Sfm pm

Dear Shilpa,

 

Happy Janmashtami to you as well!!

 

Doing FM only from PM or rather any subject from only the PM is not advisable …

You  must use the PM as a supplement and not as the main book……

 

You can take a book like say A N Shridhar and then supplement it with the PM…

 

• Ankit

And yes..you are absolutely right..you can very well score an exemption in SFM….but then for that, you have to concentrate on the theory part as well….which most of the students fail to do… Coz theory carries an equally important weightage

Ankit

I am referring PM as well as class for SFM.
PM is purely blessing of Institute for Students like me and the best part is, it is available with every student so we will have not discuss which book, which edition etc.

I am thankful to you as i get new area to focus Theory part

Please refer me PM Q no. for practice ...

Thanks in advance




 

You are welcome Shilpa,

 

Infact, for Forex and derivatives, you can also refer to the notes that are distributed in the crash courses held by the Institute in Mumbai. There is a Prof. Archana Khetan she takes the lectures for these chapters, and the notes are simply awesome…so if you are from Mumbai..you can get those and refer to them…short and to the point and still covering everything…

 

Though I do not have the PM now…I will surely tell you the questions that I had marked as important

Hi Shilpa,

 Starting with SFM is a nice idea. This paper needs conceptual clarity which I

suppose the PM may be anable to deliver. You'd be on the mark if you

take coaching. Alternate, buy the videos of Rajiv Singh (not legal + ensure

you get all the classes). You will build your fundas.

 Then doing PM would be an icing to the cake.

Vids of JB Gupta are legal and available at reasonable rates.

Consider doing theory once you have command on the fundamentals

(topic wise)

 

Goodluck!

 

Paper 1- Financial Reporting - A lot of people argue that Financial Reporting is all about Holding Company Accounts and Amalgamation. I beg to differ. According to me there are lot of small topics which are easier and can be prepared with 100% accuracy in short span of time. Rather than devoting one month on preparing Holding Company Acts (and getting it half correct in exam hall) students can easily cover small topics in a week (and score 40-50 marks with full accuracy). Later on they can prepare for holding and amalgamation. So here is the topic wise in order of preference: 1. Value Added Statements - Economic Value Added, Market Value Added, Shareholders’ Value Added 2. Accounting for Financial Instruments+(AS 30,31,32)-Sums on forex, derivative, call /put options etc. 3. Share Based Payments - Sums on ESOP, ESPS etc (It can be covered From ICAI Study mat) 4. Miscellaneous Topics - Financial Reporting by Mutual funds, Non-banking finance companies, Merchant bankers, Stock and commodity market intermediaries + Human Resource Accounting 5. Valuation of Goodwill, Shares, Business, Brands etc ( V.IMP) 6. Corporate Restructuring - sums on capital reduction, demerger, buyback etc. 7. Amalgamation 8. Consolidated Financial Statements (Holding Company) Accounting Standards can be prepared on daily basis like 1 AS everyday (Longer time for tough AS Like AS 22,15,19 etc) along with practical case studies on AS. Preparing for AS has double advantage because questions on AS are also asked on AS in Advanced Auditing Paper. Paper 2- Strategic Financial Management - In SFM also there are few small topics which can be covered before the bulky topics. Ideally one must revise all the topics from Practice Manual after completing his Tutor's Notes or References Books or ICAI Study MAT      

So here are the topics in order of preference: 1. Leasing decisions (lease v/s buy), cross border lease, BHW model etc 2. Dividend policy 3. Mergers and Acquisitions 4. Mutual funds, Exchange Traded Funds 5. Forex 6. Security analysis 7. Portfolio 8. Capital Budgeting 9. Derivatives (Our sir taught this topic in great details, considering it comes of around 8 MARKS and is conceptual topic i studied it in end) Please do not leave SFM theory for the last minute. Some great teachers in Kolkata advice to leave theory. But my friends it can give you valuable 15-20 marks and in CA Final every mark counts. You can prepare theory from your tutor's notes or from practice manual. Chapters like Indian capital market, fundamental and technical analysis are also important for theory. Paper 3- Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics - At cost of being repetitive,I must add for theory papers every topic is equally important. I studied from Surbhi Bansal's Book. By summarizing such a vast syllabus, Surbhi Mam has done a great job. People ask me is this book sufficient? My answer is both yes and no. certain topics like professional ethics have been simplified, there are charts and past questions given but still lot is to be done as far as standards of auditing are concerned. There are no practical example given to help us understand SA and their practical application. at this level SA must be accompanied with case studies otherwise there is no sense in mugging up an SA without clarity. similarly topics like general insurance has basic terms like acquisition cost (meaning cost by an insurance company to "acquire" the premium — for example, commissions paid to a broker or fronting company) which are not explained and students simply mug them up. I personally googled a lot of SA`s and topics because I cannot mug things up without understanding. (but lot of you may not have time to do so). You may refer to some other source apart from this book. (like padhuka`s) among the chapters professional ethics (should be revised from manual/ past papers), CARO, bank audit, CIS audit are important. Accounts, audit, inspection and investigation, dividend are common from corporate law and should be studied from law books. Paper 4 - Corporate and Allied Laws - I found Munish Bhandari's handbook helpful. His new book has charts which help in quick revision. But this book does not has SEBI ICDR regulations, for which good notes were there on CAclubindia. In allied laws do cover interpretation of statutes (some principles like EJUSDEM Generis lack examples but you can find it on net) FEMA, competition act, SCRA, and SEBI before other chapters. Thanks and All the very best to all of you

