A follow-up to the previous post — covering special summaries and lifesaving YouTube resources.

Previous post link: https://www.reddit.com/r/CharteredAccountants/comments/1tc1x4g/ca_final_strategy_what_actually_works/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Part 1: Special Summaries Worth Making

These summaries are game-changers and don’t take long to make. The key is to think about repetitive content across your study material and condense it. Here’s my list as a reference — build your own for every subject.

How to make them fast: Use Claude (AI), not ChatGPT. ChatGPT keeps asking for clarifications, you burn through free usage quickly, and the output is less effective. Just upload your class notes to Claude and it handles the rest.

Direct Tax (DT)

• Special rates of taxation (Section 115BB series)

• MMR rates and incomes, section-wise

• COA and FMV of listed equity shares — when to use the highest, lowest, and average share price

• Indexation cases

• IFSC-related exemptions, rates, and deductions

• Safe harbour rates summary with memory tricks

• TDS and deductions Excel tables

• Presumptive taxation sections summary

GST

• Circulars summaries

• Mnemonics for RCM entries, refunds, Section 24 cases, etc.

Law

• Summary for “Test Your Knowledge” questions, along with page numbers for quick reference during IBS exam.

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Costing

I mentioned the IBS Case scenario booklet summary in the previous post, here's how you use it, find the topic asked in exam and search in your summary for similar questions in the booklet. Then use that booklet answer as base for your answer to write the kew words, highlighted points and important points used by ICAI. If you have less time, just copy the common theory points from the booklet. This gives u a picture of what and how much ICAI wants in their answers.

Sequence to find answers

For Costing, once you have identified the concept asked, use the ibs case scenario booklet, if no use then Costing A to Z pdf if unable then Costing index. This will help save time if you can find a pre existing sum in the booklet, TYK section and if nothing works then the module itself. Same for law, just use your faculty books for answers.

Others

AFM and FR sum summaries, and the IBS case scenario booklet summary were covered in the previous post. Refer to those as well.

Part 2: Lifesaving YouTube Videos

These videos are short, targeted, and deliver outsized returns. Watch them during lunch or dinner so they don’t cut into your dedicated study hours.

MCQ Booklet Videos

These are important for securing vital MCQ marks. Watch them during meals.

• Audit: Ankush Chirimar, Hemant Somani

• DT: Aarish Khan

Audit — MCQ Concept Revision & Important Points

• Shankar Lakhwani — Short videos. Must-watch before the exam for quick revision. A few marks from these are sure to land up in your exam.

DT — Case Laws

• Yash Khandelwal

RTPs & MTPs — Video Walkthroughs

If you don’t have time to solve RTPs and MTPs yourself, watch these instead — again, during meals. Each video is roughly one hour long.

• FR: Akash Kandoi, Bhavik Choksi

• AFM: Bhavik Choksi

• Audit: Ankush Chirimar, Shubham Keswani

• DT: Aarish Khan

• GST: Siddharth Valimbe — concise revision with important exam-relevant points

AFM — Theory

• Rohit Chipper — 2-hour video. Very important for securing AFM theory marks. Do not skip this.

Final Note

This is just a starting point. Think about what your weak spots and LDR points are, and build summaries around those. Everyone has the same study material, what makes the difference is how you can do smart and effective study, summaries assist you greatly.

No fluff, no vague advice — just real insights from someone who’s been through it.

This is not a one-size-fits-all guide. The goal here is to help you retrospect and discover what works for you — because nobody knows yourself better than you do.

I used to watch ranker videos for study tips and techniques, but none of them worked for me, and I lost valuable time. You can follow their advice on what to study and which faculty to choose, but how you study must be personalised.

Step 1: Understand Your Study Patterns

Ask yourself these four questions honestly. They won’t directly help you clear the exam, but they will help you build a sustainable system and avoid burnout.

• When is my most productive time? Study the most during this window — minimum breaks, heavy theory. Morning, late night — whatever works for you.

• When is my least productive time? Still study during this period, but with lower intensity. You’ll have mental peace knowing you’ve put in enough hours overall.

• When do I need a break? Plan your essential activities here — meals, a nap, some downtime. Study hard enough that breaks feel earned, not guilty.

• What distracts me? Schedule it during your break time. For me, it was web series — it broke the mental fatigue and helped me reset.

