Chartered Accountancy (CA) Syllabus 2024: Subjects, Semester-wise Syllabus PDF, Top Colleges, Books

Updated on Jan 23, 2023 04:50 IST
Parul Thapa

Parul ThapaSenior Executive Content

Chartered Accountant syllabus includes topics related to accounting, financial management, business law, taxation, auditing and assurance, etc. The CA course has three levels – Foundation, Intermediate and Final. The syllabus of CA for each level is designed to equip the candidate with knowledge, skills, training and nuances of accounting and financial dealings of a business organisation to ensure it complies with the country’s rules and regulations for legal operations.  

In India, Chartered Accounting is one of the most popular career options. It is not an easy field, but it provides a great career rewards. Chartered Accountants are seen in high regard by all because it is tough to be one and tougher as a profession. India, the ICAI in charge of regulating and upholding the profession of a Chartered Accountant.

Also Read:

CA Overview

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CA Syllabus – Important Facts about the course

  • CA is not a fixed semester course: The minimum duration of the Chartered Accountancy course for someone pursuing after Class 12 is 4.5 years. The minimum duration required for the CA course if applying after completing graduation (via Direct Entry Scheme) is three years.
  • Scope in India: The scope of Chartered Accountancy is wide in India and worldwide as it is the backbone of financial operations of any business organisation. CAs can choose to practice independently for individual clients and companies or work with accounting/auditing firms/financial organisations in government, public, or private sectors.
  • General examination pattern: Only after passing all of these levels of the course is a candidate deemed a Chartered Accountant and verified as such. CA examinations are as follows:
    • Foundation
    • Intermediate
    • Final
  • Eligibility: After finishing 10+2 or equivalent, one may enroll for CA Foundation level course with the ICAI. After passing the Foundation level course, candidates may register for the intermediate level programme while still pursuing graduation.
  • Chartered Accountant Syllabus: The broad topics included in CA syllabus include the following:
    • Principles and Practises of Accounting
    • Business Law & Business Correspondence and Reporting
    • Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning & Statistics
    • Business Economics & Business and Commercial Knowledge

CA Syllabus

Core Subjects in CA Courses

In the CA course, candidates have to acquire knowledge and skills that are required for performing the role of a chartered accountant efficiently. Given below is the table listing the subjects that are a part of Chartered Accountant syllabus.  

Subject title

Subject details

Fundamentals of Accounting

The fundamentals of accounting involve record keeping which is really the primary function of accounting. A company must adopt standard methods of storing and maintaining information so that it may be accessed when needed.

Quantitative Aptitude

The quantitative aptitude portion is included in almost all major competitive tests to assess applicants' numerical abilities. Includes the study of problems that are posed in the form of word puzzles, graphs, or data interpretation.

Mercantile Law

Mercantile Law is a collection of all the laws used by a company to manage or oversee its commercial operations.

General Economics

General economics is concerned with the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics is divided into two branches: macroeconomics, which studies the behaviour of the economy as a whole, and microeconomics, which studies individual individuals and enterprises.

General English

General English questions are aimed to assess applicants' knowledge and grasp of fundamental grammar, vocabulary, and essential principles of the English language.

Accounting

Accounting is all about documenting an organisation’s  financial transactions. Accounting financial statements are a succinct overview of financial activities that summarise a company's operations, financial status, and cash flows throughout an accounting period.

Cost Accounting and Financial Management

Cost accounting entails the creation of a wide variety of reports required by management to operate a business. Financial accounting entails creating a consistent set of reporting for an external audience.

Advanced Accounting

Accounting activities, patterns, mergers of public holding corporations, foreign currency operations, and modifying financial statements issued in foreign and local currencies are all covered.

Corporate and Other Laws

There are several laws that apply to various sorts of transactions carried out by a business concern, such as raising capital, receiving a loan, purchasing products, and so on.

Information Technology and Strategic Management

It entails a thorough examination of the organisational, economic, regulatory, and socio-technical difficulties that occur during IT adoption in industry and government, as well as how to successfully handle such concerns.

Taxation Auditing and Assurance

The subject focuses on the concept of independent financial statement inspection, which is something that a Chartered Accountant excels at in his professional career.

Business Laws, Ethics, and Communication

Business ethics is the study of appropriate business rules and procedures pertaining to potentially contentious issues such as corporate governance, insider trading, bribery, discrimination, corporate social responsibility, and fiduciary obligations.

