Chartered Accountancy: CA foundation, CA Inter and CA Final complete syllabus details
For those interested in pursuing a career in Commerce or any other stream, chartered accountancy is one of the best career option.
It is a very good job option for individuals who are interested in the field of taxation and accounting. The road to become a chartered accountant is arduous and difficult and hence paid a great amount after completion. It is almost a five-year course conducted by the ICAI. ICAI stands for Institute for chartered Accountants of India. The ICAI prepares the CA syllabus for the CA exams.
The ICAI conducts three levels of examinations for students. CA Foundation, CA Intermediate, and CA Final for Chartered Accountancy course to complete. Students are only regarded professional chartered accountants if they pass all three levels of the test.
A student's minimal qualification to join CA is a +2. When a student joins CA after passing +2, he or she must study for the first level of the exam. Students take the foundation exam at this level of the exam. Students move on to the second level, CA Intermediate, after completing the first. Exams are divided into two groups at this level: group 1 and group 2.
To know whole about CA exams, CA exam syllabus, and difficulty level, read the following article.
Becoming a successful Chartered Accountant is a difficult process because an individual have to pass all three levels of examinations. The ICAI has established several eligibility criteria for admission to the CA course.
CA Course structure
The three levels of CA Exam are:
- Foundation Level
- Intermediate Level
- Final Level
The CA Foundation exam is the entry-level exam for CA. Students who wish to pursue a profession as a Charted Accountant after their +2 examination, should register for the Foundation level exam. ICAI conducts this exam twice a year. The first exam is in May and the second exam is in November month. The duration of the first level is 4 months. ICAI has set the Foundation Level exam course fees as Rs.9200.
After the completion of the foundation level of the exam, candidates are eligible for the registration of CA intermediate level.
CA Intermediate exam consists of two groups.
The course duration for the CA intermediate level is eight months. ICAI conducts this exam also twice in a year, first in May and second in November. The fees set by ICAI for CA intermediate is Rs.18000.
The third and last level of CA Course is CA final. Students have to clear the previous two exams in order to reach the CA final exam. After the completion of the final exam, a student can apply for membership. After that, a candidate becomes a professional Chartered Accountant.
The CA final level exam also occurs twice a year, once in May and the second in November. The final level duration is for three years which includes registration, a three-year course duration plus training. The final level exam fee is Rs.22000.
Now let’s move on to the CA course Syllabus level-wise.
CA Foundation Syllabus
CA Foundation syllabus includes four subjects. The four papers for the CA foundation exam, as per the ICAI CA syllabus are:
Paper 1- Principle and Practice of accounting (100 marks paper)
Topics of paper 1.
- Theoretical Framework
- Accounting Process
- Preparation of Trial Balance
- Rectification of Errors etc,
- Bank Reconciliation Statements
- Inventories
- Concepts and Accounting for Depreciation
- Accounting for Special Transactions
- Final Accounts of Sole Proprietors
- Partnership Accounts
- Financial Statements of Not-For Profit Organizations.
- Introduction to the Company Accounts
- Basic Accounting Ratios.
Paper 2- Business law, business correspondence, and reporting (100 Marks)
This paper has two parts. Part 1 comprises Business Law, which carries 60 marks and part 2 comprises Business Correspondence and Reporting, which carry 40 marks.
Topics of paper 2
- The Indian Contract Act, 1872
- The sale of Goods Act, 1930
- The Indian Partnership Act, 1932
- The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008
- The Companies Act, 2013
Section 2
Part – 1 Communication
Part -2 Sentence Types and Word Power
- Sentence types (Direct, Indirect, Active-Passive Speech)
- Vocabulary Root Words, Synonyms, Antonyms, Prefixes, Suffixes, Phrasal verbs, Collocations & Idioms.
Part -3 Comprehension Passages and Note Making
- Comprehension Passages
- Note Making
Part -4 Developing writing Skills
- Introduction to Basic writing
- Précis Writing
- Article Writing
- Report Writing
- Writing Formal Letters
- Writing Formal Mails
- Resume Writing
- Meetings
Paper 3- Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning & Statistics
Paper 3 has 3 parts, and each part carries distinct marks
Topics for paper 3
SECTION – A Business Mathematics
Topics covered are-
- Ratio and Proportion, Indices and Logarithms
- Equations and Matrices
- Linear Inequalities with Objective Functions and Optimization w.r.t. objective function.
