ICAI Exam Pattern 2023: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India lays out the CA exam pattern for students who are willing to appear for the accountancy exam. The exam is conducted by ICAI and takes place twice a year. The exam pattern helps in training the candidate in accounting and taxation. Candidates can check the exam pattern from the official website of the ICAI. Exam pattern plays an important aspect in the preparation of a candidate as it helps them to have an idea about the number and type of questions that will be asked in the examination. ICAI CA final exam started on May 2, 2023, and concluded on May 17, 2023. The CA exam took place in 160 cities across India. Also, the ICAI is conducting the exam in 8 overseas centres.
Candidates must know that the exam is divided into three levels: Foundation, Intermediate, and Final. Candidates are required to qualify for all the levels in order to gain certification. The ICAI CA exam pattern is different for all three levels of the CA courses, and candidates are required to be well-versed in it. The CA exams are for those candidates who are willing to become Chartered Accountants. Since the exam is conducted in two sessions, the first session takes place in May, and the second session takes place in the month of December.
Candidates who are preparing for the accountancy exam are advised to go through the exam pattern in order to do proper time management for the topics which contain higher weightage. Candidates who are appearing for the examination must note that the exam syllabus is provided in two languages English and Hindi. One of the most important things that a candidate needs to note is that the ICAI has not made any changes in the ICAI CA exam pattern for the 2023 sessions.
ICAI CA Exam Pattern
Candidates who belong to the English medium school are provided with the English syllabus, whereas candidates who have studied in the Hindi medium get CA question papers in a bilingual language. Candidates may use Hindi to answer the questions on the Accounting, Taxation, and Advanced Accounting examination papers.
Candidates must know that there are four papers in the CA foundation exam. While papers 1 and 2 are subjective types, papers 3 and 4 are objective types. The total mark for the CA exam is 400 where each paper is for 100 marks.
ICAI CA Foundation Exam Pattern 2023
The CA Foundation is the initial level of the Chartered Accountancy programme. Candidates who appear for the CA examination after completing their class 12th appear for the CA Foundation exam. Further, candidates also have to qualify for the examination. The CA
The Foundation exam has been further divided into four parts, and candidates have to separately clear all four exams. Candidates must know that the minimum score required to qualify for the CA Foundation exam is 40 per cent marks in each paper, whereas candidates have to score 55 per cent overall across all four papers.
Take a look below at the marking scheme of skill assessment -CA Foundation course below :
ICAI CA Foundation Papers
|
Level I: Comprehension & Knowledge
|
1
|
Principles and Practice of Accounting
|
5%-20%
|
2A
|
Business Laws
|
50%-65%
|
2B
|
Business Correspondence and Reporting
|
100%
|
3
|
Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning & Statistics
|
-
|
4I
|
Business Economics
|
40%-50%
|
4II
|
Business and Commercial Knowledge
|
100%
|
ICAI CA Foundation Papers
|
Level II: Application
|
1
|
Principles and Practice of Accounting
|
80%-95%
|
2A
|
Business Laws
|
35%-50%
|
2B
|
Business Correspondence and Reporting
|
-
|
3
|
Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning & Statistics
|
100%
|
4I
|
Business Economics
|
50%-60%
|
4II
|
Business and Commercial Knowledge
|
-
|
Exam Pattern of CA Intermediate Exam
The second level of the CA exam is the CA Intermediate level. Those candidates who begin their course after completing their graduation are required to appear for the CA Intermediate Exam. Additionally, the CA Intermediate level of the test consists of two groups—Group I and Group II—as well as two courses—New Scheme and Old Scheme.