Elective Subjects in CA Final Course

Candidates get the opportunity to choose an elective subject in the Final level of CA course. There is only one elective paper in the CA Final course. Check the table below for details of elective subjects included in CA syllabus:

Chartered Accountant Subjects

Subject details

Risk Management

The process of discovering, analysing, and managing risks to an organisation's capital and profitability.

International Taxation

Determination of tax on a person or entity subject to several countries' tax laws, or the international aspects of a single country's tax laws.

Economic Laws

Most economic laws, such as the law of declining marginal utility, the law of equi-marginal utility, the law of demand, are behaviourist in nature, relying on human behaviour.

Financial Services and Capital Markets

Initial Pages/Global Financial Markets/Impact of various Policies of Financial Markets/Capital Market - Primary/Capital Market - Secondary/Money Market/Institutions and Intermediaries/Commodity Market/Banking as Source of Capital Including NBFCs/Mutual Fund/Private Equity/Investment Banking/Credit Rating/Treasury Operations/Risk Management/Credit Derivatives/Leasing/Factoring

Initial Pages/SEBI (ICDR) Regulations, 2018/SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015/SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2018/SEBI (Buy-Back of Securities) Regulations, 2018/SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996

Global Financial Reporting Standards

The curriculum for Global Financial Reporting Standards contains the following topics:

  1. Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting in accordance with IFRS.
  2. Application of International Financial Reporting Standards.
  3. Significant difference between IFRS and US GAAPs.

Multidisciplinary Case Studies

Multidisciplinary Case Studies includes the following topics:

1. Financial Accounting and Reporting

2. Audit and Assurance

3. Taxation

4. Finance and Financial Management

5. Management Accounting

6. Corporate Laws

7. Business Strategy and Management

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Detailed Syllabus for CA

The Chartered Accountant syllabus pertains to taxing, finances and business laws. Given below is the table indicating CA syllabus for Foundation, Intermediate and Final courses:

CA Course

Papers

Chartered Accountant Subjects

CA Foundation Course

Paper 1

Principles and Practices of Accounting           

Paper 2

Section A: Business Laws

Section B: Business Correspondence and Reporting

Paper 3           

Part 1: Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning Part

Part 2: Statistics         

Paper 4           

Part 1: Business Economics

Part 2: Business and Commercial Knowledge

CA Intermediate Course (Group I)

Paper 1 

Accounting

Paper 2

Corporate Laws and Other Laws

Paper 3

Cost and Management Accounting

Paper 4

Taxation

CA Intermediate Course (Group II)

Paper 5

Advanced Accounting

Paper 6

Auditing and Assurance

Paper 7

Enterprise Information System and Strategic Management

Paper 8

Financial Management and Economics for Finance

CA Final Course (Group I)

Paper 1

Financial Reporting

Paper 2

Strategic Financial Management

Paper 3

Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics

Paper 4

Corporate and Economic Laws

CA Final Course (Group II)

 

Paper 5

Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation

Paper 6 (Electives)

Paper 6A: Risk Management

Paper 6B: Financial Services and Capital Markets

Paper 6C: International Taxation

Paper 6D: Economic Laws

Paper 6E: Global Financial Reporting Standards

 

Paper 6F: Multidisciplinary Case Study

Paper 7

Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation

Paper 8

Indirect Tax Laws

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CA Courses

CA Syllabus: Books and Authors

CA is one of the most difficult exams to pass, and acing it requires using the appropriate resources and putting all of one's efforts in the right place. Shiksha has listed some of the main CA books that are necessary to study Chartered Accountant subjects.

Chartered Accountant Subjects

Book title

Author

Description

CA Foundation Level

Fundamentals of Accounting for CA-  CPT

Tulsian and Bharat Tulsian

The book discusses the various fundamental concepts of accounting and follows the syllabus requirements of the CA-CPT examination.

CA IPCC Level

Practical Approach to Direct and Indirect Taxes: Income Tax and GST

Girish Ahuja and Ravi Gupta

The book aims to help and enable the readers to understand the intricate problems relating to Income Tax and GST.

CA Final Level

Strategic Cost Management and Performance

Evaluation: CA Final New Syllabus

B Saravana Prasath

This book helps understand various concepts related to decisions in financial management like financing decisions, investment decisions and dividend decisions.

CA

Mercantile Law

MC Kuchhal and Vivek Kuchhal

This law teaches the fundamental principles of the basic laws of modern business.

CA Foundation Level

CA Foundation Principles and Practice of Accounting

Taxmann

The book has 23 chapters. It includes the complete theory of the topics in lucid, simple style & covers 350+ illustrations with working notes and 100+ practice questions.

