CA Foundation Exam Preparation 2022

Students who want to become Chartered Accountants must first pass the CA Foundation Exam. The Common Proficiency Test (CPT) has been replaced with the CA Foundation Exam. The exam is divided into two parts: Objective and Subjective.

Pursuing CA after college has been a primary focus for decades as a professional path that offers advantageous and thrilling job options. Students who desire to pursue a career in Finance, Economics, Law, or Accounting should take the CA Foundation Exam. Chartered Accountancy increases one's grasp of taxation and auditing, budgeting, cost accounting, consulting, and financial management in a business context. So, if you desire to hold a key position in the lucrative sector of Accounting, being a CA is one of the best career paths to take. CA Exams are widely recognised as among the most challenging exams in the world. The first step to becoming a Chartered Accountant is to clear the CA Foundation Exam. You can start with your CA Foundation Exam preparation as soon as you decide that you want to become a CA.

Listed below are some of the key highlights of the CA Foundation Exam:

Before filling out the form, some eligibility conditions that are fundamental to the application process must be met. Before applying for the CA Foundation, the ICAI requires that the following prerequisites be met:

• The candidate must have passed their 10+2 (senior secondary school) or comparable examination from a recognised board or university.

• Applicants must finish a four-month intensive training programme and register before the 31st of June (for the November exam) or December (for the December/May exam). This is done to ensure that only qualified candidates apply.

CA Foundation Exam Syllabus

Knowing the CA Foundation Exam syllabus well will help you prepare for your upcoming exam thoroughly. You can refer to the table below for a quick snapshot of what the exam entails:

Listed below are the subjects that are covered in the CA Foundation course. Some subjects have multiple sections, and these sections have different weightage:

You will have to study all of these subjects as every section is compulsory for the CA Foundation Exam. Now, let’s have a look at the individual topics that will be covered in the CA Foundation Exam:

Principles and Practices of Accounting

Listed below are the topics that you need to cover for this paper:

• Theoretical Framework 

• Accounting Process

• Accounting for Special Transactions 

• Concept and Accounting of Depreciation 

• Final Accounts of Sole Proprietors 

• Bank Reconciliation Statement 

• Inventories 

• Partnership Accounts 

• Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Organisations 

• Introduction to Company Accounts 

Business Laws and Business Correspondence and Reporting

Listed below are the topics that are covered in Business Law:

• 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 

Business Correspondence and Reporting covers the aspects of communication, sentence types and word power, comprehension passage, note-making and development of writing skills. This section checks your business communication ability and how well you can articulate your business ideas into words. 

Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning and Statistics

This section is quite elaborate, and you will have to cover several topics in this section:

Part A- Business Mathematics

• Ratio and Proportion, Indices and Logarithms 

• Equations and Matrices 

• Linear Inequalities with Objective Functions and Optimisation 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

Part B- Logical Reasoning

• Number Series, Coding and Decoding and the Odd Man Out. 

• Direction Tests 

• Seating Arrangements 

• Blood Relations 

• Syllogism 

Part C- Statistics

• The Statistical Description of Data 

• Measures of Central tendency and Dispersion

• Probability

• Theoretical Distributions

• Correlation and Regression

• Index Numbers and Time Series 

Business Economics and Business and Commercial Knowledge

Following are the topics that will be covered in this section:

Part 1: Business Economics

• Introduction to Business Economics 

• Theory of Demand and Supply

• Theory of Production and Cost

• Price Determination in Different Markets 

• Business Cycles

Part 2: Business and Commercial Knowledge

• Business and Commercial Knowledge – An Introduction 

• Business Environment

• Business Organisations

• Government Policies for Business Growth 

• Organisations Facilitating Business 

• Common Business Terminologies

Marking Scheme: Let's look at how the answer copies for this exam will be graded.

• 400 Total Marks are allotted 

• Papers 1 and 2 are Subjective in nature, Papers 3 and 4 are Objective

• 0.25 points will be deducted for every incorrect answer for Objective type questions

• A minimum of 40% in each topic and a minimum of 50% in the aggregate is required for all subjects to pass the exam

Free Study Materials for CA Foundation Exam Preparation

It can be challenging to find appropriate content for your CA Foundation exam preparation. You may come across numerous videos and materials on the Internet, and still be unsure where to begin. While study material is abundant on the Internet, there is no consistency between the content on various platforms and how you should start your CA Foundation preparation. With Unacademy, you can end the confusion and organise your preparation for CA Foundation Exams.

You can get access to various resources to assist you in passing the CA Foundation Exam. You may gain an overview of the topics by using the notes made available on the Unacademy platform. If satisfied, you can proceed further and explore other detailed resources made readily accessible for our Learners.