- Time value of Money
- Permutations and Combinations
- Sequence and Series
- Sets, Relations, and Functions
- Basic applications of Differential and Integral calculus
SECTION – B Logical Reasoning
- Number Series, Coding and Decoding and the odd man out.
- Direction Tests
- Seating Arrangements
- Blood Relations
- Syllogism.
SECTION – C Statistics
- Statistical description of Data
- Measures of Central tendency and Dispersion
- Probability
- Theoretical Distributions
- Correlation and Regression
- Index Numbers and Time Series
Paper 4- Business Economics & Business and Commercial Knowledge
This paper has two parts
Topics for paper 4
SECTION – A Business Economics
Topics covered in this section include-
- Introduction to Business Economics
- Theory of Demand and Supply
- Theory of Production and Cost
- Price Determination in Different Markets
- Business Cycles
SECTION – B Business and Commercial Knowledge
Topics covered in this subject are-
- Business and Commercial Knowledge – An Introduction
- Business Environment
- Business Organizations
- Government Policies for Business Growth
- Organizations Facilitating Business
- Common Business Terminologies
CA Intermediate Syllabus
CA intermediate level has 8 subjects. The level is divided into 2 groups. In the first group, 4 papers and in the second group also 4 papers are there. As per ICAI, a student must have completed 8 subjects in 8-months.
Group 1 Exam Subjects
Paper 1- Accounting
This paper comprises 100 marks. Topics covered in this Subject are-
- Process of formulation of Accounting Standards including Ind ASs (IFRS converged standards) and IFRSs; convergence vs adoption; objective and concepts of carve-outs.
- Framework for Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements (as per Accounting Standards)
- Application of Accounting Standards
- Company Accounts
- Accounting for Special Transactions
- Special Type of Accounting
- Dissolution of partnership firms including piecemeal distribution of assets; Amalgamation of partnership firms; Conversion of partnership firm into a company and Sale to a company; Issues related to accounting in Limited Liability Partnership.
Paper 2- Corporate and Other Laws.
The paper has 2 parts. One is company law, and another is other laws.
SECTION – A Company Law
Topics covered in this Section are –
- Preliminary
- Incorporation of Company and Matters Incidental thereto
- Prospectus and Allotment of Securities
- Share Capital and Debentures
- Acceptance of Deposits by companies
- Registration of Charges
- Management and Administration
- Declaration and Payment of Dividend
- Accounts of Companies
- Audit and Auditors
Note- Students shall also note that sections of the Companies Act, 1956 which are still in force will form part of your syllabus.
SECTION – B Other Laws
Laws covered in this section are –
- The Indian Contract Act, 1872
- The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
- The General Clauses Act, 1897
- Interpretation of Statutes.
Paper 3- Cost and Management accounting
This paper also consists of 100 marks
Topics covered under cost and management accounting are-
- Overview of Cost and Management Accounting
- Introduction to the Cost and Management Accounting.
- Elements of cost and preparation of cost sheets.
- Ascertainment of Cost and Cost Accounting System.
- Material Cost
- Employee Cost
- Direct Expenses
- Overheads
- Concept of ABC analysis
- Recording and Accounting of Costs
- Methods of Costing –
- Single Output/ Unit Costing
- Job Costing
- Batch Costing
- Process / Operation Costing
- Costing of Service Sectors
- Cost Control and Analysis
- Standard Costing
- Marginal Costing
- Budget and Budgetary control.
Paper 4- Taxation
This paper is divided into two sections. In section one income tax law has 50 marks and in section two indirect taxes have 50 marks also.
SECTION – A Income Tax
This section covers topics like-
- Basic concepts
- Residential status and scope of total income
- Income which does not form part of the total income
- Heads of Income and computation of Income under various heads-
- Salaries
- Income from House Property
- Income from Business and Profession
- Capital Gains
- Income from other sources
- Income of other person’s included in assessee’s total income
- Aggregation of Income, Set off or Carry forward and set off of losses.
- Deduction from the Gross Total Income
- Computation of total income and tax liability of individuals.
- Advance Tax, Tax deduction at source and Introduction to Tax Collection at Source
- Provisions for filing return of Income and Self Assessment.
