It’s impossible to fail in CA Exam

A video with a strategy to clear professional exams like CA, CS and CWA

Bouncing back from failure

I came across a very nicely written article about coping with the exam failures – a situation that many of us can relate to. The article was written by Rob Sowerby and published in PQ Magazine’s February 2014 edition. I decided to publish the entire article here as I do believe this might be of use to me and my friends who are working day and night to slay the beast of CA Exams. I would love to know your feedback about this article.

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If you fail an exam you will obviously be disappointed. The fundamental issue is what you do about it. If you are not careful you will become negative and try to ignore the result. You may use displacement activities – throwing yourself into your social life, or working harder in your job. In other words, anything to avoid confronting the issue. Then you re-sit in the vain hope that a little extra work will get you through. This is likely to lead to further disappointment down the line. Difficult though it may be, you have to take a failure as an opportunity to look at the fundamentals as to why you were unsuccessful and, critically, what you would do differently next time. Reasons for failing are many and varied but they generally fall into a few broad categories, including commitment, time, understanding and exam technique. My view is that for your next attempt you must address all of these and look at your study process. By commitment I mean this: did you
really immerse yourself in the study process the first time round? You have to prioritise and to put your studies near the top. Consider your other commitments, such as work, sport, family and social life, and decide how you are going to change the balance for a couple of years to better free up time and attention to your studies. Make sure that you involve others in this process so that they understand how
important your studies are. If they are true friends they will understand. Linked to commitment is the amount of time you devote to your studies and when this can be carved out of your busy life. Keep a diary and plan your study time week by
week, keeping a close eye on whether you have kept up with the plan and, if not, how you are going to revise matters. It is possible that you did not truly understand what you had studied and as a result could not convert what you had read or been taught in class into an exam answer.

Failing exam is not the end of the world, but if you don’t take lessons from it you are doomed to repeat the same mistakes, says Rob Sowerby

I teach the sort of subjects where there is a need to understand not just what you are doing but also why you are doing it. Many of my students say that “its easy when you do it”, and so it should be. The difficulty in these exams is to be able to apply the underlying techniques to a wide range of questions. You will only be able to do this if you practise exam standard questions and fully debrief the answer with a view to
understanding why it is what it is. Exam technique to me is a simple process of converting knowledge and understanding into marks. This is not rocket science, but like everything, the more you practise the better you will become. Ensure that you practise at least one whole mock exam and preferably more than one. You need to have an exam strategy where you know exactly what you are doing in every minute of the exam to best effect. Furthermore, look at what you can do in the time limit – you are not looking to achieve perfection, you are looking at a reasonable answer in the limited time available.

In summary, you must use the setback as an opportunity to change for the better. It may be a blessing in disguise. The key is to get the ‘winning habit’ – as you pass you become more motivated, leading to more commitment and a virtuous circle of future success. You know this makes sense – so make it happen!

ICAI developed Android App for its stakeholders

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) identified the need of Mobile Application for its stakeholders (Members, Students & Others). The ICAI’s Mobile Application brings you Key up-to-date Contents from its website (www.icai.org) like Announcement, Events, News, Notification, Press Release, Jobs and Tender etc. This apps, designed and developed for Android, ICAI stakeholder may download mobile application and start using it without any additional cost, anytime, anywhere.
Key Features

• Push Notifications for any new update to Mobile Devices
• Key Announcements, Events, photo galleries etc.
• Specially designed to work on Android 2.3 and above.
• Read Content offline – just pull/Release to refresh with an active connection
• Search option, Increase/Decrease Text Size option.
• Save your Favorite content.
• Share application via email.

Download from the Google Play

Screenshots

        

The 7 Laws of Clearing CA Exam’ Seminar by CA Nitin Soni

I came across a very inspiring seminar recording of CA. Nitin Soni on Youtube. Please take your time to go through this.

 

    

The Change is Near!!

Well the things have been extremely slow on this blog and I plan to get the rocks moving. I hope my visitors will find the new articles quite beneficial once I start posting them.

Btw the exams are approaching so best of luck with your studies.

I got some books for myself!

Funny as it sounds as a few days ago i had posted how ‘more than enough’ time i have for the preparation of pcc exam and tonight my post is about how less the time seems. Three months only before the exam to be held on May, 2011.
But the good news among all the other things is that i bought myself a few good books. The books are – Advanced A/c (corporate) by Sehgal & Sehgal, Cost A/c by Ravi M Kishore, Students’ Guide to Accounting Standard by D. S. Rawat. I have made a change in plan at this moment. I’m going to prepare for the First Group only. After considering my status after one month, i will consider about the second group. Oh by the way, till now it’s confirmed that the Pcc / Ipcc results for November 2010, will be declared on 5th Feb. 2011. So for all those who appeared in the exam, good luck from me. And the exam forms for the next exam are to be distributed from 7th of the same month. I guess that’s enough for tonight. .
Sweet Dreams!

