How to study for success for Auditing and get good marks?

BALASUBRAMANYA B Npro badge (CCI STUDENT....) (44666 Points)

12 February 2011  

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How to study for Auditing?

For some this subject is the easiest thing on earth to score marks and this has nothing to do with mere English skills (I have seen many a fluent English speaking student fail miserably in this subject) whereas for some this is a bug-bear.

One thing which definitely supports in getting more marks in this subject is a command over language. Yes, this is there! This does not mean those who do not have it will fail. Hard work compensates for the same here. (Read as hard work(not smart work) as in doing it by rote (‘mugging’ as Indian students call) and trying to reproduce as much as possible in the exam and some students resort to it and manage to even get 60% marks).

These tips are for the average student (English medium), with average skills, with average intelligence (as perceived by the student based on past academic performances. No one is really average; one can become extraordinary if one really tries smart and hard)

I will just give the tips in points:

1)      DO NOT take this subject light, read it like a novel and just base yourself on purely your practical training under your auditor and have a euphoric confidence that you will succeed easily. It is precisely when you start with such notions, you miserably fail. This is regardless of whether you are a Shakespeare in English or next to an illiterate when it comes to English. You have to create a positive crisis situation for this subject.(Refer my earlier article on the subject: “ How to clear CA exam in one-go! Crisis situation is the KEY!”)

2)      KEEP a dictionary handy when studying and use it for words you don’t understand in the materials with which you read this subject.

3)      DO NOT depend on slip-shod notes given by some professor claiming to ‘simplify’ the subject and giving you a false assurance that you need not spend too much time for this ‘stupid’ subject. The examiner will ‘simplify’ your marks to maybe even single digits and you will look ‘stupid’ before one and all (and mainly before yourself) once the results come out. Example: I knew one friend, he did not prepare well for this subject, took it lightly and then last month he procured the ‘simplified notes’ of one professor and then just read that and went, confident that his English skills will smoothly sail him through. He wrote really beautifully in the exam, with high-flowing English and was sure to pass. He was in for a rude shock on the results day when he found that he failed both groups by the aggregate and the main reason for his failure was his abysmal marks in Auditing. He got a mere 30 for his rhetoric in the exam paper

4)      ABCD analysis will work for this subject too. Those who don’t believe in such analyses and read from page 1 to last page are either really tenacious people with lots of time with them OR for most cases dumbos who don’t know efficient time-management skills.

A-Important and Easy chapters

B- Important but difficult to learn chapters

C- Unimportant but easy chapters

D- Unimportant and difficult chapters

So, start with A and C first and finish them. You will surprised by the amount of confidence you get. Don’t be tempted to do B chapters after A.

Then with this confidence finish all chapters in B and then finally if you have time (and only if you have time to spare) finish D chapters.

Prepare notes for A and B chapters alone and for C mark in the book itself the important points and revise. You might also write points if you have time.

Don’t take notes and waste your time for D Chapters.

For analyzing on the grounds of ABCD analysis (also called ABC analysis) keep a Scanner and check the trends.

This way of prioritization gives optimal results vis-à-vis your ability.

5)      Have good study materials to study. ICAI study material is good but lengthy. You need to check your time availability. Nevertheless, if you are using books like Kamal Garg or Vinod Gupta, do have a peep into the study materials and check what is said in it too.

6)      Padhukas is a comprehensive book and better formatted than the study material just that it leans heavily on the study material and RTPs, past questions, etc. So if you are studying with the latest Padhukas book, you are on good ground.

7)      Have compiler, suggested answers, etc which covers the trend of questions for the past 15 years and then study these too. (Refer my earlier article: “Cracking the CA Exam by past exam questions!)

8)      Prepare with the exam in mind not for trying to know what the auditing processes are in-depth. Not all can be cognized by the student. So, don’t waste your time trying to “understand in-depth”, “research”, etc on issues. If you act smart here and feel you are a cut-above other students, you are simply wasting your time. The time which is spent for these “research activities” for this subject can be spent on revision of whatever chapters have been covered. Understand basically what’s its all about and then proceed to retain that in the memory anything above this is mere over-kill for this subject as far as exam is concerned.

9)      Acquaint yourself with your style of learning. Example: If you are auditory kind (preferring to hear), then read the portions aloud, listen to tapes (self-recorded), etc. If you are visual kind then draw diagrams, use mind-maps/flow-based notes, etc.

10)   For portions like Professional Ethics, SAs, Guidance notes, etc get the latest material and be in touch with what’s happening currently.

11)   Have lots of writing practice and towards the end of your preparation time yourself under exam conditions.

12)   Keep revising a lot for this subject, because there is a tendency to forget most of the points. (Refer my article: “3 Stages of revision for CA Exam success-Attention! Students!”)

13) While learning this subject do what is called "Active-learning".Try to talk to the author/book what he or she is trying to tell you.Question,apply,mull about the concepts in the mind,etc.Dont do a passive-learning(mere reading the lines of a book), you will "zone-out"(your mind falls asleep).This is what is called Smart study.You retain more in Active learning and then finish the subject much much faster than people doing it by the passive-learning method.Interest in the subject and also in learning methodologies must be cultivated.

Keep these 13 points in mind (like the 13 tasks of Hercules!) when you study for this subject and score excellent marks in this subject easily.When stick to what I have said above perfectly you can easily score above 65% in this subject.