Haste chehre mein gum ko chupao
Try following this maxim while you face the MAFA paper in CA Finals.
Bahut Kuch Bolo Par Kuch Naa Bataao
Strategy to be applied when someone asks you "Exam Kaisa Hua??"
MAFA and Costing are twin sisters in CA Final .
Don't you dare under-estimate their potential to wreak havoc in your life..
I shall make no bones about the fact that MAFA is a difficult paper ..while accountancy often makes you feel that time alloted of 3 hours is too little ..MAFA may make you wonder what to do with them..cartooning ,for a change???
Because ICAI does not often offer you the privilege of solving sums..
The complexity of the questions they sometime ask , often puts you in a kind of Catch-22 situation...
ICAI often uses the MAFA paper to tailor the result to the student's disadvantage.
Remember the May'07 mayhem????????
The question paper wasn't conducive to a decent attempt.
The answer scripts were checked ruthlessly.
However the picture is not as grim as it may sound.
Jokes apart, in the usual course of affairs, MAFA can be managed smartly...
80 % of the paper can be answered in any scenario. When I make that statement, I assume that you are not fussy about perfection and don't mind answering a difficult question partly, eyeing whatever step-marking you can snatch from the examiner. There is an alternative strategy of making some questions, a prestige issue in the examination hall ...In that eventuality, I can certainly guarantee your doom .....
So choose your approach accordingly.
If you have opted for a tuition teacher, I am sure he will make an intensive effort to drill into you the basic concepts. Only then should one go for solving the hi-fi sums.
Capital Budgeting and Forex are two chapters that are demanding in terms of conceptual clarity.They are infact quite interesting and provide a lot of value addition to your personal understanding of finance.
However you must keep one thing in mind. Some questions in these chapters are only meant to instill fear and panic in the student.for e.g. a capital budgeting problem on gold mine that featured as a compulsory question in a particular term. Simply avoid them .Like you ,most will not be in a position to even touch these hi-fi sums .Consequently they do not merit much time waste.
Chapters like Portfolio Management and Valuation of Bonds and Shares are mathematical, involving some formulae or the other.
Mergers and Acquistions is a high sounding term .Given the manner in which this word is buzzing all around these days, one expects something technically difficult here say the EV/EBITDA multiple stuff which is more useful in real life to analyse M&A deals. But CA Final's M&A is a bonus chapter. I think even a kid (I mean ...simply anyone ...) will be able to solve the kind of sums they have asked in recent times.
Leasing is a topic mired in controversy ...because we had the rare opportunity to learn some international concepts like Debt Displaced By Leasing etc etc ......an approach will simply baffles you . But the moment you see the lucid approach in ICAI's MAFA compiler, the topic suddenly seems so manageable.Please remember that its the Indian Institute of Chartered Accountants which will be evaluating your paper and not some International CFA Body.
When in Rome , behave as Romans do ..rite ??? I hope you've got the message!!!
One good strategy would be to prepare a formulae sheet, in order to ensure that you don't get lost in the sea of formulaes scattered across so many chapters. Having them all collected in one single place would facilitate quick revision.Some questions on topics like Black Scholes Model(BSM), test merely whether the candidate remembers the formula .Why lose such a golden opportunity to snatch in an otherwise difficult exam!!
Some miscellaneous topics like factoring of receivables, basic calculations involving repo and reverse repo concepts etc etc are not be ignored although they may appear to be boring.
Finally the theoretical part.It comes to your rescue if the paper setters have turned malafide on the practical sums front. 20-30 marks of theory can always be attempted in the worst case scenario. For that simply go through the Compiler and the Revision Test Papers (RTPs). You can also try Mr Sudarshan Agrawal's MAFA mat for the theory. Some basic awareness of current issues is an added advantage .In that case you will be able to attempt even questions you've got no clue about..say application of DTAA in promoting GDRs. Who knows .....it may so happen that anything structured logically actually fetches you 1-2 marks.
Also please remember to revise SEBI Gudelines from your law book even on MAFA exam eve. In Nov 07, we got a question on Greenshoe Option. Luckily I had discussed it with a friend of mine..otherwise without revision, there remains only a hazy picture of any technical portion of CA Final.
Hope you scrape through MAFA..infact with a good score.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Paper 1 : Accountancy
Accountancy in CA Final is relatively a cakewalk ...especially if you compare it with the likes of MAFA and Costing. One does not expect any major surprises...the paper setters generally adhere to an almost standard pattern ...A couple of fireworks will surely be there ...but then they are manageable.
Consolidation, Amalgamation and Valuation of Goodwill & Shares are the three major topics .
Consolidation and Amalgamation are interesting, especially if you've faced the exercise in any of your audit assignments.
Valuation is really crap.It is quite mechanical, with those format-based problems requiring little application of logic.In such sums, one would always tend to commit silly mistakes. I would suggest that you just prepare a list of some golden mechanical rules, for e.g. those pertaining to average capital employed when one computes goodwill, and mug them up. If possible, in the exam hall, try confirming your answer with your friend ..We were advised by seniors and teachers to consult a girl across. Trust me they are awesome at these types of sums!!!
