Is practice manual enough for CA final SFM?

CA Final SFM combines theory with practical applications. The subject discusses the theories, concepts, assumptions and mechanics underlying financial decisions like investment, financing, and dividend. It also discusses sources and instruments of short term and long term finances, mergers & acquisitions, international financial management and derivative products. The subject helps students to relate theories and concepts to practice.

The institute provides very good quality study material and one should use the same as the base and a reference point to start with. It is often observed that the students spend a lot of time, energy and effort looking for sfm notes, sfm downloads, sfm study material etc. however, ICAI material (CA Final Practice Manual) for SFM CA Final is comprehensive as well as exhaustive. SFM Syllabus and official curriculum is a good place to start along with the SFM Practice Manual provided by the institute.

As the subject is very wide in nature below are the benefits of practice manual:

• Practice Manual is a good way of benchmarking one self and one’s preparation

First and foremost Practice Manual outlines the CA Syllabus. The same can be used by students to prepare a topic wise list of learning and practice outcomes for the CA final exam. The main features of the practice manual are as follows:

1. Concepts in brief including definitions, equation and formula for each topic

2. Large compilation of questions and answers from previous years

The chapter wise compilation of questions helps the students to get a strong grip on the concepts related to that particular chapter.

• Practice Manual helps one get a flair of a variety of questions that the institute can come up with.

The main aim of CA Final Practice Manual provided by the ICAI is to provide guidelines and pointers to how the answers should be written in the exams. SFM material provided by ICAI in the form of practice manual covers a large variety of sums for conceptual understanding and practice. The same also helps the students understand the pattern of CA exams and a glimpse of things to come, something very similar to CA final mock test papers.

Though there are a lot of sfm books available in the market, it depends on an individual’s preparation strategy. However, it is recommended that the student use ICAI Practice Manual as a base and maybe use a couple of books as reference books to get conceptual understanding of specific topics around practice manual questions. CA final SFM Classes, SFM Live, SFM pen drive lectures and SFM pen drive classes are also available for a few of the renowned faculties. There are faculties who are popular locally as well as at the national level, however, students may make their own choice from the best faculty for CA final SFM.

• Whether Old Syllabus or New

The ICAI has a well published practice manual old course SFM CA Final however, they do not have a designated practice manual for new course SFM CA Final. Students registered under the new course can use the old course practice manual baring four chapters (Capital Budgeting, Leasing, Financial Services and Dividend Policy) for the purpose of practice as the subject has not undergone any change.

• It’s a good reality check to understand the level and complexity of questions

The institute expects the CA students to cover the entire syllabus of CA Final SFM and also practice the questions on their own while reviewing and studying the practice manual provided. Students are also expected to keep themselves updated with the latest news and changes in the financial sector through various newspapers and journals published by the board of studies, the monthly journal ‘The Chartered Accountant’.

• And of course, it is meant for practice.

This is one of the most important and often ignored aspects of your preparation for CA Final Exams. SFM has a lot of mathematical and Statistical applications and hence writing practice of a variety of sums on a regular basis would lead to greater control and understanding of the subject. Practice is so important that while you read the question one should be able to copy the relevant data onto the answer sheet. So, Keep practising in order to make yourself perfectly prepared for the subject.

• SFM Revision

As the portion is exhaustive and given the fact that CA Final Students have to write exams back to back it becomes important for one to spend a reasonable amount of time revising the subject before the exams. Choose revision lectures of a faculty you are familiar with and one is comfortable with his / her nomenclature. As the topics are complex and there are a lot of applications and formulas to remember it helps immensely to do revision to maximise the score.