Core Paper Syllabi (Papers 1-6)

CA Final Paper 1: Financial Reporting (100 marks)

Objective: Apply Ind AS (Indian Accounting Standards) in practical scenarios to prepare financial statements and group accounts.

Key topics:

1. Introduction to General Purpose Financial Statements as per Ind AS
- Schedule III of Companies Act, 2013 (Division II)

2. Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting under Ind AS

3. Application of Ind AS:
- Presentation: Ind AS 1, Ind AS 34, Ind AS 7 (Cash Flows)
- Measurement: Ind AS 8, Ind AS 10, Ind AS 113 (Fair Value)
- Income: Ind AS 115 (Revenue from Contracts with Customers)
- Assets & Liabilities: Ind AS 2, 16, 116, 23, 36, 38, 40, 105, 19, 37
- Disclosure: Ind AS 24, Ind AS 33, Ind AS 108 (Operating Segments)
- Other Ind AS: 20, 102, 41
- Financial Instruments: Ind AS 32, Ind AS 109, Ind AS 107 (incl. Hedge Accounting, Derivatives, Embedded Derivatives)

4. Ind AS on Group Accounting:
- Business Combinations (Ind AS 103)
- Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements (Ind AS 110, 111, 27, 28, 112)

5. First-time adoption of Ind AS (Ind AS 101)

6. Analysis of Financial Statements (as per Ind AS)

7. Ethics with Accounting Concepts

8. Technology and Accounting (Evolution of Accounting in technological environment)

CA Final Paper 2: Advanced Financial Management (100 marks)

1. Financial Policy and Corporate Strategy (Advanced CFO role, Value Creation, Sustainable growth)
2. Risk Management (Types of Risk, Financial Risk Evaluation, Value at Risk)
3. Advanced Capital Budgeting (Inflation impact, Technology impact, APV, Replacement Cycle)
4. Security Analysis (Fundamental, Technical Analysis, EMH, Equity Research)
5. Security Valuation (Theory of Valuation, Return Concepts, Equity/Preference/Debenture Valuation, Role of Valuers)
6. Portfolio Management (Portfolio Analysis, Selection, Capital Market Theory, Portfolio Revision, Alternative Investments — Real Estate, Gold, PE, REITs, Hedge Funds, ETFs, Commodities)
7. Securitization (Concept, Participants, Instruments, Tokenization, Securitization in India)
8. Mutual Funds (Types, NAV, Evaluation, Hedge Funds, Role of FIIs)
9. Derivatives Analysis and Valuation (Forwards, Futures, Options — Pricing/Greeks/Exotic, Credit Derivatives, Real Options, Swaps, Commodity/Weather/Electricity Derivatives)
10. Foreign Exchange Exposure and Risk Management (Rate Determination, SWIFT, Payment Gateways, Managing Forex Risk)
11. International Financial Management (International Capital Budgeting, GIFT City, Multinational Cash/Receivables/Inventory Management)
12. Interest Rate Risk Management (Benchmark Rates, Hedging — ALM, FRA, Interest Rate Futures/Options/Swaps/Swaptions)
13. Business Valuation (Assets/Earnings/Cash Flow models, CAPM, Relative Valuation, EVA/MVA/SVA, Startup/Digital Platform Valuation, ESG impact)
14. Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate Restructuring (M&A Financial Framework, Divestitures, Ownership Restructuring, Cross Border Mergers, SPACs)
15. Startup Finance (Unicorn Concept, Startup Initiative of GOI, Sources of Funding, Succession Planning)

CA Final Paper 3: Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics (100 marks)

1. Quality Control (SQC 1, SA 220)
2. General Auditing Principles and Auditors Responsibilities:
- SA 240 (Fraud), SA 250 (Laws & Regulations), SA 260 (Communication), SA 299 (Joint Audit), SA 402 (Service Organisations)
3. Audit Planning, Strategy and Execution:
- SA 300, SA 450, SA 520, SA 540, SA 610, SA 620
4. Materiality, Risk Assessment and Internal Control (SA 265, Risk-Based Audit, SA 330)
5. Audit Evidence (Application of SA 500 series at Final level)
6. Completion and Review (Application of SA 560, SA 570, SA 580)
7. Reporting:
- SA 700, SA 701, SA 705, SA 706, SA 710, SA 720
8. Specialized Areas (SA 800, SA 805, SA 810)
9. Audit-related Services (SRS 4400, SRS 4410)
10. Review of Financial Information (SRE 2400, SRE 2410)
11. Prospective Financial Information and Other Assurance Services (SAE 3400, SAE 3402, SAE 3420)
12. Digital Auditing and Assurance (CAAT, Data Analytics, AI, Remote Auditing)
13. Group Audits (SA 600, Consolidated Financial Statement Audit)
14. Special Features of Audit of Banks and NBFCs
15. Overview of Audit of Public Sector Undertakings (Propriety/Performance/Comprehensive Audit)
16. Internal Audit (Companies Act 2013, ICAI Internal Audit Standards)
17. Due Diligence, Investigation and Forensic Accounting (Types of Fraud, Forensic Accounting and Investigation Standards)
18. Emerging Areas: SDGs, ESG Assurance
19. Professional Ethics and Liabilities of Auditors (IESBA Code, CA Act 1949, CA Regulations 1988)

CA Final Paper 4: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation (100 marks)

Part I — Direct Tax Laws:
1. Comprehensive computation of income-tax liability under alternative tax regimes:
- General provisions for companies and other entities
- Special tax regimes for companies and other entities
- Tax planning optimisation
- Special Provisions: Charitable trusts, political parties, electoral trusts, business trusts, securitisation trusts, investment funds
- Anti-avoidance provisions
- Provisions for tax challenges on digitalisation

2. Tax Administration and Appellate Mechanism:
- Deduction, Collection and Recovery of Tax
- Income-tax Authorities
- Assessment Procedures
- Appeals, Revision and Dispute Resolution
- Provisions to counteract unethical tax practices (undisclosed income, foreign income/assets, penalties)
- Miscellaneous Provisions
- Tax Audit

Part II — International Taxation:
3. Cross Border Transactions and Non-Resident Taxation:
- Transfer Pricing
- Non-resident Taxation
- Double Taxation Relief
- Advance Ruling

4. Other Aspects of International Taxation:
- Significant articles of OECD and UN Model Tax Conventions
- Fundamentals of BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting)
- Application and Interpretation of Tax Treaties
- Latest developments in International Taxation