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ABC Analysis for CMA Foundation and Intermediate Final Exams
As aspiring Cost & Management Accountants, understanding importance of each subject in your curriculum is crucial for effective exam preparation. To streamline your study efforts and maximize your performance, we’ve conducted an ABC analysis of past exam attempts for the CMA Foundation and Intermediate Final levels. This analysis categorizes important chapters into three distinct groups: Category A, B, and C.
Category A consists of high-impact topics that are frequently tested and require a deep understanding.
Category B includes essential but moderately weighted subjects that are still significant for your overall success.
Finally, Category C comprises less critical topics that, while necessary to know, can be approached with a lighter focus.
CMA FOUNDATION
| SUBJECTS | A CATEGORY CHAPTERS(55 TO 70 MARKS) | B CATEGORY CHAPTERS(25 TO 35) | C CATEGORY CHAPTERS(15 TO 20 MARKS) |
| FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS LAWS & BUSINESS COMMUNICATION | Indian Contracts Act, 1872 Sale of Goods Act, 1930 | Introduction Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 | Business Communication |
| FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL & COST ACCOUNTING | SECTION A: FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: Capital and Revenue Transactions Capital and Revenue Expenditures, Capital and Revenue Receipts Journal (Day Books; Journal Proper Opening, Transfer, Closing, Adjustment and Rectification Entries), Ledger Cash Book, Bank Book, Petty Cash Book, Bank Reconciliation Statement Trial Balance Adjustment Entries and Rectification of Errors Depreciation Accounting Treatment of Bad Debts and Provision for Doubtful Debts Preparation of Financial Statements of Sole Proprietorship SECTION B: FUNDAMENTALS OF COST ACCOUNTING Ascertainment of Cost and Preparation of Statement of Cost and Profit (Cost Sheet) | SECTION A: FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: Preparation of Financial Statements of a Not-for-Profit Organisation Accounting for Special Transactions | SECTION A: FUNDAMENTALS OF FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING: Understanding of Four Frameworks of Accounting (Conceptual, Legal, Institutional and Regulatory) and Forms of Organization Accounting Principles, Concepts and Conventions Accounting Cycle-Charts of Accounts and Codification Structure, Analysis of Transaction- Accounting Equation, Double Entry System, Books of Original Entry, Subsidiary Books and Finalisation of Accounts SECTION B: FUNDAMENTALS OF COST ACCOUNTING Meaning, Definition, Significance of Cost Accounting, its Relationship with Financial Accounting Application of Cost Accounting for Business Decisions Definition of Cost, Cost Centre, Cost Unit and Cost Drivers Classification of Costs |
| BUSINESS MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS | SECTION A: FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS MATHEMATICS: Set Theory, including Venn Diagram Indices and Logarithms (Basic Concepts) Permutation and Combinations (Basic Concepts) Quadratic Equations (Basic Concepts) SECTION B: FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS STATISTICS: Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion Correlation and Regression Index Numbers and Time Series | SECTION A: FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS MATHEMATICS: Ratios, Variations and Proportions Time Value of Money and Annuity – Simple and Compound Interest Arithmetic Progression and Geometric Progression Time and Distance SECTION B: FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS STATISTICS: Probability | SECTION A: FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS MATHEMATICS: Calculus – Application in Business SECTION B: FUNDAMENTALS OF BUSINESS STATISTICS: Statistical Representation of Data |
| BUSINESS ECONOMICS & MANGEMENT | Forms of Market Money and Banking | Basic Concepts Economic and Business Environment | SECTION B-FUNDAMENTALS OF MANAGEMENT |
CMA INTERMEDIATE
| SUBJECTS | A CATEGORY CHAPTERS(50 – 55 Marks) | B CATEGORY CHAPTERS (30 – 35 Marks) | C CATEGORY CHAPTERS (15 – 20 Marks) |
| BUSINESS LAWS & ETHICS | SECTION C: CORPORATE LAWS SECTION D: BUSINESS ETHICS | Indian Contracts Act, 1872 Sale of Goods Act, 1930 Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 The Code on Wages, 2019 | Introduction to Law and Legal System in India Indian Partnership Act, 1932 Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 Factories Act, 1948 Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 |
| FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING | SECTION D: PARTNERSHIP ACCOUNTS SECTION C: PREPARATION OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Hire Purchase and Installment Sale Transactions Branch (including Foreign Branch) and Departmental Accounts Consignment | Property Plant and Equipment (AS 10) The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rate (AS 11) Borrowing Costs (AS 16) Joint Venture Bills of Exchange Adjustment Entries and Rectification of Errors Cash Book, Bank Book, Bank Reconciliation Statement Depreciation and Amortisation | Four Frameworks of Accounting (Conceptual, Legal, Institutional and Regulatory) Accounting Principles, Concepts and Conventions Capital and Revenue Transactions Capital and Revenue Expenditures, Capital and Revenue Receipts Accounting Cycle-Charts of Accounts and Codification Structure, Analysis of Transaction – Accounting Equation, Double Entry System, Books of Original Entry, Subsidiary Books and Finalisation of Accounts Journal (Day Books and Journal Proper Opening Entries, Transfer Entries, Closing Entries, Adjustment entries, Rectification entries), Ledger Trial Balance (Preparation and Scrutiny) Accounting Treatment of Bad Debts and Provision for Doubtful Debts, Provision for Discount on Debtors and Provision for Discount on Creditors Lease Accounting Insurance Claim for Loss of Stock and Loss of Profit Introduction to Accounting Standards Disclosure of Accounting Policies (AS 1) Accounting for Government Grants (AS 12) Accounting for Taxes on Income (AS 22) |
| DIRECT & INDIRECT TAX | SECTION A: DIRECT TAXATION: Residential Status and Scope of Total Income Salaries Profits and Gains of Business or Profession Deductions from Gross Total Income Advance Tax Tax deduction at source and tax collection at source SECTION B: INDIRECT TAXATION: Levy and Collection of CGST and IGST Basic concepts of Time and Value of Supply Input Tax Credit Computation of GST Liability Registration | SECTION A: DIRECT TAXATION: Income from House Property Capital Gains Income from Other sources set-off and carry forward of losses Provisions for filling return of income and self assessment SECTION B: INDIRECT TAXATION: Returns and Payment of Taxes Customs Act | SECTION A: DIRECT TAXATION: Basics of Income Tax Act Income of Other Person included in Assesses Total Income (Clubbing of Income) Taxation of Individual (including AMT but excluding Non-resident) & HUF PAN SECTION B: INDIRECT TAXATION: Concept of Indirect Taxes Introduction to GST Law E-Way Bill |
| COST ACCOUNTING | Marginal Costing Standard Costing and Variance Analysis Budget and Budgetary Control Material Costs Employee Costs Overheads Cost Accounting Standards (CAS 1 to CAS 24) | Contract Costing Process Costing Operating Costing Reconciliation of Costing and Financial Profit Integrated Accounting System | Cost Book- Keeping Joint and By Products Job Costing Batch Costing Direct Expenses Introduction to Cost Accounting |
| OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT & STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT | SECTION A: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: Application of Operation Research – Production Planning and Control Project Management, Monitoring and Control SECTION B: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: Strategic Analysis and Strategic Planning Formulation and Implementation of Strategy | SECTION A: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: Operations Planning Designing of Operational Systems and Control Productivity Management and Quality Management Economics of Maintenance and Spares Management SECTION B: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: Digital Strategy | SECTION A: OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT: Introduction SECTION B: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT: Introduction |