Unacademy also provides you with a variety of free expert-level study materials. On the platform, you may watch free videos from some of the greatest CA professionals in the country. If you like the material, you can upgrade your account to enjoy unlimited access to some of the best Paid CA Foundation Exam preparation videos. Unacademy offers a variety of learning resources to guide you and let you put your knowledge to the test, so you can see where you stand in your CA Foundation preparation.

How to kickstart your CA Foundation Exam Preparation

• Get notified of the exam dates

There are a few critical events associated with pursuing the CA Foundation course that must be remembered, such as form filling, exam dates, and so on. This exam can be attempted in Hindi or English, and registered for online. Furthermore, the information you provide is valid for three years after registration, allowing for six total attempts. Candidates can also pay Rs. 300 as revalidation costs to extend their registration for an additional three years. It would be best if you kept a tab on all of these critical dates associated with the CA Foundation Exam. You can subscribe to the notifications by Unacademy to keep yourself updated on important dates related to the CA Foundation Exam.

• Prepare for the CA Foundation exam

You must pass the CA Foundation level before moving on to the CA Intermediate level. If you want to advance to the CA Intermediate level, you must score 40 per cent or above in all subjects and have a minimum total score of 50 per cent. As a result, you must prepare thoroughly to pass the Foundation exam. You can begin by reviewing the Foundation exam's syllabus and determining a starting point for your preparation.

• Prepare for the Intermediate level

After passing the CA Foundation Exam, you can start preparing for the CA Intermediate level. There is a significant difference in difficulty between these two examinations. As a result, you'll need to devise a new plan to prepare for the CA Intermediate Exam. Before you begin your studies, you should review the CA Intermediate Exam curriculum. You'll be able to ace the exam easily once you've covered the syllabus.

• Personal interview preparation

For CA Exams, there is no round of personal interviews. After passing the CA Intermediate level, you must complete a three-year articleship programme, during which you must work for any CA firm or organisation. These companies will require you to pass numerous rounds of interviews, so be prepared for some personal interviews. Unacademy provides access to numerous resources which can help you prepare for a personal interview.

Tips and Tricks to crack CA Foundation

• Build a strategy to prepare for CA Foundation 

When starting on your CA Foundation preparation, the first step is to create a schedule. It will help you save time debating what to learn and where to begin. Revising the entire course in one sitting can become quite difficult and this is where your handwritten notes become the best source for revision. You should go through the CA Foundation syllabus quite thoroughly before you start devising a strategy for your preparation. 

• Stay Updated (Current Affairs)

While current events are not covered in the CA Foundation Exam, you should keep up with any accounting principles or standard changes. Tax regulations tend to change every year. You must be aware of any changes in taxation and other financial legislations if you plan to take the CA Foundation Exam. It would be best if you aimed to prepare solely from Unacademy's most recent study material. Any modifications to the laws are thoroughly covered on the Unacademy platform.

• Time management 

It is critical to learn to manage your time well while studying for the CA Foundation Exam. CA Foundation Exam aspirants receive a total time limit of 3 hours to attempt and complete all the papers. As a result, try and practise in advance to complete the exam on time. Set a time limit for each topic and target completing answering questions for the topic within this time. Time management is an acquired talent, and it is advisable to keep practising even if you begin to finish the topics on time. You will ace your examinations only if you are able to complete all questions within the prescribed time limit.

• Mock tests 

The CA Foundation Model Test papers have proved indispensable in helping our Learners pass the exam. They educate you on how to manage your time and evaluate questions properly. You should always solve the CA Foundation Sample Test Papers once you've completed learning for the course. There are several practice papers on Unacademy that can aid you with your preparation. It would help if you tried solving these papers once you have gone through all the resources you need to study for the CA Foundation preparation.

FAQs

1. What is the total number of courses in the CA Foundation Exam?

CA Foundation consists of four primary courses that candidates must pass to advance to the second stage of the CA Exam i.e. the CA Intermediate Exam.

2. Is the CA Foundation Exam subject to negative marking?

Yes, there is negative marking in the CA Foundation Exam. One incorrect response deducts a quarter of a point from the overall score. As a result, it is advisable to only respond to questions that you are familiar with.

3. Is CA Foundation a challenging course?

Preparing for the CA Foundation Exam takes a lot of effort, but nothing is impossible. Clearing the CA Foundation Exam requires Learners to only secure above a defined threshold of marks unlike with other competitive examinations. So, you may relax and focus exclusively on what you need to accomplish to pass this exam.

4.  How many attempts are permitted for the CA Foundation exam?

Signing up for the CA Foundation Exam is the first step. After signing up, your registration will be valid for three years. Candidates can apply for the CA Foundation Exam within this time range in May or November. During these three years, candidates may apply and appear for a maximum of six attempts.

5. How important are your 12th marks for the CA Foundation Exam?

The CA Foundation Exams do not have a minimum pass mark or percentage requirement. All you have to do is graduate your 10 + 2 exam to sit for it.