The CS Executive Course consists of the following subjects and modules:
MODULE - I
1. General and Commercial Laws
2. Company Accounts, Cost and Management Accounting
3. Tax Laws
MODULE - II
4. Company Law
5. Economic, Labour & Industrial Laws
6. Securities Laws and Compliance Management
Pattern of the Question Papers:
Generally, in exams, the pattern of the question papers in all the above mentioned subjects is as follows:
1. 8 questions will be asked out of which any 6 are to be answered. In each paper, the 1st question will be compulsory which will consist of 4-5 parts. (SUFFICIENT CHOICE)
2. There will be 15 to 20 marks of Objective Questions (True/False, Multiple Choice Questions, Fill in the Blanks etc.) in each paper. Method of Study:
Firstly, every student should decide well in advance whether he/she should opt for private coaching or do self study. Generally, for practical subjects, students opt for coaching. However, it is not necessary to take tuitions for passing CS exams. One can easily clear the CS exams with 2-3 months of sheer hard work. Self Study is better if you think you are comfortable with the theme of the subject. On the other hand, coaching should be undertaken for typical subjects that scare the hell out of you.
Next, every student should focus on the study material provided by ICSI. This is very important because the question papers are set from these modules only. Following points may help you in module study:
1. Try to remember the concepts and don’t try to mug up things.
2. Analyse each topic from exam point of view & give special importance to high-scoring topics.
3. Take a sketch pen and underline the expected blanks, MCQs and True / False questions. This will help you to score bonus marks since such questions are generally easy & straight-forward.
4. Don’t over-concentrate on any topic since the syllabus is very lengthy. Remember, your main aim of doing module study is to have a basic understanding of the subject. Therefore, overemphasis to less important topics is not at all recommended (especially during exam days).
5. Don’t forget to make short notes, wherever needed. This will help you during revision time.
6. Make the use of Scanners to prioritise your study. Understand the trend of questions asked in the previous examinations. Easy & high-scoring topics should be covered first before studying the difficult & unimportant topics.
7. Revision is very important. This point is generally under-estimated but let me tell you that this could be the difference between a Pass and a Fail. This is all the more important in a professional exam like CS where every mark is important & there is not even a single day gap
between the papers. So don’t forget to revise whatever you have done.
Analysis of the Subjects:
1. General and Commercial Laws: This is a difficult subject to start off. When you read it for the first time, everything will be new & you might find yourself in alien territory. However, once you get a grip of it, you will find it very high-scoring. The Institute material and scanner is enough for this subject. It requires at least 2 readings to become familiar with the terminology of this subject. In short, this subject is not as tough as it looks. Just stick to it for a week & I’m sure you’ll master it.
2. Company Accounts and Cost and Management Accounting: This is one of the two practical subjects in the CS Executive course. Students from Commerce background might have studied most of the topics in this subject earlier in some or the other way. As the name suggests, the syllabus consists of major portion from Company Accounts, Costing & Management Accounting. From practical point of view, topics such as Holding Company, Amalgamation are very important. For the practical portion, stick to the material you are comfortable with and then solve the scanners to test yourself. Don’t ignore the theory portion. Generally, it carries around 30-40 marks. For the theory portion, refer to the study material only.
3. Tax Laws: This subject is divided into two parts – Income Tax (50 marks) & Wealth Tax, VAT & Service Tax (50 marks). Income tax is a bit lengthy for 50 marks but it is very interesting. Students who have studied it at the B.Com. level in detail may find it high-scoring. On the other hand, Wealth Tax, VAT & Service Tax is not that technical & it hardly requires 3 days of preparation. For better understanding, students may refer to the book authored by Mr. Girish Ahuja. Finally, don’t forget to have a look at the recent amendments applicable for your attempt.
4. Company Law: Company law is the main subject of the CS Executive Course. Students should read this subject to gain knowledge because a Company Secretary is expected to be an expert in this field. Clarity is very important in this subject. Understand the subject instead of mugging up. Try & remember the important sections. This paper is very interesting since it deals with all the aspects of a company right from its formation to its end. Don’t be afraid by the size of the module of this subject. You can easily score 60 if you read the module once & understand the theme of the subject. Undoubtedly, if you mention sections and cases in your answers, it will fetch youmore marks in the exams. However, if you are not sure of the same, then please don’t take a risk. Wrong section numbers create a negative impression on the examiner & this may cost you heavily in terms of marking for your other answers.
5. Economic and Labour Laws: This is the trickiest and the most dangerous subject. It is the result changer in the second group. Everyone should be perfect with the labour laws and you must score at least 30 out of 40 marks. Economic laws are very dry and would require detailed preparation. The trick here is to master the labour laws portion and just go through the economic laws. Many people fail in this group just because they are not able to score 40 in this paper. So don’t take this paper lightly & read it regularly right from the start.
6. Securities Laws and Compliance Management: This subject is a little technical. On the day before the exam, you might feel totally exhausted (this being the last one). You might also find yourself totally confused but don’t worry, that’s just the nature of this subject. I would recommend that you study this subject in the last month because you might not be able to retain it for a long time (unless you have some real-time practical knowledge). Topics such as ‘Stock exchanges’ and ‘Public issue of securities’ carry more weightage so lay special emphasis on these chapters. This is the final paper so just go for it & give it everything you have.
So that’s just about it. I hope I was able to give you an insight on how to prepare for your CS Executive Exams. Finally, I hope that 25th February / 25th August will no longer remain a nightmare rather it would become a day of celebration for all the CS Students. Wishing you loads of success.
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