Is it really tough to clear CA final exams? It’s your perception that matters. If you think it is tough, then it will be, but if you say it’s not tough, then you can easily clear the exams. It is belief, which you require to clear the CA final exams. Along with this you also require lot of willpower, determination and focus. These words assume great importance while you prepare for your final exams. Preparation for CA final exams becomes a little easier if you have done your articleship in a very structured manner with full commitment and passion. Practical training does make your theory preparations easier, as you would have applied theory during the course of training. While you enter the core phase in your exam leave and if you are feeling down, visualize yourself as being a Chartered Accountant. Visualize having CA prefixed to your name, the amount of opportunities you ll have once you become a CA. This in itself will inspire you to study. During study leave, irrespective of amount of leave, give in your very best from day1. Focus, focus and focus- this is what is required. It doesn’t mean that you have to study 24*7. No, there is nothing like that. Have a little bit of fun in between like an occasional movie, sports activities, exercise. These activities will help you will refresh your mind and keep you mentally fit. At times by keeping your mind off from studies does a world of good. An hour or two a day being away from study will help in relaxation of mind. Listening to music, exercise, playing sports or watching TV, occasional outing is really good for mind as it keeps you fresh as you are living the present moment and not in past or future. But when you enter towards the last month of study leave, leisure time can be reduced to 30-45 mins a day, as time becomes very crucial. When you prepare for the exams, prepare in such a way that you will be able to revise the entire syllabus a day before the exams. Student must have finished at least 4-5 revisions before he/she writes the exams. At the same time you must have a very clear cut strategy during those three crucial hours. That makes a huge difference in your marks. Attempt the questions which you know the best at first. Once you gain confidence, then you ll be able to do the other questions without much difficulty. Most of you would be attending classes for various papers. Problem arises when you attend classes of more than one faculty for the same paper. This is not at all required. Attend classes of one faculty for one paper and believe in that faculty. Practice problems from the material of that faculty. At the same go through the problems and questions in the institutes module and practice manual which have not been done in class by the faculty. For havens sake, do not ignore practice manual and module. Do not do selective studies, but cover the entire syallabus. This is because questions can be asked from anywhere. All these factors play a very important roll. Now coming into the crux of the topic, there are 8 papers in final exam. Method of preparation for each of the papers will have to be approached differently. Paper 1 i.e. is Financial reporting, there are 8-10 chapters in total as per the study material. Make sure you know Amalgamation, valuation and consolidation very well. These 3 chapters together will fetch you 48 marks. Know your Accounting standards very well. Accounting standards normally come for 36-40 marks. All AS are very important. Make sure you know AS thoroughly. AS 30, if you find it difficult, don’t worry, practice the questions well in the text book and practice manual. It’s all about discounting. The remaining miscellaneous chapters will cover 12-16 marks which are scoring and do not ignore those chapters. It’s simple and the entire marks will be in your pocket. While you write your exams, as a part of strategy, attempt consolidation at the end, after you attempt all the other questions, as consolidation may take around 45-60 mins. Best suggestion, if you can attempt other questions, then you can leave consolidation as a choice. Most students are not able to clear this paper as they spend too much time attending consolidation and then accuse lack of time/ say that paper is long. Paper 2 i.e. SFM, to do well in this paper, it is very important that you know the concepts very well. Without knowing the concepts, it will be very difficult to clear the paper. Maintain a separate small book for formulas, as there are many formulas in this paper. This will be very helpful before the exam day. Study the theory very well. Many students ignore theory and attempt problem in the choice question. Theory can be well comprehended from practice manual. By attempting theory in exam, 16 marks can be answered in a matter of 15 mins. This leaves you with a lot of time to attempt the remaining questions. Derivatives and forex are very important as normally 20-25 marks question arises from this area. Past trend indicates that questions tested in exams are practice manual based. Paper 3 i.e. Auditing, different from paper 1 and 2 being more of theory, Professional ethics is worth 16 marks in exam and easy to score. Know the clause number well. Standards on auditing cover another 20 marks. All SAs are very important and if it can be quoted, it will help student get additional marks as it leaves an impression on the evaluator. CARO, 3CD, audit and account of company are normally asked for 20-25 marks. These chapters require lot of attention with clause number (3CD) and paragraph number (CARO). Special auditing chapters cover another 15 marks. The balance questions can be answered with the help of articleship training as answers to these questions will not be available in your study material. This is where the institute tests student’s articleship training. It could have an influence on the results of this paper. Practice manual questions are really good in this paper. Material suggested for this paper is Surbhi Bansal . Paper 4 i.e. Corporate law, Directors again is important as 16 marks are normally tested in this area. Accounts of company and audit of accounts cover another 16 marks. Allied laws cover 30 marks and each and every chapter is really important as equal weight age is given to each of these. The remaining questions can be asked from all the other chapters. Therefore 100 % coverage is very important for this paper. Practice manual and text book are good for this paper. Also Munish Bhandari material is suggested for this paper. Paper 5 i.e. AMA, text book and practice manual are ideal for preparation for this paper. Understanding of concept is more important. With the help of concept, you can complete about 60% of the problem. Balance can be completed with practice. The more you practice in this paper with proper understanding, the better your grip will be. Most students neglect theory in this paper which constitutes 33-38 marks. Again Practice manual would be sufficient enough to study theory. Even in QT, don’t neglect theory as it is a scoring area. 30 marks can be easily obtained in full. All chapters are important as weight age for each chapter differs from exam to exam. Paper 6 i.e. ISCA , The institute module is more than sufficient to clear the exams. Do not refer any other books for studying. Study the module very well. A lot of time has to be spent on ISCA as it is only theory. Revise ISCA on a regular basis. This is a paper where you will feel blank if you have not revised for more than 2 weeks in a row. Regular revision is required. Chapter 2, 10 is important as well as others also. Chapter 5,6,7,8 is comparatively easier to study and lot of marks can be scored from this area. Study this paper with lot of effort. ICAI require more or less you to reproduce the same from material. The suggested answer also shows the same. Do not put this paper for the end. Try to enjoy it and you will learn this paper quickly. Believe in yourself that you can do well in this paper. This paper can ruin your chance to clear your CA. Realize the importance of this paper and do not underestimate it. Paper 7 & 8 i.e Direct and Indirect taxes- both the papers are voluminous and difficult to complete the day prior to exam. In these papers you must be smart. Know the provisions very well and completed the entire syllabus during your leave and revise continuously. The institute releases a case law applicable for each exam. Study those case laws very well. There is no need to know any other case law than what institute has given. Case laws related questions are normally asked for 30-35 marks in both Tax papers. It’s simple and easy to score if you have revised at least 4-5 times. The problems are asked for about 30 marks each in both papers. If you prepare well then you can easily get exemption in both the tax papers without much difficulty. Wealth tax in Direct taxes is worth another 10 marks. Study the other areas well; tax paper shouldn’t be a difficulty at all. Books suggested are TN Manoharan (DT) and Bangar (IDT). If you have done your part and put in your best, there is no one stopping you from being a successful CA. Everything lies in your mind. Hard work, focus, determination and the will to do it, is what matters. Go on and give in your best. Have a strategy in mind, systematic study and patience will see you through the exams.