Burnout is real. Studying 8–10 hours from day one is not sustainable, especially after articleship. Build a system that lasts six months or more.

Step 2: Choose the Right Faculty

Stick to proven names. Watch demo lectures and choose whoever suits your style best.

• FR: Bhavik Choksi, Akash Kandoi, Pratik Jagati

• AFM: Bhavik Choksi, Pratik Jagati

• Audit: Shubham Keswani, Shankar Lakhwani

• Income Tax: Bhanwar Bhurana, Agam Dalal

• GST: Siddharth Valimbe, Nitin Nahar

• Law & Costing: Your choice — I used Hemani Somani’s printed book and found it very helpful.

Step 3: Plan Ahead — Start During Articleship

I cannot stress this enough: complete FR and AFM with revision before your articleship ends.

I had around eight months of study leave under the new scheme. If you think you can cover all subjects in that window, your study leave will be exhausting. Here’s what typically happens:

• You watch lectures at 1.8x speed to get through 140–200 hours of content.

• You retain very little.

• With three months left, you panic because an entire subject is still unwatched.

That was my reality for the May exam — I watched FR, AFM, and Audit lectures in December, January, and February. It was brutal.

Solution: Study at least one hour daily during articleship. It compounds significantly over time.

Step 4: Build Smart Revision Tools

• Excel chapter tracker: Create a table for every chapter of every subject and rank the problems by importance. On the last day, you can quickly filter out the critical few from the 1,000+ sums. This was a game-changer for IBS — I could locate a specific problem instantly without flipping through everything.

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• Hidden adjustment list (DT & IDT): Maintain a running list of tricky or easily missed adjustments. Review this list on exam day.

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• Case scenario videos: Watch Audit, DT, and IDT case scenario videos one month before the exam — while eating, so you don’t spend extra dedicated time on them.

• RTPs and MTPs: If you can’t cover both, at minimum cover RTPs for all subjects.

IBS-Specific Tips

• Use Claude (AI) to summarise the IBS, DT, IDT, and MCQ case scenario booklets. Carry these summaries into the exam. You won’t encounter the exact same case study, but the questions are similar — especially for Costing and Law. Without a summary sheet, searching through 86 case studies during the exam is a waste of precious time.

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• Costing A to Z PDF: Print the module with all costing question wordings and page numbers. This helps you locate similar questions quickly in the exam.

• Carry your Excel tables: These help you identify and locate problems faster during the exam.

• Label your books: Write the book name on the spine from all sides — normally and upside down. It’s going to be chaotic in the exam hall, and this simple trick saves time when you’re scrambling through stacked books.

• Think of more efficiency hacks to make answer-finding as fast as possible. Every second counts.

General Exam Tips

• FR is long and it’s the first paper — prepare for it. Writing practice is non-negotiable. Even if you panic in the exam, the steps should be so ingrained that you can trust the process.

• One paper will be very tough. That’s okay. When it happens, close your eyes, take deep breaths, and rest for one minute. This stops the spiral of anxiety, regret. Having sat through the May 2026 AFM paper, I know firsthand how much this matters.

• Use the 15-minute reading time wisely. On your rough sheet, jot down answer points for every question in pencil, along with your expected marks. This gives you a snapshot of the entire paper and helps you plan your attempt order. In Audit especially, you recall the most points at the start — capture them immediately and spend the exam copying from your own sheet.

• Audit revision hack: I did not write a single audit answer during revision across Inter and Final. I relied purely on instincts and watched revision videos continuously to internalise the content. It worked for me — but find what works for you.

• Attempt at least two mock papers per subject to practise time management, refine your approach, and build contingency plans (Plan B, C, D) if Plan A falls apart in the exam.

• You can never over-prepare for IBS strategy. Watch as many strategy videos as you can. In IBS, knowing how to find the answer matters more than knowing the answer itself.

Final Thoughts

This post has gone long — and there’s more to share if you want a Part 2.

Enjoy the process, and keep motivating yourself every single day. I used to ask myself every night: "Why did I take up this course?" Whenever I felt like giving up, I’d turn to the India vs Pakistan 2022 T20 WC finish, or the India vs Australia Women’s WC, for that extra push.

Find your moment. You will always keep pushing.