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Self study guidance for ca (final)

Deepak Arora (CA-Final) (398 Points)

07 June 2012

Dear Friends,

I given 1st Group of CA(Final) in May 2012 which I attempted after 2 months study and could not attempted the SFM paper fairly therefore don't think my Group shall be cleared. But this has resulted in coverage of major syllabus in 2 months time which is the good point for me.

Now planning to appear for both the groups in Nov 2012 as plenty of time is available at my discretion.

I need your help to select the books for 2nd Group as I have to do the self study only.

Your help shall be highly appreciated in this regard.

Looking forward for your guidance and support.

Thanks in advance

Regards

Deepak Arora

CA(Final)

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6 Replies

RP (Self Employed) (177 Points)
Replied 07 June 2012

Hello Deepak Pl tell me how you have fixed your daily plan for gr2 and how long you have started your gr2 preparation .Thanks

RP (Self Employed) (177 Points)
Replied 07 June 2012

Hello Deepak Pl tell me how you have fixed your daily plan for gr2 and how long you have started your gr2 preparation .Thanks

rahul (Chartered Accountant) (5570 Points)
Replied 07 June 2012

AMA / Costing - Padhuka (or PC Tulsian if you need detailed book) plus Study Material and Practice Manual (It is better prepare your own notes for theory portion).

ISCA - Manish Valechha ISCA Book plus and Practice Manual (The best book ever released for this subject, The book is a short version of study material, covers all, topics.. also includes examples, diagrams, memory codes....) refer Study Material if you have sufficient time but not actually reuired. Use with practice manual only, .

Direct Taxes - T.N. Manoharan Plus Summary Module of Vinod Gupta (Prepare notes for lengthy and typical portion, if possible).

Indirect Taxes - N S Govindan or rafi for Concepts (Padhuka or Banger for detailed Study and past exam questions)

CA. Aabhishek Khurana (CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT) (364 Points)
Replied 07 June 2012

AMA- PADHUKA

ISCA - MANISH VALECHHA PLUS PRACTICE MANUAL

DT-- PADHUKA (VERY MUCH SUFFICIENT)

IDT -- MOHD.RAFI

Ankur Garg (Company Secretary and Compliance Officer) (114773 Points)
Replied 08 June 2012

Self study Vs. Coaching classes-A Whole new dimension with analysis

Hello Members,

One of the huge questions in front of the students is to decide whether to go for self study or for coaching. Through this write up I have tried to analyse certain untouched aspects of self study and very hopeful that this article would be able to provide certain guiding principles/suggestions to the student community.

Personally I feel that Self study is a very good option for every student because without self study it is very difficult to clear any examination. The main reason behind this thinking is coaching also involves a remarkable amount of self study. Later on in this write up we’ll discuss this point. Another reason to go for self study is the confidence factor involved in it. Successful self study may give you an incredible amount of confidence to deal with any kind of subject or course.

Further we have to understand one more thing quite clearly that self study or coaching classes are not the sole deciding factor as far as success in professional examination is concerned. You may find various examples around you. There are many students who have cleared their exams quite easily just by doing self study and some of the students who have taken coaching are still struggling or vice versa. So the main decisive factor is your honest efforts and commitment towards your preparation and nothing else. Let us discuss certain pre-conditions for self study entirely based on my personal observation.

Pyramid /Hierarchical Structure of Self Study

ROLE OF TEACHERS/SENIORS IN SELF STUDY

1. Proper guidance regarding how to start your study from your teacher or from some senior student is very much important rather I would say it is indispensible. Main reason behind this point is a lot of theory content or material in the study module and reference books is totally irrelevant from the exam point of view and only someone senior can guide you regarding this vital and energy saving point.

2. Have regular discussions with your friends or seniors regarding exam oriented topics which you simply failed to understand during self study. As per my personal opinion this point is very important and plays a decisive role during self study and gives you and the other person a very good chance to interact with each other in a prolific way.

3. Selection of correct reference books is another essential pre-condition for self study. It is also advisable to collect all the reference books well in advance. One more thing time to time reference from your study module is also very important.

Along with selection of reference books in advance it is also advisable to collect exam oriented notes from the very beginning and stick to them. Kindly check the link below to download some useful exam oriented notes:

EXAM ORIENTED NOTES AT ONE PLACE

4. Kindly consider this point as a serious advice. During self study most of the time you study alone without interaction to anyone else. So self study may be a failure if you continue your prepare without interaction with anybody else. Remember a healthy and a light chit-chat can give your brain a much awaited relaxation and energy.

5. There are certain topics like direct tax at Final level for which special preparation or specific coaching is required and self study may not be sufficient from the point of view of conceptual clarity. So discuss these topics with your friends or with any experienced faculty/student to bring clarity of concept.