Top Colleges Offering CA Courses

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India, has administrative responsibility over the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), which is the country's largest accounting profession association. The Indian Parliament passed the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 to promote and regulate the profession of chartered accounting in India.

The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) in India provides guidance for accounting principles and international standards on auditing to the Government of India, which establishes the Standards on Auditing (SAs) to be followed in the audit of financial statements in India. The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI), the Universities of Delhi, Calicut, and Uttar Pradesh are the other notable accounting research organisations in India.

The below list mentions the name of a few institutes offering CA learning:

  1. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Noida
  2. Northern India Regional Council of ICAI
  3. Navkar Institute
  4. Indian Institute of Finance and Accounts Pune
  5. CMS For CA, Hyderabad
  6. Siddhartha Academy, Thane
  7. Academy of Commerce
  8. Nahata Professional Academy
  9. Vidya Sagar Institute
  10. Chanakya Academy for Management and Professional Studies (CHAMPS)

Read More:

What is ICAI?

FAQs on Chartered Accountant Syllabus

Q: Can I finish CA in four years?

A: No. After completing Class 12, the CA course takes around five years, and after graduation, it takes about 4.5 years. Similarly, finishing the Chartered Accountancy Course will take approximately seven years following the tenth grade. However, the length of the Chartered Accountancy course also grows with the number of attempts.

Q: Is CA course challenging?

A: Yes, the CA course is considered challenging as it involves a lot of reading and practice. Most of the students don’t clear all the three levels of the course in one attempt due to its high difficulty level.

Q: How many CA examinations are there?

A: The CA examinations the ICAI in India. The examinations are conducted for CA Foundation, IPCC and CA Final course. To get the CA certification from ICAI, candidates must pass all CA exams.

Q: Is it important to score high in Class 12 for CA course?

A: No, it is not important to score high in class 12 for CA course as the minimum eligibility criteria is 50 per cent marks in aggregate. However, candidates must have a strong base in accounting and maths to be able handle the CA syllabus well.

Q: What is the format of the CA exam?

A: CA Foundation, CA Intermediate, 3-year Articleship Training, and CA Final are the four stages of the Chartered Accountancy course. Students at each level are tested on various topics included in the CA syllabus. The exam is conducted twice – May and December in pen and paper mode at various exam centres across India. The exam duration is two to three hours.

Q: What is the duration of the Articleship necessary before taking the CA final exam?

A: According to the qualifying requirements for appearing in the CA final test, the applicant must have completed at least 2.5 months of Articleship under a practising CA or as per ICAI standards. Candidates will be ineligible to take the exam unless they have completed the required period of Articleship. However, according to the ICAI, the entire training time is three years to finish the CA final programme.

Q: What if we don't pass a CA level?

A: CA candidature is valid for five years after registering for the course. If a CA aspirant fails the CA final examinations, they may retake the tests later. They are only required to attend the CA final examinations, not all of them.

Q: How many groups are there in CA?

A: CA Final is the last stage of the Chartered Accountant course. The CA Final level consists of eight subjects split into two groups. The examination papers in the two groups are based on accounting, law, auditing, financial management, direct tax, indirect tax, information system and control data, and advanced management accounting.

Q: Can highlighters be used in CA exams?

A: Candidates are advised not to use red, green, or highlighter ink, highlighter, sketch pen, or any other kind of pen for underlining or highlighting any sentence/paragraph since this equates to establishing a distinguishing mark, which is forbidden. Candidates may create graphs, diagrams, and other drawings using pencils.

Q: What is the passing criteria for the CA Foundation exam?

A: There are four papers in the CA Foundation examination. CA Foundation exam is for 400 marks, where each paper is for 100 marks. To pass the CA Foundation exam, you must get at least 40 per cent in each subject and an overall score of 50 per cent. As a result, if you fail one of the subjects, you will not be considered a qualified applicant.

Q: What are the educational requirements for registering for the CA final level exam?

A: The following requirements apply to all applicants based on the educational qualifying criteria:
  • The applicant must have passed both groups of the CA IPCC level test.
  • Candidates must have passed both categories of the CA intermediate test.
  • Candidates must have registered with the BOS per the ICAI qualifying standards.

Q: Which Chartered Accountant subjects are covered in Paper 1 of the Foundation course, Principles and Practice of Accounting?

A: Paper 1 is divided into two components. The first module covers the theoretical accounting basis. It covers the accounting process, dealing with specific transactions, depreciation accounting, inventory, and bank reconciliation statements. The second lesson delves into partnership and company accounting. As a result, applicants learn how to create single proprietorship final accounts. They also learn about company accounts and financial statements for non-profit organisations.

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