All i am goin to share is my personal view n based on the experiences that i got while studying for CA final exams, I personally think that I M very Average student, n my preparation was according to it! so it shudnt be considered otherwise!! please make a note of it, that comment/ remarks are not deliberate, n neither they intentionally made to put a bad view about any particular person!
PREPARING for ACCOUNTS/ Financial reporting- (paper1)
If u hav joined a good class & assessment of notes of that teacher depicts that the notes are enough,( e.g. likes of coaching of Prime academy Chennai, or Zaware sir, VK agrawal sir, Pune, or Parween sharma sir delhi) then no need for referring any book for accounts! Others who dint get coaching or not satisfactory coaching (like got tuitions at other cities/places) shud prepare from a good reference book (best book is MP Vijay Kumar- especially for consolidation)
From exam point of view-
Don’t put too much emphasis on Amalgamation and consolidation chapters as recent past trend shows that questions asked from these chapters are either tough or lengthy making it impracticable to solve them in very beginning when u start solving a paper!
THUS, it is sincerely n honestly advised that studnts shud b thoroughly prepared with remaining syllabus (e.g. Valuation, EVA/GVA, Fund based accouting, Fin. Instt, Guidance notes-each and every guidance shud be prepared nicely, MF, ESOP ,HUMAN resource Accounting, Share buy back, Oil n gas reserves, n whatever other matter) coz, questions asked from these topics are relatively simple, so for passing paper, these topics shud be gud!(MP vijay kumar may not contain all of these, so refer padhukas or other book for whatever is not covered) and once u r thorough with above topics then prepare Amalgamation and consolidation at the end( tip- make full use of Library of adjustments given in MP Vijay kumar for quickly preparing n revising amalgamation n consolidation)
Note- solving at the end, if u find that ur running short of time for solving consolidation, then follow step method given in book of MP, may be helpful for partial solving n getting step marks!
For preparing ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Alternative 1- use DS Rawat as it is simple n can be revised quickly!
Alternative2- Use quick referencer book of MP vijay kumar(as it is very small-palm size n contains diagrams which revises the whole standard) then refer CASE STUDIES only from VK agrawal sirs book on AS! Combination of the above two will do good for exams!
(Note-follow either of the approach, don’t follow both alternatives as time is limited for preparation)
PREPARING for MAFA/ SFM- (paper2)
Again, if u got coaching under prime academy, VK Agrawal sir, MAKKAD sir(delhi) then no need to refer any book , the others self studying or got coaching elsewhere should refer good book( two good books are available in the market, either go for SD BALA- simple n easy to understand n study or refer Muralidharan sirs book- concise and contain exam questions and tips to solve them)
(tip- select specific questions/problems, revise n solve them repetitively instead of solving whole book. This will improve
PREPARING for AUDITING (PAPER-3)
Alternative 1- either use VK agrawal sirs notes fully
Or
Alternative 2- [Use Padhuka’s notes for Professional Ethics, company audit, some portion of audit report, liab. Of auditors, guidance notes on Auditing, Q&A on Acc. Standards
PLUS
Surabhi bansal’s notes for everything else including Standards on Auditing]
(According to me, 2nd alternative is better, as surabhi bansal notes are very simple n concise n can b quickly revised)
PREPARING for CLSP/ CAL (PAPER-4)
Those who are appearing in coming 6 months or less, should refer Handbook of MUNISH BHANDARI, as time will be less and Others , who have sufficient time for attempt should go for BIG Book by Munish Bhandari and switch to MB handbook say before 3-4 months of examination
(tip- don’t leave any topic prepare everything as paper is going to be compulsory)
PREPARING for COSTING-OR/ MGMT ACC.(PAPER-5)
Again those who joined good coaching with the likes of B.Sarvana Prasath or prime academy Chennai, Rakesh Agrawal pune/ Nagpur, JK shah,Mumbai, Sanjay Agrawal sir, Delhi such students need not refer any book, others self studying or joined anywhere else may refer Padhuka’s notes on costing.
from exam point of view-
Don’t leave any Chapter of OR/ QT as it is scoring, leaving any topic may be a disaster for u in exam coz scoring full mark in OR/Qt is the key to clear this difficult paper (some portions which are very very lengthy like certain areas in SIMPLEX or RESOURSE ALLOCATION / TIME Scale diagram in PERT/CPM may be skipped, but at least put an overview to this chapters since sometimes questions asked by institute on these topics were relatively simple n require hardly 2-3 steps to solve)
DON’T EMPHASISE TOO MUCH on topic of standard costing and marginal costing as question asked are very tough n not practicable to tackle in the beginning while solving the paper, they should be solved at the end! To fetch more marks, focus on topics like ABC, budgets, pricing decisions, transfer pricing, other theory topics, operating costing) ; these topics should be prepared first, and then prepare marginal n standard costing . For theory questions on costing/or keep on referring any short notes available at CACLUBINDIA.COM
PREPARING for MICS/ISCA.(PAPER-6)
Alternative 1- refer Dinesh Madan (those who want to refer n study in detail- easy language book)
Alternative 2- refer MANISH VALECHHA (those who don’t hav time n want to prepare in short time PLUS for some questions keep referring latest compilation of the institute which are not properly covered in this book) this is hardly 120 paged book with simple language with memory codes on how to mug up answers!!
(tip- according to me, 2nd alternative is better)
PREPARING for DT.(PAPER-7)
Alternative 1- Those who like to study in detail n want to understand the concept n like reading explanations on finance bill should go for VINOD GUPTA’s notes instead of buying bulky established books of NATIONALLY RENOWNED AUTHERS. With All due regard to fantastic Authers like Ahuja sir or singhnia sir. Books by these legends are written to cater the needs and technical issues of practicing experts. Thus these books though very good, don’t serve the purpose of STUDENTS NEED from exam point of view.
Alternative 2- those who like to study in simple language and concise manner, should refer G. Sekar ‘s book as it can be revised quickly with the help of fast track referencer given in the beginning. With due respect, book by renowned author n our past president Mr TN Manoharan is simple to read but, it is becoming more n more bulky with every new edition that is getting released!
(tip- May attempt students should keep more emphasis on amendments latest case laws and Wealth tax as these 3 in total, asked for 45-50 marks on an average in may attempt. Moreover, MAT, TRUST, Assessment of firms, Asst. procedure, search, seizure, penalties, appeals revision are other weighted topics!)
(note- there’s another alternative of referring Bangurs book on DT which is more concise,Still, those who can understand the tough AND hard to digest language may study it)
well- the above is my personal opinion n shud not be taken otherwise, I wrote abut my own experience which I had during studying these books!
PREPARING for IDT.(PAPER-8)
Alternative 1- Those who like to study in detail n want to understand the concept n like reading explanations on finance bill should go for DIPPAK GUPTA’s notes. Of all books I referred , this is the most lucid n colourful n fantastic book. Though costly, it is worth referring
Alternative 2- Those who are running short of time, in need of simple concise book for finishing subject quickly in simple way should buy AJAY JAIN sir’s notes .Answers quality in question bank of his is very nice