appropriate formats and working notes) will be given importance.
- The assumptions made are reasonable and in line with ICAI.
What should be the source of content?
- Content provided by your Coaching Provider along with your personal study notes can be used as a base. However, ensure that it is comprehensive in its coverage by cross checking it with ICAI material.
- Past Examination Papers, RTPs and MTPs.
- Referencer developed by ICAI for a summarised version of the notes.
Pro Tip: Stick to your base material as a reference. You must avoid changing the source of content closer to examination since that may lead to confusion in your study preparation.
What is the ideal learning methodology & time to be invested?
| Reading | Source | Time | Expected Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | A detailed study of every concept involved
|
120 – 125 hours | · Eliminate the easy questions and prepare a repository of questions that need to be practiced again
· Prepare notes with short explanations for every Ind AS · Do not attempt to solve every sum – just ensure you know the flow of the answer |
| 2nd | A summarised version of the syllabus | 60 – 65 hours
|
· Cut down the list of questions to practice in this revision
· Plan as to how you can comfortably revise for the exam days |
| 3rd | A quick revision to cut-down pre-exam study time | 20 – 25 hours | · Go through the summarized notes and appear for a mock exam |
Pro Tip: Ensure that you practice 1-2 questions of each concept in writing to enhance your conceptual clarity and to learn how present the answers appropriately
What is the appropriate order in which the syllabus should be studied?
The overall portion can be divided into various buckets. Studying your FR syllabus as per these buckets will be useful in building conceptual clarity. Despite the lengthy syllabus, avoid ad-hoc selective studies; follow a method of smart studying and be thoroughly clear with all the concepts.
Visit the concept of ‘Remember, Revise, Recollect’ all throughout your study preparation.
| Standards on Accounting Policies & Items in the Financial Statements (15-20%) |
Theory Standards/ Chapters (10-15%) |
|---|---|
| Framework for Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements | Ind AS 20: Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance |
| Ind AS 1: Presentation of Financial Statements | Ind AS 24: Related Party Disclosures |
| Ind AS 7: Statement of Cash Flows | Ind AS 37: Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets |
| Ind AS 8: Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors | Ind AS 41: Agriculture |
| Ind AS 10: Events after the Reporting Period | Ind AS 101: First-time Adoption of Ind AS |
| Ind AS 12: Income Taxes | Ind AS 108: Operating Segments |
| Ind AS 21: The Effects of changes in Foreign Exchange Rates | Analysis of Financial Statements |
| Ind AS 33: Earnings Per Share | Integrated Reporting |
| Ind AS 34: Interim Financial Reporting | Corporate Social Responsibility |
| Ind AS 113: Fair Value Measurement | |
| Financial Instruments (15-25%) (VERY IMPORTANT) |
Consolidated Financial Statements and Business Combination (15-25%) (VERY IMPORTANT) |
| Ind AS 32: Financial Instruments: Presentation | Ind AS 27: Separate Financial Statements |
| Ind AS 107: Financial Instruments: Disclosures | Ind AS 28: Investments in Associates & Joint Ventures |
| Ind AS 109: Financial Instruments | Ind AS 103: Business Combination |
| Ind AS 110: Consolidated Financial Statements | |
| Ind AS 111: Joint Arrangements | |
| Asset Based Standards (25-30%) |
Others (15-20%) |
| Ind AS 2: Inventories | Ind AS 19: Employee Benefits |
| Ind AS 16: Property, Plant and Equipment | Ind AS 102: Share Based Payment |
| Ind AS 23: Borrowing Costs | Ind AS 115: Revenue from Contracts with Customers |
| Ind AS 36: Impairment of Assets | Division II of Schedule III to The Companies Act, 2013 |
| Ind AS 38: Intangible Assets | |
| Ind AS 40: Investment Property | |
| Ind AS 105: Non-Current Assets held for Sale and Discontinued Operations | |
| Ind AS 116: Leases | |
Pro Tips:
- Learn about the weightage distribution over various topics as per ICAI.
- Once you are done with the first read of your syllabus, do the ICAI MCQ booklet and revise all the standards once again.
- Cover the theory topics simultaneously along with practical topics – students have a tendency to designate theory for the end, when it is eventually ignored.
- Prepare summaries of the topics for quicker revision.
- In the recent past attempts, Institute has been focusing on the chapter ‘Analysis of Financial Statements’ – If asked in the exam, stay calm and think from a practical point of view.
How can I ace my exam writing skills?
FR papers are known to be lengthy – The best way through is to know a rough format of your answers in advance by practicing a few answers of each chapter in writing.
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- Use the 15 minutes reading time judiciously to strategize your way through the paper.
- It is very important to choose the right order for attempting the paper – ensure that you manage to attempt 40 marks in the first 1-1.25 hours.
- In case you cannot figure out the solution to a particular question within a designated time, make sure you move ahead to the next question.
- Present the answers to the questions in the following manner:
-
- Provision or Ind AS along with a formula (if any)
- Facts of the case
- Comments and recommendations.
-
- Ensure that you bullet your answers and underline the key words, wherever relevant.
How to prepare on the eve of the exam?
We recommend that you start your FR preparation 6 days before your exam date. This will help you cover the syllabus in detail and will also leave some space to deal with pre-exam nerves.
| Day | Topics to be covered | Time Allotted In Hours |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ind AS 102: Share Based Payment | 2 |
| Financial Instruments | 10-12 | |
| 2 | Asset Based Standards, except Ind AS 116 | 12-15 |
| 3 | Ind AS 116: Leases | 4-5 |
| Ind AS 103: Business Combination | 7-8 | |
| Division II of Schedule III to The Companies Act, 2013 | 1 | |
| 4 | Consolidated Financial Statements | 9-10 |
| Ind AS 21: The Effects of changes in Foreign Exchange Rates | 2-3 | |
| 5 | Ind AS 115: Revenue from Contracts with Customers | 4-5 |
| Ind AS 12: Income Taxes | 1-2 | |
| Ind AS 19: Employee Benefits | 1-2 | |
| Ind AS 33: Earnings Per Share | 1-2 | |
| Corporate Social Responsibility | 1 | |
| 6 | All pending topics | |
| On the day of the exam | Balance Topics (if any) | |
| Quick revision of all the important concepts and provisions |
Pro Tip: Start writing your exam with the question you are most comfortable with – it will help to boost your confidence for the paper
What are the major challenges faced by students while attempting the Exam on the D Day & how must I prepare in advance to meet those challenges?
| Challenge | Solution |
|---|---|
| Inability to logically think and present an answer to a new question | · Solve a couple of questions in writing in every revision
· Focus on the format of the various answers as per ICAI · Know when to elaborate through working notes to improve understand-ability |
| Recollecting and associating questions to the related topics | Appear for mock exams in a time bound format so that you can get an idea of how to deal with all the topics together |
| Scoring well in the theory based questions | Use the right vocabulary – stick to the keywords used by ICAI |
| Inability to manage time in the paper | Unnecessary time should not be devoted on a particular question. In case you cannot figure out the solution to a particular question, designate some time to it at the end of the paper |
