Students wishing to enroll for the C.A. course are expected to give the C.A. entrance examination. The C.A. entrance examination is conducted by the Institute of Charted Accountancy of India (ICAI) and is held 4 times a year in the months of February, May, August and November. The examination instills students with feelings of nervousness and excitement. It is at this moment that most students seek tips to clear the examination. Therefore, here are some tips that might prove useful to students wishing to score well in the C.A. entrance.
Tip 1 Know the Examination: it is important for aspirants to have all the information there is to know about the exam such as the dates, the syllabus and the various sections. Thus, the test comprises of 3 levels namely:
- The Entry Level/ First Level – Common Proficiency Test (C.P.T.) consists of 200 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). It covers 4 subjects divided into 2 sections comprising of 100 marks each. The 4 subjects covered are Fundamentals of Accounting (60 Marks), Mercantile Laws (40 Marks) are topics covered in the first section while the second section consists of Economics (50 Marks) and Quantitative Aptitude (50 Marks).
- Second Level – Intermediate Professional Course (I.P.C.) has 2 groups of 7subjects. Group I consists of four subjects namely 1. Accounting, 2. Business Laws Ethics and Communication, 3. Cost Accounting and Financial Management and 4. Taxation; while Group II comprises of 3 subjects namely 1. Advanced Accounting, 2. Auditing and Assurance, 3. Information Technology and Strategic Management.
- Final Stage – Final Course (F.C.) is the last level and only after passing both the above IPCC groups can students proceed to the final course. The final course comprises of two groups of four subjects each namely, 1. Financial Reporting, 2. Strategic Financial Management, 3. Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics, 4. Corporate and Allied Laws comprise Group I while 5. Advanced Management Accounting, 6. Information Systems Control and Audit, 7. Direct Tax Laws and 8. Indirect Tax Laws comprise Group II. Once you have all the information about the examination it becomes easier to prepare for it.
Tip 2. Develop a Strong Base: Many students when preparing for the CPT tend to ignore the subjective topics and focus more on the M.C.Q’s asked in the examination. Although it seems a wise choice if your ultimate aim is to clear the CPT paper but without a strong base clearing the Final Course level is usually tough for such individuals. Therefore it is essential for applicants to have a strong base initially. So you need to focus on the various concepts and have a thorough understanding of them. Because once you understand the concepts and are clear about them studying becomes easier and more fun as well. Apart from this students also need to solve subjective type questions so that they can answer these questions. Because by studying only M.C.Q’s applicants tend to forget how to write subjective type questions.
Tip 3 Develop a Plan: it is important to allot time to different subjects so that you can study better. Topics that are difficult to comprehend require more time in comparison to topics that are easy to understand. You may have a list of things to do but in order to get all the work done in time, it requires planning. Creating a time table ensures that all the tasks are done and results in more topics being covered in minimum amount of time.
Tip 4 Avoid Procrastination: it is absolutely necessary that you don’t put off tasks that need to be completed, as you will not have done the task well nor would you have learnt anything. Students tend to put off topics due to the difficulty level. But they forget that although these topics seem difficult now; but once understood are easy, more fun and most likely easy to score in too.
Tip 5 Practice: when it comes to accounts the best teacher is our old friend practice. Since accounts require calculations the only way to be confident is through practice, practice and more practice. It is essential that you have a thorough knowledge base of the concepts as this will ease the understanding and solving of the problems. While practicing make a note of all the information that is given to you by breaking it up in to manageable parts. You need, “to practice as if you are the worst, but perform as if you are the best” if you wish to excel.
Tip 6 Keep Distractions away: if you wish to perform well then it is essential for one to stay away from distractions as this will interrupt your study time and work. Distractions such as spending too much of time on social networking sites and phones should be minimized.
Tip 7 Subject wise tips: for accounts if you have a strong base of 11th and 12th than cracking this section of the CPT will be easier. It is preferable that you try your hand at complex problems and pay attention to the theory. In business law it is important that you have a thorough understanding of the concepts as most of the questions don’t come from the book but are based on common sense. For micro economics if you are thorough with 12th Standard economics then your preparation for this section is complete. Ensure that your concepts are clear rather than learning the micro economics section and don’t forget to use a little bit of common sense. Subjects like Mathematics and Statistics should not be left simply because you have decided that you will not be able to solve the problems. These are the most scoring subjects since the marks allotted to these sections is 20 to 30, leaving these sections is leaving about 20 to 30 marks that are in your hand if the steps and the solutions are correct. Once you are clear with these concepts then solving them is easier and you can definitely attain full marks in these sections. As for macro economics the only alternative is to learn it up thoroughly but if you try to understand the concepts it just might be easier to learn.
Top 8 Study Tips: use mnemonics as and when possible. These techniques will help you to remember things better, revise whatever you have completed; repetition has helped a lot, discuss whatever you have learnt with a friend and if possible clarify whatever doubts you may have with a professor.
Tip 9 Join Coaching classes: it is preferable to go for coaching classes as this will ensure that you practice on a regular basis and you will also be able to resolve your doubts with your professor.
Tip 10 Take Care of your Health: it is the most important aspect that students tend to ignore. If applicants wish to perform to the best of their ability then they need to eat a balanced diet, get enough of sleep because just as your body needs rest to function efficiently even you mind needs rest to function to its optimum level and exercise. Exercising refreshes one mind and body and helps them to function efficiently.
thanq very much..very helpful post