One should not ignore the minor topics like Fund Accounting and Value Added Statement.They are minnows when pitted against consolidation and amalgamtion . There is a likelihood that you may tend to be a bit complacent with them .Don't ignore such innocent looking monsters as the Accountancy paper would offer no choices whatsoever.One has to attempt all questions they have asked.
Pls stick to your tuition teacher's study material. They are enough ...you just need to practice all the sums a couple of times.
As far as accounting standards are concerned, I simply love them.... they are the syntax of our accounting language and I feel any CA student will, by default, develop a genuine interest in them.
Do solve the numerical aspect of AS 3,7,11,19,22,25 and 28.... while most are quite easy, I found the top-down and bottom-up test in impairment quite difficult ...
No one studies the Cash Flow Statement because it was asked in the Inter Exams but you never know when they spring up surprises ...we faced that googly in Nov’07. At least remember the basic format.
Similarly AS 15 on retirement benefits is difficult to comprehend unless you've actually seen the actuarial valuation reports by Watson & Wyatt in your audits . Just carry a basic knowledge of the standard , like what is the applicability , a simple illustration on Liablity for Gratuity a/c solved in class etc .I guess that would be quite sufficient. At least it will be less risky than omitting AS-15 entirely.
While your tuition teacher's study material would be having ample illustrations, there is a book by D S Rawat on accounting standards ...some situations mentioned there are quite exciting ...Similarly the book by G Sekar on Auditing has got loads of solved problems on Accounting Standards and you can have a glance at them,if time permits !!!
It is more important that you remember the relevant text of the accounting standard which is applicable to the problem at hand. Ensure that it constitutes the first part of the answer, before you opine on the situation mentioned . Even if your final opinion is incorrect, you'd get some marks for sure because you have emphasised categorically upon the examiner that you at least know the AS well !!
Guidance Notes are easy.... although I never understood the one on ESOPs ...they would also be quite useful in the Auditing paper also, say the Guidance Notes on treatment of MAT,FBT and Excise Duty.Also prepare short notes on the Human Resource Valuation, Mutual Fund Accounting and the Stock Brokers kind of stuff. These are dealt with in your tuition teacher's study material...
Accountancy is a student's delight ...the return on time employed is highest among all practical oriented papers ...just around a 100-120 odd sums need to be mastered. ...
Performing well is crucial because it is the first paper and if goes well, it could impart enough momentum to see you through Group I. Debut acha hona chahiye naa!!!
Consolidation, Amalgamation and Valuation of Goodwill & Shares are the three major topics .
Consolidation and Amalgamation are interesting, especially if you've faced the exercise in any of your audit assignments.
Valuation is really crap.It is quite mechanical, with those format-based problems requiring little application of logic.In such sums, one would always tend to commit silly mistakes. I would suggest that you just prepare a list of some golden mechanical rules, for e.g. those pertaining to average capital employed when one computes goodwill, and mug them up. If possible, in the exam hall, try confirming your answer with your friend ..We were advised by seniors and teachers to consult a girl across. Trust me they are awesome at these types of sums!!!
One should not ignore the minor topics like Fund Accounting and Value Added Statement.They are minnows when pitted against consolidation and amalgamtion . There is a likelihood that you may tend to be a bit complacent with them .Don't ignore such innocent looking monsters as the Accountancy paper would offer no choices whatsoever.One has to attempt all questions they have asked.
Pls stick to your tuition teacher's study material. They are enough ...you just need to practice all the sums a couple of times.
As far as accounting standards are concerned, I simply love them.... they are the syntax of our accounting language and I feel any CA student will, by default, develop a genuine interest in them.
Do solve the numerical aspect of AS 3,7,11,19,22,25 and 28.... while most are quite easy, I found the top-down and bottom-up test in impairment quite difficult ...
No one studies the Cash Flow Statement because it was asked in the Inter Exams but you never know when they spring up surprises ...we faced that googly in Nov’07. At least remember the basic format.
Similarly AS 15 on retirement benefits is difficult to comprehend unless you've actually seen the actuarial valuation reports by Watson & Wyatt in your audits . Just carry a basic knowledge of the standard , like what is the applicability , a simple illustration on Liablity for Gratuity a/c solved in class etc .I guess that would be quite sufficient. At least it will be less risky than omitting AS-15 entirely.
While your tuition teacher's study material would be having ample illustrations, there is a book by D S Rawat on accounting standards ...some situations mentioned there are quite exciting ...Similarly the book by G Sekar on Auditing has got loads of solved problems on Accounting Standards and you can have a glance at them,if time permits !!!
It is more important that you remember the relevant text of the accounting standard which is applicable to the problem at hand. Ensure that it constitutes the first part of the answer, before you opine on the situation mentioned . Even if your final opinion is incorrect, you'd get some marks for sure because you have emphasised categorically upon the examiner that you at least know the AS well !!
