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

Edit: Happy to share I cleared CA Final!!!

Edit: link to part 2- special summaries, hacks, youtube videos: https://www.reddit.com/r/CharteredAccountants/comments/1tcugtq/ca_final_more_hacks_mustwatch_videos/

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.

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

​• 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.

​​• 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.

This is very serious. I didn't expect ICAI to be this careless about data security of their students. I came across this post on X where it claims that all CA students data is breached and published. Hacker has got into BOS portal of ICAI and extracted all students data. I didn't believe at first, but when I really go and looked up my Student Registration Number, all of my personal details were there like my Registration No, Full Name, My Personal Mobile Number, Email ID, Gender as well as full address. I verified information by myself and it is true and 100% correct l. Data leak is real this time. This raises concerns about how ICAI is managing all students data in such a careless manner. We should all immediately mail ICAI for this data breach and tell them to patch their all websites.

I just pass my foundation and want to join offline classes in kolkata so....if anyone can suggest me a good faculty then it will be good...

May 26 was my 2nd foundation attempt and I only scored 120. What should I do?

So i gave my CA foundation 1st attempt in jan 2026 and gave 2nd in May 2026 and scored almost same marks with self study

Should i give Sept as my last attempt or should I just quit?

So I have passed ca found today please help me to find ca inter faculty like which batch should I purchase online or should I go offline but I have my regular college (delhi) please suggest some good teachers

Hi everyone,

I'm a 22-year-old male (turning 23 soon) and I've recently completed my post-graduation.

For quite some time, I've genuinely wanted to pursue CA, but due to various reasons I couldn't start earlier. Now I'm seriously considering enrolling through the Direct Entry Route.

I have a few questions:

1. Is starting CA at 23 considered too late?
2. Realistically, how long would it take to complete CA if everything goes according to plan?
3. Is it difficult to find articleship at this stage, considering my age and educational background?
4. If anyone here started CA in their 20s through the Direct Entry Route, I'd appreciate hearing about your experience and any advice you have.

I'm aware that CA is a demanding course, and I'm prepared to put in the effort. I just want to understand the practical aspects before I commit.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

I have watched demo lectures of Ajay Agarwal,Pavan Karmele,Pravin Kathod,Pratik Jagati. I didn’t like Ajay Agarwal’s demo lecture, rest all were good but I liked Pravin Kathod the most but I’ve heard doubts regarding his books and question solving from people who have taken his classes.
So please suggest me the best faculty for AFM in your experience (preferably in detail).

yo I recently cleared CA Intermediate and would really appreciate some guidance on starting my CA Final preparation.

could you please answer these questions?

1. Which subject should I start with(fr/afm) + faculty+ their review or if multiple faculty to follow or multiple books or so
2. Which SPOM paper should I complete first( A&B OR C&D) ?
3. what to choose for set c and d + its impact on ibs if any
4. What are the biggest mistakes to avoid when starting CA Final preparation?

Any tips or advice from your experience would be really helpful

So here's the full story (skip to last para after ** where I actually asked for advice if you're not interested. I wrote all this just coz I can't be this honest IRL with someone, contains a lot of stupidity).

I was doing fine till 10th, gave boards in march 2020, but then covid came and my schooling switched to online, and same for 12th but I passed both 10th and 12th with 85% and 83% resp. After that I tried to move abroad but then later dropped that plan, since I took this decision late, I missed the next year's CUET date as well, an Entire year dropped.

Now in june 2023 I enrolled in CA Foundation, and also enrolled on SOL DU BCOM prog. I cleared foundation in first attempt and then started for intermediate, and this is where the onset of my academic depression began.

Early signs were the same as everyone else, Paid no attention in classes for the next 6 months, doomscrolled 24/7 watched p*rn regularly, no time management, and an absolutely shitty diet and fitness routine. I had 4 months after my classed ended to prepare for my Jan25 attempt so I registered for both groups. However, the ill effect of my habits were so severe I couldn't even sit in front of a book for more than 2 minutes. So I relied heavily on youtube revisions but again, paid 0 attention. By the time there were 10 days left for my exams, I knew I was gonna fail but a part of me was still in denial. I sat through all 6 exams and scored a total of 175/600. (95+80)

Of course everyone was shocked since studies was the only thing I was at least half decent at. I decided to sit for G1 in may25 and again relied on youtube revisions but joined a library for a month, and even though I relied on youtube alone without any writing practice. I failed again but scored 129 this time with no change in law marks, but did improve in Accounts and tax.