SECTION – B Indirect Taxes
Topics covered under this are-
- Concept of indirect taxes
- Concept and features of indirect taxes
- Principal indirect taxes
- Goods and Services Tax (GST) Laws
- GST Laws: An introduction including Constitutional aspects
- Levy and collection of CGST and IGST
- Application of CGST / IGST law
- Concept of supply including composite and mixed supplies
- Charge of tax
- Exemption from tax
- Composition levy
iii. Basic concepts of time and value of supply
- Input tax credit
- Computation of GST liability
- Registration
vii. Tax invoice; Credit and Debit Notes; Electronic way bill
viii. Returns
- Payment of tax including reverse charge
This is the entire syllabus of Group – 1 in Intermediate.
In group two of CA intermediate 4 papers are available. These are follows
Paper 5- Advanced accounting (100 marks paper)
A candidate should have to secure 40% to clear the paper.
Topics Covered by this Subject are-
A candidate should have to secure 40% to clear the paper.
Topics Covered by this Subject are-
- Application of Accounting Standards. (AS – 7,9,14,18,19,20,24,26,29)
- Application of Guidance Notes issued by the ICAI on specific accounting aspects.
- Special aspects of Company Accounts.
- Reorganization of Companies.
- Financial Reporting of Banking, Financial Services and Insurance.
- Valuation of Goodwill.
- Consolidated Financial Statements.
6- Auditing and Assurance (100 marks)
Topics covered in this subject are as follows –
- Nature, Objective, and Scope of Audit.
- Auditing Concepts.
- Standard Setting Process
- Engagement Standards
- Audit Strategy, Audit Planning, and Audit Programme
- Audit Documentation and Audit Evidence
- Risk Assessment and Internal Control.
- Fraud and Responsibilities of an Auditor in this regard.
- Audit in an Automated Environment.
- Audit Sampling.
- Analytical Procedures.
- Audit of Items of Financial Statements.
- The Company Audit
- Audit Report
- Audit of Banks
- Audit of Different Types of Entities.
Paper 7- Enterprise information systems and strategic management (100 Marks)
This paper is divided into two sections one is enterprise information system and another is strategic management.
SECTION – A Enterprise Information Systems
Topics covered in the above section are as follows –
- Automated Business Processes
- Financial and Accounting Systems.
- Information Systems and its Components.
- E-Commerce, M-Commerce and Emerging Technologies.
- Core Banking Systems.
SECTION – B Strategic Management
Topics covered by this section are as follows-
- Introduction to Strategic Management.
- Dynamics of Competitive Strategy.
- Strategic Management Process.
- Corporate level strategies.
- Business Level Strategies.
- Functional Level Strategies.
- Organization and Strategic Leadership.
- Strategy Implementation and Control.
Paper 8- Financial Management and Economics for Finance (100 marks)
This paper also has two sections. One is financial management and another is Economics for Finance.
SECTION – A Financial Management
Topics covered under this section are –
- Financial Management and Financial Analysis.
- Introduction to the Financial Management Functions
- Financial Analysis through Ratios
- Financing Decisions
- Sources of Finance
- Lease Financing
- Cost of Capital
- Capital Structure Decisions
- Leverages
- Capital Investment and Dividend Decisions
- Capital Investment Decisions
- Adjustment of Risk and Uncertainty in Capital Budgeting Decision
- Dividend Decisions
- Management of Working Capital
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SECTION – B Economics for Finance
Topics covered under this section are as follows-
- Determination of National Income
- Public Finance
- The Money Market
- The International Trade
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This is the entire course at Intermediate Level of CA Course.
CA Final Syllabus
CA final exam is the last step towards becoming a successful Chartered Accountancy. The final level exam of CA consists of 8 subjects.
ICAI conducts this exam in two groups.
The first group comprises of:
Paper 1: Financial Reporting (100 Marks)
Topics covered in this subject at the Final level are-
- Application of Existing Accounting Standards (AS 15,21,23,25,27,28)
-
(you will also be required to apply other accounting standards if applicable in other questions).
- Application of Guidance Notes issued by the ICAI on Specified Accounting Aspects.
- Framework for the preparation and presentation of Financial Statements.
- Application of Indian Accounting Standards (IND AS).
- Company Accounts
- Accounting for Special Transactions
- Special Type of Accounting
- Dissolution of partnership firms including piecemeal distribution of assets; Amalgamation of partnership firms; Conversion of partnership firm into a company and Sale to a company; Issues related to accounting in Limited Liability Partnership.
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Paper 2- Corporate and Other Laws.