Take a look at the given below table which describes the marking scheme of the ICAI CA Intermediate Exam:
ICAI CA Intermediate Papers
|
Level I
Comprehension & Knowledge
|
1
|
Accounting
|
5%-15%
|
2
|
Part I: Company Law
|
40%-55%
|
2
|
Part II: Other Laws
|
35%-55%
|
3
|
Cost and Management Accounting
|
20%-30%
|
4A
|
Income-tax law
|
5%-20%
|
4B
|
Indirect Taxes
|
20%-45%
|
5
|
Advanced Accounting
|
5%-15%
|
6
|
Auditing and Assurance
|
30%-55%
|
7A
|
Enterprise Information Systems
|
40%-65%
|
7B
|
Strategic Management
|
50%-70%
|
8A
|
Financial Management
|
20%-30%
|
8B
|
Economics for Finance
|
60%-80%
|
ICAI CA Intermediate Papers
|
Level II
Analysis & Application
|
1
|
Accounting
|
85%-95%
|
2
|
Part I: Company Law
|
45%-60%
|
2
|
Part II: Other Laws
|
45%-65%
|
3
|
Cost and Management Accounting
|
70%-80%
|
4A
|
Income-tax law
|
80%-95%
|
4B
|
Indirect Taxes
|
55%-80%
|
5
|
Advanced Accounting
|
85%-95%
|
6
|
Auditing and Assurance
|
45%-70%
|
7A
|
Enterprise Information Systems
|
35%-60%
|
7B
|
Strategic Management
|
30%-50%
|
8A
|
Financial Management
|
70%-80%
|
8B
|
Economics for Finance
|
20%-40%
|
Exam Pattern of CA Final Exam
The final level of the examination is the CA Final level. Once the candidate has qualified for the CA Final level, then he or she is completely eligible to get certified by the ICAI to practice Chartered Accountancy professionally. Further, this level also consists of two schemes – New Scheme and Old Scheme and two groups – Group I and Group II. Take a look below at the marking scheme of the ICAI CA Final exam:
ICAI CA Final Papers
|
Level I
Comprehension & Knowledge
|
1
|
Financial Reporting
|
5%-15%
|
2
|
Strategic Financial Management
|
10%-20%
|
3
|
Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics
|
15%-25%
|
4
|
Corporate & Economic Laws
Part I: Corporate Law
|
15%-25%
|
Part II: Economic Laws
|
30%-50%
|
5
|
Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation
|
10%-15%
|
7
|
Direct Tax Laws & International Taxation
Part I: Direct Tax Laws
|
5%-10%
|
Part II: International Taxation
|
40%-50%
|
8
|
Indirect Tax Laws
Part I: Goods and Services Tax
|
10%-30%
|
Part II: Customs & FTP
|
20%-40%
|
ICAI CA Final Papers
|
Level II
Analysis & Application
|
1
|
Financial Reporting
|
55%-85%
|
2
|
Strategic Financial Management
|
20%-40%
|
3
|
Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics
|
40%-70%
|
4
|
Corporate & Economic Laws
Part I: Corporate Law
|
40%-55%
|
Part II: Economic Laws
|
50%-70%
|
5
|
Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation
|
45%-55%
|
7
|
Direct Tax Laws & International Taxation
Part I: Direct Tax Laws
|
55%-75%
|
Part II: International Taxation
|
50%-60%
|
8
|
Indirect Tax Laws
Part I: Goods and Services Tax
|
40%-70%
|
Part II: Customs & FTP
|
40%-70%
|
ICAI CA Final Papers
|
Level III
Evaluation & Synthesis
|
1
|
Financial Reporting
|
15%-25%
|
2
|
Strategic Financial Management
|
50%-60%
|
3
|
Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics
|
20%-30%
|
4
|
Corporate & Economic Laws
Part I: Corporate Law
|
30%-35%
|
Part II: Economic Laws
|
5
|
Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation
|
35%-40%
|
7
|
Direct Tax Laws & International Taxation
Part I: Direct Tax Laws
|
20%-35%
|
Part II: International Taxation
|
8
|
Indirect Tax Laws
Part I: Goods and Services Tax
|
20%-30%
|
Part II: Customs & FTP
|
10%-20%
|
Minimum Qualifying Marks for CA Intermediate
The passing marks for CA Intermediate have been prescribed by ICAI. To pass the CA Inter exam, candidates must achieve at least a 40% on each paper and 50% overall in each group (minimum 200 marks in each group).
Candidates who will not be able to secure the minimum marks prescribed by the exam conducting body will not be eligible to claim the certificate.
CA Syllabus 2023
The CA course syllabus consists of topics related to taxation, auditing and business law. Candidates must know that the CA exam has been divided into three levels - CA Foundation, CA Intermediate, and CA Final. The syllabus for the accountancy exam has been released on the official website, and candidates can download the syllabus in pdf format.