For september25 I enrolled in Audit EOB from Neeraj Arora and Law EOB from Shubham Singhal, and again joined a library for 2 months. This time I actually studied a little bit from the books directly but still very little writing practice. I scored 276 (150+126) and finally managed to clear G1 courtesy some grace marks in law, missed a cost exemption by 1 mark, and increased my audit score from 18 in jan to 34 in sep25 (FMSM went from 27 to 33), again I could've scored more but didn't study effectively.

I again purchased Rishabh jain's EOB because I found his SM revision lecture good during my sep attempt and then decided to watch his revisions on yt. But this time I got complacent again, I decided not to join a library this time (huge mistake honestly) and decided to just study at home. My bad habit got amplified again due to me sitting in my room 24/7 because I have like, 1 non CA friend whom I meet like once every 2 months so I had no socialization. I think you know where this is going. no writing practice again, and I only managed to score 132, got even less in costing than sep25 but increased 5 in audit and 3 in FMSM. By this time even my parents were recommending me to leave CA and consider MBA.

I decided to appear again in may26 because 1. My bcom cgp sucked atp (5.5) and I didn't know If I would be eligible for and MBA; and 2. I wanted to actually study properly as because understanding was not an issue, effort was, basically it was kinda an ego issue. I decided to enroll in a library for 2 months, actually tracked my hours for those 2 months, memorized from the book, practices question in all 4 subjects. And lo and behold, 208/300 (81/69/58). I actually ended up clearing with good marks so there some confidence restored.

I am left with my IT which will be over by 29/7. The reason I didn't do it earlier is because I was not sure of my result so enrolled now. But what after IT is what I am actually kinda nervous about, mainly the interviews. ATP I cleared my 12th like, 4 years ago and have nothing but fnd and intermediate since, not even some internships or shit, I was sitting at home this entire time. I have ONE bcom exam left of sem 6 which I will have to appear for next year because I missed it last month.

**

Now here's what I need advice for. I have one month until I start applying for interviews because I've decided to leave my bad habits and need to improve my communication before I sit in an interview. So what I wanna know is :

What are my chances in big20?

How do I prepare for the interview and improve my communication and speaking skills in general?

What resources helped you if you were in this situation?

What specific knowledge should I possess about the domains which will be asked in the interview?

What other questions are asked in a BIG20 interview?

Are there any resources on line to prepare myself for an interview?

Should I register for finals and try to knock SPOM off the list before I join articleship?

TLDR: 5 inter attempts, IT pending, 12th cleared in 2022, no communication skills, no work-ex, how do I prepare for the articleship interview (big20 specifically), how do i make connections in general irl?

yo I recently cleared CA Intermediate and would really appreciate some guidance on starting my CA Final preparation.

could you please answer these questions?

1. Which subject should I start with(fr/afm) + faculty+ their review or if multiple faculty to follow or multiple books or so
2. Which SPOM paper should I complete first( A&B OR C&D) ?
3. what to choose for set c and d + its impact on ibs if any
4. What are the biggest mistakes to avoid when starting CA Final preparation?

Any tips or advice from your experience would be really helpful

Is it possible to crack grp 2 in 2 months if I start from 3rd July?
(I have cleared grp 1 scoring 182 in may 26 attempt)

Hi! I'm preparing for the CA Foundation September attempt, and guess what? I just can't study. I honestly don't know why, but I can't bring myself to do it.

So now I'm looking for someone to study with someone who'll actually tell me to get back to studying, keep me accountable, and maybe make it feel like a friendly competition.

There have been so many things going on in my life lately that instead of studying, I keep making excuses like "I'll start tomorrow." To avoid thinking about everything, I've been doom-scrolling reels all day. My screen time has reached 17 hours, and I'm so fucking done with myself.

I genuinely need help. If anyone else is preparing for the September attempt and wants an accountability partner or a study buddy, please let me know😭😭