CA Final Topper for November 10 & others

Hi readers, the month of January is counting its last few days. . Time flys like anything, i tell you. Well in the beginning of the post i must congratulate Ms. Dimpi Jindal who has topped the ICAI final exam of November 2010, scoring more than 60 percent in each subject. A splendid achievement indeed, for which we all must be proud of her. Someone on http://www.caclubindia.com had said that Dimpi was also the topper in PCC 2008. . Bravo! Seems like she is someone who can be a perfect idol for us.
Again, friends time’s running up so get your gears ready to the Icai challenge for the month of May – 2011. There is no substitute for hard work. In last 3 months the ca students must have the do or die attitude. If necessary, think of ICAI as an oppressor and your self as a revolutioner. . I mean whatever u need to do, you gotta do to succeed in this battle!

Er. . . Struggling to keep my promises.

So i’m back again, a little later than what i promised. Its all because of the xmas / year end / new year stuff. Also had a outing with family at a nearby forest resort for two days. And i have read some novels (all classics, mostly victorian). But now i’m back and i mean business . . Grr.
So now that less than 4 months are left before the Ipcc/Pcc exam to be conducted by Institue of Chartered Accountants of India, there is no more time for fooling around i guess. Here is what i wish to cover in my studies this week – Accounts – the entire corporate accounting part.
Auditing – company audit 1, company audit 2, verification of assets and liabilities. Law Ethics & Communication – company law, contract act.
Income tax – salary, house property, deductions.
Well that will be enough for this week i guess (or is it more than what i can handle? Only time will decide). So i’ll be back with the report of my success (hopefully) in the next week. . Till then, ciao. . .
P.S – btw, whats ur plan for the week?

Week 1: Study progress for Pcc May 2011

So as i had promised to you all, i’m back with the first week of my study plan. Its well, the middle of the week and i have complete the following for 1st time –
Accountancy – Hire Purchase, single entry, average due date. I know Hire Purchase has already been asked in ca Pcc – november 2010. But then i though. . “wth let’s get on with it. . .”. Besides its not going to hurt since till there is considerable time available. However i should mention that problem regarding conversion of lease to hire purchase has been asked only once in recent times by ICAI. . So in my opinion, you should also give some attention to it, since it may be revised once more. Nothing new about average due date to share. Simple sums with quick solutions. However care should be taken about the rules of calculating ‘number of days’ in special circumstances. Single entry is easy but lengthy. I have to work more on the time management issue regarding this chapter.
Law Ethics and Communication – this is one of the biggest papers in Pcc / Ipcc level. Still struggling to complete the Indian Contract Act, 1872. I hope to complete it within this week.
Auditing and Assurance – learnt the chapter ‘Basic Concepts in Auditing’. This chapter contains a lot of Standards on Auditing. I guess i have to get back to it in no time.
Costing & Financial Management – this is the bulkiest paper. Honestly i am sacred to start it. But tonight i have decide to start with ‘Material’. Wish me luck.
Income Tax, Service tax and VAT – Not started yet since yet i have not purchased the new edition of Tax reference book. I hope to start it in next week.
Information Technology & Strategic Management – well i have never found information technology to be a tough deal. Though not yet started i plan to complete ‘Internet’ this week. And regarding Strategic Mgmt., i have learnt the first chapter ‘Business Environment’. The chapter itself has nothing typical. Porter’s Five Forces Model seems to be the celebrity question. *****
Those subjects which i’ve not yet learnt, i’ll write a post bout them on this weekend.
Do you think, i’m leaving/forgetting something? Have your say in the comment form!

I’m back!

Hi dearest readers,
so i’m finally back from the long break that i took. Honestly i never intended to take such a long break of almost one year. However the some personal situations went so critical that i had no way to concentrate on ca. After one year a lot has changed in the institute. Ipcc has replaced Pcc, articleship transfer has been restricted and what not. I know its going to be be a long ride till i catch up with all that’s happening around.
Sadly due to the personal situations, could not sit in the exam for 2 terms because of lack of preparation. However from now on i’m fully dedicated to Pcc May,2011. This Blog will also be continued regularly (hopefully). Besides sharing articles and notes, i’m going to keep u all updated bout my weekly study schedule from now on. Also i would be glad to invite anyone who wishes to collaborate with me in this Blog. And i hope to be more active on http://www.caclubindia.com too. . . Take care