| CORPORATE ACCOUNTING & AUDITING | SECTION A: CORPORATE ACCOUNTING: Preparation of the Statement of Profit and Loss and Balance Sheet (As per Schedule III of Companies Act, 2013) Cash Flow Statement Inventories (Ind AS 2) Employee Benefits (Ind AS 19) Earnings per Share (Ind AS 33) SECTION B: AUDITING: Provisions Relating to Audit under Companies Act, 2013 | SECTION A: CORPORATE ACCOUNTING: Issue of Shares, Forfeiture of Shares, Rights Issue, Bonus Issue Redemption of Preference Shares, Issue and Redemption of Debentures Underwriting of Securities Events after the Reporting Period (Ind AS 10) Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets (Ind AS 37) SECTION B: AUDITING: Audit of Banks Audit of Co-operative Societies Audit of Local Self-Government Audit Risk, Assessment of Audit Risk, Internal Control, Internal Check, Internal Audit- Industry Specific, Interplay between Internal Audit and Statutory Audit, Risk Based Internal Audit, Internal Financial Control and Internal Control over Financial Reporting Audit Sampling. Audit Techniques and Analytical Procedure (Including Scrutiny of Trial Balance and Grouping Schedules) | SECTION A: CORPORATE ACCOUNTING: Employee Stock Option and Stock Purchase Scheme, Buy-back of Shares Conceptual Framework Specified Ind AS with Comparative Provisions under AS Presentation of Financial Statements (Ind AS 1) SECTION B: AUDITING: Nature, Scope, Objectives and Significance of Auditing Brief Introduction to Auditing Standards Audit Engagement, Audit Program, Audit Documentations, Audit Evidence, Audit Note Book Application of Technology in Audit and Audit Trail Audit of Educational Institutions Audit of Healthcare Organisations Audit of Organisations in Hospitality Sector |
| FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS | SECTION A: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Working Capital Management Capital Budgeting Cost of Capital SECTION B: BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS: Introduction to Data Science for Business Decision-making Data Processing, Organisation, Cleaning and Validation | SECTION A: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Tools for Financial Analyses Financing Decisions of a Firm SECTION B: BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS: Data Presentation: Visualisation and Graphical Presentation | SECTION A: FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Fundamentals of Financial Management Institutions and Instruments in Financial Markets SECTION B: BUSINESS DATA ANALYTICS: Data Analysis and Modelling |
| MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING | SECTION E: FORECASTING, BUDGETING AND BUDGETARY CONTROL Marginal Costing Applications of Marginal Costing in Short Term Decision Making Transfer Pricing SECTION D: STANDARD COSTING AND VARIANCE ANALYSIS | SECTION B: ACTIVITY BASED COSTING SECTION F: DIVISIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT SECTION G: RESPONSIBILITY ACCOUNTING | SECTION H: DECISION THEORY SECTION A: INTRODUCTION TO MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING |
CMA FINAL
| SUBJECTS | A CATEGORY CHAPTERS(50 – 55 Marks) | B CATEGORY CHAPTERS(30 – 35 Marks) | C CATEGORY CHAPTERS (15 – 20 Marks) |
| CORPORATE & ECONOMICS LAWS | The Companies Act, 2013 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 Corporate Governance, Social Responsibility and Sustainability SEBI Laws and Regulations Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 Laws and Regulations related to Cyber Security and Data Privacy | The Competition Act, 2002 Specific Legal Provisions related to MSME Laws and Regulations related to Anti-Money Laundering | Laws and Regulations related to Insurance Sector Laws and Regulations related to Banking Sector |
| STRATEGIC FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT | Investment Decisions, Project Planning and Control Evaluation of Risky Proposals for Investment Decisions SECTION C: FINANCIAL RISK MANAGEMENT Equity and Bond Valuation and Evaluation of Performance Mutual Funds | Foreign Exchange Market Foreign Exchange Risk Management Portfolio Theory and Practice Portfolio Performance Evaluation and Portfolio Revision Efficient Market Hypothesis Asset Pricing Theories | The International Financial Environment SECTION E: DIGITAL FINANCE Introduction Leasing Decisions Securitization |
| DIRECT LAWS & INTERNATIONAL TAXATION | Transfer Pricing Double Taxation and Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) Assessment of Income and Computation of Tax Liability of Various Entities GAAR | Grievance Redressal Tax Management, Return and Assessment Procedure E-commerce Transaction and Liability in Special Cases Business Restructuring | Penalties and Prosecutions CBDT and Other Authorities Income Computation and Disclosure Standards (ICDS) Different Aspects of Tax Planning Black Money Act,2015 |
| STRATEGIC COST MANAGEMENT | Decision Making Techniques (Case Study-based Approach) Evaluating Performance Activity Based Management and Just in Time (JIT) | Linear Programming Transportation. Business Application of Maxima and Minima Network analysis-PERT, CPM | Assignment Game Theory Simulation Learning Curve Introduction to Strategic Cost Management Quality Cost Management |