ROLE OF TIME MANAGEMENT IN SELF STUDY

6. Another pre-condition for self study is availability of time. Going for self study may be a bit risky when there is lack of time like you are preparing for other professional course simultaneously or busy in your job etc. In other words ample amount of time to study and superior time management plays an important role in self study.

7. Time management and study routine also plays an important role during self study. If you are not able to follow a set routine of study than in that case self study may be a complete disaster as in self study there is always a danger of lack of discipline. Main reason behind this probable lack of discipline is that there is no fear of coaching classes or tuition work and you are the sole ruler of your own wish. So in self study 100% commitment and study routine is very essential.

BE FOCUSED AND FIRM DURING SELF STUDY AS SCOPE OF SELF STUDY IS MUCH WIDER THAN WE USED IN COMMON PARLANCE

8. Let me tell you a very important thing rather a fact that coaching also involves self study where as self study does not involve coaching. This point is really easy to understand. Reason behind this observation is that in coaching classes only concepts are discussed once or twice. But you have to understand those concepts on your own by self study only. A teacher can only teach you the method and discuss one or two examples but ultimate effort is required from your side to understand that method by practice of more questions connected with that particular method. So in this way we can say that coaching also involves self study and has much wider scope than we normally understand in common usage and without understanding the true meaning and components of self study it would be very difficult for anyone to clear any examination. Hope you all are agree with me w.r.t. this point/observation. Kindly visit the link below for certain exam tips and suggestions:

EXAM ORIENTED SUGGESTIONS AND TIPS

9. Next pre-condition for self study is the thorough knowledge of your course content so you must do a small R&D about the course contents by going through the syllabi to figure out what is relevant and what is irrelevant.

10. Last but certainly not the least pre-condition of self study is analysis of your strength and weakness as you are the sole owner of your strength and weakness. Only you can utilize your strength and weakness in the best possible manner. You may analyse your strength in the following manner --- if you are more confident in solving practical problems as compare to your approach towards theory preparation and presentation then you must devote extra time to improve your theory preparation and presentation skills and vice versa.

SELF STUDY Vs. COACHING CLASSES – A MUCH AWAITED COMPARISON

COACHING CLASSES

Coaching is not a bad idea at all especially for certain demanding subjects like Direct Tax etc. Reason behind this point of view is not only the technicalities involved in the subject but also the need and confidence desired for the future professional working and practice.

One of the outstanding benefits of coaching is interaction or networking with an enormous group of people which is very essential in today’s competitive environment where networking is kind of indispensible. Further the proper guidance provided by the professional teachers/tutors along with exam oriented handouts is one of the major motives for students to go for coaching.

Alarm: But here we must understand one thing very clearly that the above facilities involve a huge amount of financial burden as far as your pocket is concerned which may not be possible for every parent or student to bear. Another shortcoming/risk involved with coaching class is your interaction with faculty. If you failed to cope up with teaching style of faculty than there may be some serious problem.

SELF STUDY

As mentioned above self study is one of the essential components of coaching classes and no coaching can be successful without the input or flavor of self study. One of the major benefits of self study is that it is cost and time effective and makes you compatible for the preparation of any kind of professional course. Self study also saves your energy which is required for coaching classes.

It also removes your dependency on coaching classes and you can start your study immediately after registration. Self study is the real key which is directly connected to your confidence level

Alarm: We must remember one thing while going for Self study that Self study is a bit time consuming process and a lot of R&D is involved in it to succeed. In other words Self study demanded extra time to complete the course for which you have to prepare yourself mentally. A lot of discipline, planning and guts required to go for Self study. However personally I feel that all the above mentioned alarms are easily maintainable if you are well aware of your strength and weakness and deal with the situation accordingly.

Hope this Article would be off some help during your professional journey. Awaiting your kind responses on the above mentioned points. Please share your views along with your valuable comments/suggestions/guidance.

Wish you all the Best

Best Regards

Ankur Garg

Ankur Garg (Company Secretary and Compliance Officer) (114773 Points)
Replied 08 June 2012

How to start your exam preparation

Well friends, “How to start Exam preparation is indeed a very vital question” which float over or threatens every student after getting enrolled for a professional course. As per my personal observation most of our precious time wasted to figure out how to start our Exam preparation. Believe me exam time is not the most stressful part of your professional journey, if you plan your study well in advance and study on a regular basis.

I have received lot of Personal messages (PMs), Profile scrap and E-mails from caclubindia users asking how to start Exam preparation in the most fruitful manner. So with the help of this write up an attempt has been made to share a few suggestions regarding how to start your Exam preparation. Sincerely hope that this write up would help you to deal with high degree of pressure to perform well in professional examination.