Guidance Notes are easy.... although I never understood the one on ESOPs ...they would also be quite useful in the Auditing paper also, say the Guidance Notes on treatment of MAT,FBT and Excise Duty.Also prepare short notes on the Human Resource Valuation, Mutual Fund Accounting and the Stock Brokers kind of stuff. These are dealt with in your tuition teacher's study material...
Accountancy is a student's delight ...the return on time employed is highest among all practical oriented papers ...just around a 100-120 odd sums need to be mastered. ...
Performing well is crucial because it is the first paper and if goes well, it could impart enough momentum to see you through Group I. Debut acha hona chahiye naa!!!
Dard E Disco
Masoom mohabbat kaa bus itna fasaana hai.
Kagaz ki haveli hai ..baarish ka zamana hai..
Kya shart -e-mohabat hai ?
kya shart-e-zamaana hai ??
Aawaz bhi zakhmi hai aur geet bhi gaana hai !!!!!!!
By the time your four month preparation ends ...and the exam days knock and remind of the urgency with which you got to get your act together.... the above lines could best capture the essence of your emotions
You may start questioning yourself:--
Why was I naive enough to have been sucked into the CA vortex ?
Why did I dare to dream to attain such a Herculean feat ??
Amidst the turbulence caused by the eight monsters .. ...your boat of pipedreams suddenly seems to rock a bit.
And you start doubting your capabilities.
"Pass hoone ka iccha toh hai .. par umeed nahi" becomes your standard refrain. The lamp of hope flickers and flickers and just threatens to get extinguished out ...and you simply can't prevent that from happening.The show must go on!!!!!!!!Pls remember that WINNERS NEVER QUIT AND QUITTERS NEVER WIN!
Trust me this is very normal a reaction to the CA Final course.
If you feel this way ,the chances of your clearing these exams are very high ..
This is because the frustation that has crept in stands testimony to the hard work you've put in your preparation.It proves that you've studied all these days direct Dil Se!!What else does Lady Luck want before deciding to smile on you !!
The bottomline is that although the feeling of desperation does creep in ...don't panic a bit ....it is injurious both to your health as well as the chances of your efforts bearing fruit. So manage your emotions well. Exude positivity in everything you do.
ICAI has deliberately designed the course in such a manner ..we call it a systematically designed bamboo that hits a CA Final aspirant hard,very hard.
The volume of the CA final syllabus is meant to intimitade, dude!!!Infact it should..
That is the only way you can separate the men from the boys...
Subject them to pressure...some will break down..others will break records !!!!!!!
Just thought I'd express what I feel are some essentials to be kept in mind while preparing...at the very outset ...I wanna make it clear that there is actually no standard strategy for these exams ..one man's food may be another's poison..I am simply sharing my version of the story.
Kagaz ki haveli hai ..baarish ka zamana hai..
Kya shart -e-mohabat hai ?
kya shart-e-zamaana hai ??
Aawaz bhi zakhmi hai aur geet bhi gaana hai !!!!!!!
By the time your four month preparation ends ...and the exam days knock and remind of the urgency with which you got to get your act together.... the above lines could best capture the essence of your emotions
You may start questioning yourself:--
Why was I naive enough to have been sucked into the CA vortex ?
Why did I dare to dream to attain such a Herculean feat ??
Amidst the turbulence caused by the eight monsters .. ...your boat of pipedreams suddenly seems to rock a bit.
And you start doubting your capabilities.
"Pass hoone ka iccha toh hai .. par umeed nahi" becomes your standard refrain. The lamp of hope flickers and flickers and just threatens to get extinguished out ...and you simply can't prevent that from happening.The show must go on!!!!!!!!Pls remember that WINNERS NEVER QUIT AND QUITTERS NEVER WIN!
Trust me this is very normal a reaction to the CA Final course.
If you feel this way ,the chances of your clearing these exams are very high ..
This is because the frustation that has crept in stands testimony to the hard work you've put in your preparation.It proves that you've studied all these days direct Dil Se!!What else does Lady Luck want before deciding to smile on you !!
The bottomline is that although the feeling of desperation does creep in ...don't panic a bit ....it is injurious both to your health as well as the chances of your efforts bearing fruit. So manage your emotions well. Exude positivity in everything you do.
ICAI has deliberately designed the course in such a manner ..we call it a systematically designed bamboo that hits a CA Final aspirant hard,very hard.
The volume of the CA final syllabus is meant to intimitade, dude!!!Infact it should..
That is the only way you can separate the men from the boys...
Subject them to pressure...some will break down..others will break records !!!!!!!
Just thought I'd express what I feel are some essentials to be kept in mind while preparing...at the very outset ...I wanna make it clear that there is actually no standard strategy for these exams ..one man's food may be another's poison..I am simply sharing my version of the story.
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