Sidhant 

Thanks for your advice..
But it is not easy to read it

and i need advice only in regard to SFM PM only...
please it is not so that i am against your view... But now at this stage i am not able to pick it up ..
I am not saying giving me imp Q... I am just saying i will practice each n every question. If you advise me the questions i will practice more on those question

as my attempt is in May 15 I am asking for subject concept discussion..

HI Shilpa dont call me sir my CA Final Attempt is due on May 2015

I am sorry I rectified my Msg

its ok . 

Tips & Suggestions for CA Final Group 1 
( Only important topics which help you to get pass )
must share.....

Accounts :-

AS – 30, 31, 28,26,22, 17, 16, 7, 5,4 ,19 Valuation of Goodwill, EVA, Brand Valuation, Value Added Statement, Mutual Fund, Share based Payment, Bonus share and in last do amalgamtion and CFS.

SFM :

In starting do Derivatives, Foex and Portfolio marks cover around 40-50.After that do Merger & Acquistion surely 8 marks question will be asked. Now do valuation of business and security marks covered 16-20. Mutual fund will surely asked minimum of 5 marks so prepare it well. For theroy do Practice Manual as many times it will be repeated. And its better if you solve practice manual of SFM its will be great to do so.

Advanced Auditing & Professional Ethics :

1. Do professional ethics Ques. 2 will of this topic of 16 marks.
2. Prepare CARO, Form 3 CD very well surely question will be asked of this topics and of around 16 marks.
3. Prepare AS & SA. As time we can’t remember all content of SA so just remember title of SA. Important AS -4,5,10.
4. Question from Due delligence, Audit of PSU and Management & Operational Audit.
5. Question from GIC & Banking will be in this attempt and Audit in CIS.

Law :

1. Start with Chapter Directors. Around 30 marks questions asked out of it.
2. Now do small topics like Accounts & Audit, Dividend, Inspection and Investigation marks covered 12-20.
3. Now do Prevention of opperssion and mismangement and winding up marks covered 10-12.
4. Now do Companies incorporated outside India & Compromise, Arragements and reconstruction marks covered 8-12.
5. Now do allied law – Important are SEBI, FEMA, SRFAESI Act, Competetion Act & Insurance.

Sir your tips are very much nice and welcomed....

Sir I am bit confused for SFM...

I have done classes but stil cannot understand all chapters to the full perfection...becoz mny ques are not taught in class and class ans and pm ans are differing...