SELF STUDY Vs. COACHING

Vs.

As per my understanding your very first step should be to decide whether to go for coaching or self study. Consider this question very vital for a good start of your preparation. You don’t have to wait until exam time approaches. Make up your mind from the very beginning otherwise this question may be converted into a big dilemma later on. Regarding advantage and disadvantage of self study or coaching, I would suggest you to go through my article “Self study Vs. Coaching classes-A Whole new dimension with analysis” available at the link mentioned below:

SELF STUDY VS. COACHING CLASSES ANALYSIS

ROLE OF SCANNER

Buy a latest Scanner from the market and analyse it properly. According to me full understanding of Scanner regarding how to use it, is very essential as it gives you a bird’s eye view of every subject of your professional course. These days solved scanners also available in the market. Based on my previous experience I’d suggest you to buy Shuchita Publication Scanner. For more details click the link below:

WWW.SHUCHITA.COM

SELECTION OF REFERENCE BOOKS

As I have already stressed in my previous articles that selection of appropriate reference books is really important. One of the essential and indispensible suggestions to start your exam preparation is to collect good reference books well in advance. Here we cannot deny the importance of study material provided by the respective institute. For correct course content and notes preparation one must also refer study material along with reference books.

EXAM ORIENTED NOTES AT ONE PLACE

DESIGN A STUDY SCHEDULE IN ADVANCE

It is really essential to develop a study schedule before starting exam preparation to help you study effectively without any stress. The same is also very essential to avoid the situation as depicted in the picture above. Prepare a list of Exam oriented important chapters with the help of scanner and design your study schedule accordingly. The earlier you perform this exercise, the more time you will have to design your study schedule and prepare for the examination. Remember a few things while preparing your study schedule. Figure out the length of course content you need to prepare along with the time required to cover the same.

TIME MANAGEMENT – A KEY FACTOR

Time management is that wonderful skill which we have to learn and develop sooner or later during our professional journey. Time management is a technique with different dimensions and it can be defined through various means. Being a student after getting enrolled for a professional exam you’ll get ample time to your credit. Proper and prolific utilization of this time is really essential to clear your exam in first attempt. So in this way and to prepare an effective study schedule time management is very important. You have to grant most favorable time allocation to each and every subject. Also make appropriate provision for revision of course. So focus on time management and keep asking you – Is this the best use of my time. This is to share with you all that am still using this Q and A technique.

FOLLOW EXAM SUGGESTIONS AND TIPS FROM THE START

As we all know there are always some methods or tricks to perform well during exam times. Keeping in view your ultimate goal there is no harm if you acquainted yourself with these tips or tricks well in advance and tried them during your initial stage of study as later on sudden adoption of these methods may reduce their effectiveness and create unnecessary perplexity. One of these tricks is to prepare a list of frequently asked questions from scanner and design your ATLAS accordingly. To view the details of “My ATLAS Method” click at the link given below and download my file titled “real time tips to deal with theory paper”. Sincerely hope that this method can bring a huge difference to your professional success.

ALL MY EXAM TIPS AT ONE PLACE

UNDERSTAND EXAMINATION PATTERN PROPERLY

One important question you need to answer is – what is the current exam pattern? In other words understanding of prevailing examination pattern in a proper manner is also very important for a good start to your exam preparation. If you have good understanding of Examination pattern then you can easily plan for exam paper according to your strength. For example in Audit or Law papers attempt flat questions first like short note etc. instead of practical problems as practical problems are a bit time consuming.

TIME ALLOCATION

Another question which comes into mind regarding how to start exam preparation is how much time is needed in the beginning to study. As per my personal opinion in the beginning it is not necessary at all to invest 10-12 hours a day for your study. A 5-8 hour productive study would be enough. Remember, it is the quality and not the quantity of study that is required. However it would be better for you to decide your study sessions as per your own aptitude/capability.

QUESTION YOURSELF or SELF ANALYSIS

Self analysis is also necessary to figure out that everything is going as per your plan. A well defined study plan is not a guarantee of success unless executed in toto. So you may test your preparation by attempting some previous exam paper under ultimate exam condition or environment. Later on check the result of your effort and make necessary correction/modification to your study plan. These kind of regular tests also helps you to understand your strengths and weaknesses. If you are weak in any area, you can remove that weakness easily by detailed study.

KEEP YOURSELF UPDATED

After each and every exam (presuming that your exam is due after 1-2 attempts) discuss the exam papers with your friends and prepare minute of your conversation with your friend and also note down your friend’s opinion/suggestion. This discussion will be very helpful to decide the correct exam preparation approach and keeps you updated with latest trends and exam pattern. I personally used this method throughout my professional study very successfully.

Wish you all the Best

Best Regards

Ankur Garg