Start with the official ICAI study material for your level and build your entire plan around it instead of random notes. Break the syllabus into small daily targets, finish it at least two months before the exam, and reserve the final phase for three revisions, RTPs, MTPs and mock tests. Consistency matters more than occasional long study days — for example, the CA exam preparation time for Intermediate is usually around 8–10 months, including ICAI's mandatory eight-month study period after registration.

Make short notes for every chapter, revise each subject at least three times, and practice writing full answers in exam format rather than only reading. Attempt one timed mock per subject, analyse mistakes immediately, and clear doubts the same week instead of letting them pile up. Presentation, stepwise working notes and time management during the paper are what usually separate a 50 from a 40.

Work backwards from your exam date and divide the full syllabus into weekly chunks, keeping about 60% of the time for the first reading and the rest for revisions. Structure each day into three fixed blocks — one for a new topic, one for revising an older topic and one for writing practice — and review the plan every Sunday to clear backlogs. Reserve the last 45–60 days completely for revision and mocks, not new topics.

You can register after clearing CA Foundation or directly after graduation through the direct entry route. Fill in the form on ICAI's self-service portal (SSP), upload your documents and pay online, after which the study material is made available through ICAI's BOS Knowledge Portal. The CA Intermediate registration fees are currently around ₹13,000 for a single group and ₹18,000 for both groups, and you get a minimum eight-month study period before your first attempt — confirm the latest fee on ICAI's official website before paying.

The CA Intermediate course under the new scheme has six papers of 100 marks each, split into two groups. Group 1 covers Advanced Accounting, Corporate and Other Laws and Taxation, while Group 2 covers Cost and Management Accounting, Auditing and Ethics, and Financial Management and Strategic Management. Since the syllabus is updated periodically, always download the latest ICAI material before planning your preparation.

They are simply the two halves of the CA Intermediate syllabus: Group 1 has Advanced Accounting, Corporate and Other Laws and Taxation, while Group 2 has Cost and Management Accounting, Auditing and Ethics, and Financial Management and Strategic Management. You can appear for one group at a time or both together in the same attempt, but to clear any group you need at least 40% in every paper and 50% in aggregate. Students with limited time often start with Group 1, while those with more study time take both groups together.

ICAI publishes the complete CA Intermediate study material free of cost on its BOS Knowledge Portal, arranged chapter-wise for every paper under the new scheme. The same section also provides RTPs, MTPs and previous attempt question papers, which you should solve alongside each chapter. Avoid random PDFs circulating online, as outdated material can waste valuable revision time.

Under the new scheme, ICAI conducts CA Intermediate exams three times a year — in January, May and September — and the detailed date sheet for each 2026 attempt is announced through an official ICAI notification a few months in advance, with exam forms usually opening around two months before the exams. The CA Intermediate result for each attempt is generally declared about two months after the exams end, so the May 2026 attempt result is expected around July 2026. Always rely on ICAI's official announcements rather than dates circulating on social media.

Add the marks you scored in all papers and divide by the maximum marks — each paper carries 100 marks, so one group is out of 300 and both groups out of 600 under the new scheme — then multiply by 100. For example, if you score 380 out of 600 across both groups, your percentage is 63.33%. A single group is calculated the same way out of 300.

Registration is done online through ICMAI's official website after you clear CMA Intermediate — you fill in the admission form, upload the required documents and pay the fee, after which you get access to the official modules. The CMA Final registration fees are around ₹2,000 as a one-time course fee under the 2022 syllabus, with separate exam fees payable for every attempt, so verify the current amount on ICMAI's official website. Since the CMA Final exam is held twice a year, in June and December, complete your registration well before your target attempt.

Treat each group as a separate project and build your plan on the official CMA Final study material — the ICMAI modules, RTPs and MTPs — with daily paper-wise targets instead of vaguely covering the syllabus. Give extra repeat cycles to law, direct tax and international taxation since amendments change every attempt, practice case-study and practical questions in writing, and take at least one full mock per paper before the exam. If consistency is your weak point, fixed daily targets and accountability make a bigger difference than simply adding more study hours.

Under the 2022 syllabus, CMA Final has eight papers divided into Group 3 (Papers 13–16) and Group 4 (Papers 17–20). The CMA Final subjects include Corporate and Economic Laws, Strategic Financial Management, Strategic Cost Management, Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation, Corporate Financial Reporting, Cost and Management Audit and Strategic Performance Management, spread across these two groups. Each paper carries 100 marks, and you can appear for one group at a time or both together.

Under ICMAI's evaluation scheme, if you score 60% or more in one or more papers of a group but fail to clear the group, those papers are reckoned as exempt — you only need to reappear in the papers where you scored below 60% in a subsequent attempt, and clearing those remaining papers gets you through the group. Since ICMAI revises exemption provisions from time to time, check the latest notification and exam form instructions before your next attempt.

To pass a CMA Final group, you need a minimum of 40% in each paper and 50% in the aggregate of that group. This means even a 50%+ overall score fails the group if any single paper falls below 40%. On the flip side, papers where you score 60% or more earn an exemption for the next attempt if you don't clear the group, which is why many students strategically secure exemptions in tougher papers.

A CMA Finalist is a student who has cleared both groups of the CMA Final exam but has not yet completed the practical training and membership requirements to become a qualified Cost Accountant. After clearing CMA Final, the next steps are finishing any remaining practical training, applying for ICMAI membership, and then choosing your direction — qualified CMAs move into costing, financial management, audit, consulting and advisory roles in India and abroad, and some also add CMA USA, CPA or an MBA on top.