| COST & MANAGEMENT AUDIT | Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014 (as amended) Cost Auditor Overview of Cost Accounting Standards and GACAP Cost Auditing and Assurance Standards Cost Audit Programme Cost Audit Documentation, Audit Process and Execution. Preparation and Filing of Cost Audit Report | SECTION B: MANAGEMENT AUDIT SECTION D: FORENSIC AUDIT AND ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING | Basics of Cost Audit SECTION C: INTERNAL CONTROL, INTERNAL AUDIT, OPERATIONAL AUDIT AND OTHER RELATED ISSUES |
| CORPORATE FINANCIAL REPORTING | Specific Accounting Standards SECTION F: GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTING IN INDIA Consolidated Financial Statements and Separate Financial Statements | Accounting for Business Combination and Restructuring SECTION E: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN FINANCIAL REPORTING | Accounting of Financial Instruments NBFCs-Provisioning Norms, Accounting and Reporting Valuation of Shares (including Determination of Goodwill, Post-valuation of Tangible and Intangible Assets) |
| INDIRECT TAX LAWS & PRACTICES | SECTION A: GOODS AND SERVICES TAX ACT & RULES: Valuation (Advanced) Input Tax Credit (Advanced) Time of Supply (Advanced) Anti-profiteering Supply under GST-A Refresh SECTION B: CUSTOMS ACT AND RULES: Valuation and Related Party Transactions Customs Procedures – Baggage & Courier/Post Export Promotion Schemes under Foreign Trade Policy | SECTION A: GOODS AND SERVICES TAX ACT & RULES: TDS & TCS under GST E-way Bill GST Refunds – Inverted Duty Structure and Zero Rated Supplies GST Returns GST Annual Return and GST Audit Return SECTION B: CUSTOMS ACT AND RULES: Duty Drawback Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Rules, 2017 Refund Trade Facilitation Measures | SECTION A: GOODS AND SERVICES TAX ACT & RULES: Accounts and Records Transition to GST (Transitional Provisions) Dispute Resolution Mechanism under GST Inspection, Search, Seizure, Arrest and Prosecution Walkthrough of GSTN Portal SECTION B: CUSTOMS ACT AND RULES: Remission of Duties Special Economic Zone Scheme (with Amended SEZ Rules) |
| STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS VALUATION RISK MANAGEMENT IN BANKING & INSURANCE ENTREPRENEURSHIP & START UP | STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS VALUATION Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Improvement Tools Enterprise Risk Management Valuation of Assets and Liabilities Valuation in Mergers and Acquisitions RISK MANAGEMENT IN BANKING & INSURANCE Insurance Intermediaries, General Insurance, Health Insurance and Life Insurance Managing Risk in Insurance Business Credit Risk and Liquidity Risk Sovereign Risk and Insolvency Risk ENTREPRENEURSHIP & START UP SECTION A: ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILL SETS SECTION B: THE ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM SECTION D: VALUE ADDITION SECTION E: SCALE UP | STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS VALUATION Business Valuation Methods and Approaches Economic Efficiency of the Firm – Performance Analysis Introduction to Performance Management RISK MANAGEMENT IN BANKING & INSURANCE Operational Risk and Off-Balance Sheet Risk Interest Rate Risk and Market Risk ENTREPRENEURSHIP & START UP SECTION C: IDEA TO ACTION SECTION F: RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES | STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT & BUSINESS VALUATION Fundamentals of Business Valuation Laws and Compliance in Business Valuation RISK MANAGEMENT IN BANKING & INSURANCE Introduction to Risk Management Introduction to Insurance Business ENTREPRENEURSHIP & START UP SECTION H: TYPES OF NEW AGE BUSINESS SECTION G: LEADERSHIP |
by leveraging the insights from our ABC analysis, you can tailor your study strategy to prioritize your time and efforts effectively. Focusing on Category A topics will ensure you build a strong foundation in high-impact areas, while Category B subjects will reinforce your understanding and contribute significantly to your overall performance. Meanwhile, Category C topics can be reviewed as supplementary material, allowing you to optimize your study plan without overwhelming yourself. This structured approach will not only enhance your exam preparation but also boost your confidence as you work towards becoming a successful Cost & Management Accountant.