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CA Syllabus – A complete Guide

Published on: December 10, 2024

Every student who wishes to clear CA is having a dream that needs long term commitment & unparalleled vigour to get there.

Which can never be easy as it comes with having in-depth knowledge of multi faced verticals of the commerce field as they are not just being made qualified to do any ordinary job but are being empowered to face the complex challenges of managing financial matters that can change the face of the economy.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) , the governing body of CA profession & its standards, periodically changes the syllabus to match the real time challenges.

Understanding CA Syllabus

The CA syllabus is divided into three levels: 

  • CA Foundation
  • CA Intermediate
  • CA Final

Each level of CA qualification is built upon the previous level, increasing complexity and depth to make the students grasp the level of complexity of accounting complexity making them ideal for future challenges. 

CA Foundation 

The CA Foundation is the entry-level exam for aspiring CA professionals

Eligibility 

Every student who has completed plus two from a recognized board can apply for CA foundation level exams with commerce stream students must secure 50% mark & Non commerce students must secure 55% mark.

Foundation level consists of four papers namely accounting, Business law, Quantitative Aptitude & Business economics. 

1: Accounting

  • Theoretical Framework
  • Accounting Process
  • Inventories
  • Bank Reconciliation Statement
  • Depreciation and Amortisation
  • Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes
  • Preparation of Final accounts of Sole Proprietors
  • Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Organizations
  • Accounts from Incomplete Records (excluding preparation of accounts based on ratios).
  • Partnership And LLP Accounts
  • Company Accounts

2: Business Laws

  • Indian Regulatory Framework
  • The Sale of Goods Act, 1930
  • The Indian Contract Act, 1872
  • The Indian Partnership Act, 1932
  • The Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008
  • The Companies Act, 2013
  • The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881

3: Quantitative Aptitude

  1. Part I: Business Mathematics
  • Ratio and proportion, indices and logarithms
  • Equations
  • Linear inequalities
  • Mathematics of finance
  • Permutations and combinations
  • Sequence and series
  • Sets, relations, and functions. basics of limits and continuity functions
  • Basic applications of differential and integral calculus in business and economics (excluding the trigonometric applications)
  1. Part II: Logical Reasoning
  2. Part III: Statistics
  • Statistical representation of data
  • Sampling
  • Measures of central tendency and dispersion
  • Probability
  • Theoretical distributions
  • Correlation and regression
  • Index numbers

4: Business Economics

  • Introduction to business economics
  • Theory of demand and supply
  • Theory of production and cost
  • Price determination in different markets
  • Determination of national income
  • Business cycles
  • Public finance
  • Money market
  • International trade
  • Indian economy

Important things to Note About CA Foundation are 

  1. First two papers (accounting & Business law) are descriptive while the other two (Quantitative Aptitude & Business economics) are objective papers
  2. There is negative marking for the objective papers which is 0.25 marks
  3. Candidates must secure 40 marks out of 100 in each subject & overall 50% mark to clear the exam.
  4. Registration validity of Foundation exam is 4 years from the first attempt.
  5. Revalidation is not permitted for the Foundation level.

CA Intermediate

The CA Intermediate course is the second level, consisting of eight papers divided into two groups:

Eligibility

Candidates can become eligible via two routes for CA Foundation

  1. Foundation route

To qualify via foundation route the candidates must have cleared CA foundation exam conducted by ICAI.

  1. Direct entry Route

Direct entry route has three options 

  • For commerce graduates/ post graduates - graduation with minimum 50% mark
  • Non commerce graduates/ post graduates - graduation with minimum 60% mark.
  • Students who cleared intermediate level exams conducted by institute of company secretaries of india or the institute of cost accountants of india

The detailed Syllabus for CA intermediate is as follow - 

  1. Advanced Accounting
  2. Application of accounting standards
  3. Company accounts
  4. Corporate And other Laws
  5. Company Law And Limited Liability Partnership Law
  • The companies act 2013
  • Limited liability partnership Act, 2008
  1. Other Laws
  • The general clauses act, 1897
  • Interpretation of statutes
  • The Foreign exchange management Act, 1999
  1. Taxation 

 A. Income Tax Law 

  • Basic concepts
  • Residential status and scope of total income
  • Heads of income and the provisions governing computation of                        income under different heads                

 B. Goods and Services Tax

  • GST laws: an introduction including constitutional aspects
  • levy and collection of CGST and IGST
  • basic concepts
  • computation of gst liability
  • registration
  • tax invoice; credit and debit notes; electronic way bill
  • accounts and records
  • returns
  • payment of tax
  1. Cost and Management Accounting
  • Overview of cost and management accounting
  • Ascertainment of cost and cost accounting system
  • Methods of costing
  • Cost control and analysis
  1. Auditing and Ethics
  • Nature, objective, and scope of audit
  • Audit strategy, audit planning and audit program
  • Risk assessment and internal control
  • Audit evidence
  • Audit of items of financial statements
  • Audit documentation
  • Completion and review
  • Audit report
  • Special features of audit of different types of entities
  • Audit of banks
  • Ethics and terms of audit engagements
  1. Financial Management And Strategic Management
  2. Financial management
  • Financial management and financial analysis
  • Financing decisions and cost of capital
  • Capital investment and dividend decisions
  • Management of working capital
  1. Strategic Management
  • Introduction to strategic management
  • Strategic analysis: external environment
  • Strategic analysis: internal environment
  • Strategic choices
  • Strategy implementation and evaluation

CA Final Syllabus

The CA Final course is the last and most challenging level, with six papers:

1. Financial reporting

  • Introduction to general purpose financial statements as per indian accounting standard (ind as)
  • Statutory provisions: applicability criteria
  • Division ii of schedule iii to the companies act, 2013 and guidance note thereupon
  • Application of ind as about general purpose financial statements
  • Ind as on group accounting
  • First time adoption of indian accounting standards (ind as 101)
  • Identify and explain the key ethical issues
  • Evolution of accounting in the technological environment

2. Advanced financial management

  • Risk management
  • Financial policy and corporate strategy
  • Advanced capital budgeting decisions
  • Security analysis
  • Security valuation
  • Securitization
  • Portfolio management
  • Mutual funds
  • derivatives analysis and valuation
  • Foreign exchange exposure and risk management
  • International financial management
  • Interest rate risk management
  • Business valuation
  • Mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring
  • Startup finance

3.  Advanced auditing, assurance and professional ethics

  • General auditing principles and auditors responsibilities
  • Quality control
  • Audit planning, strategy, and execution
  • Materiality, risk assessment and internal control
  • Audit evidence
  • Specialised areas
  • Reporting
  • Audit-related services
  • Review of financial information
  • Digital auditing and assurance
  • Prospective financial information and other assurance services
  • Group audits
  • Overview of audit of public sector undertakings
  • Internal audit
  • Due diligence, investigation and forensic accounting
  • Professional ethics and liabilities of auditors

4. Direct tax laws & international taxation

  • Tax administration and appellate mechanism
  • International taxation

5. Indirect tax laws

  1. Goods and services tax
  • Goods and services tax (GST) Law
  • Central goods and services tax (CGST) Act, 2017
  • Integrated goods and services tax (IGST) Act, 2017
  1. Costumes & FTP
  • Customs law as contained in the customs act, 1962
  • Customs tariff act, 1975
  • Foreign trade policy

6. Integrated business solutions

  • Financial reporting
  • Advanced financial management
  • Advanced auditing, assurance and professional ethics
  • Direct tax laws & international taxation
  • Indirect tax laws
  • Corporate and economic laws
  • Strategic cost & performance management
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