HOW TO PREPARE FOR ICWAI AFTER XII BOARD

Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India offers ICWA course which is carried out in 3 stages namely the foundation, intermediate and the finals. A plus two pass out has the option to do the foundation level of this program. Several plus two pass outs opt for this course which will provide a basic foundation to build up a career in the field of accountancy. Those students who clear the three levels of program can directly become Cost Accountants. ICWAI Intermediate is not a tough exam to pass. To pass the exam you need to be determined, focused and devote all time that you can to your studies.

To pass the exams you must go through the Study Materials provided by the institute thoroughly, the RTPs issued by the Institute, Scanners, suggested Questions and answers issued by the Institute and solve as many question papers of previous terms that you can.

The details of pursuing an ICWAI course after 12th are as follows.

Eligibility for ICWAI foundation course

The plus two pass outs can apply for the foundation course if they have obtained the qualification from any recognized board. 17 years is the minimum age requirement to apply for this program. The students who are waiting for the results can also apply for this program.

Application procedure for the ICWAI course after 12th

The exams will be conducted twice in a year usually in the months of June and December. The students can submit their applications offline. They need to attach relevant documents and certificates as specified in the brochure along with the application. The fees details will be mentioned in the brochure which is available in the official website. Three recent photographs have to be pasted on the form. The students should make sure that the completed form reaches the specified address before the last date mentioned.

Exam Guidelines

Passing ICWA Examinations - Guidelines

While there is no substitute for hard work, here are a few guidelines that will supplement your efforts in passing the ICWA examinations.

The guidelines are given in two sections:

1. Preparation
2. At the Examination
3. Numerical Question
4. Theory Questions

Preparation

 

• Study from Study Notes of the Institute for all subjects supplemented by other books recommended by your faculty. Study Notes are must.
• Make brief notes of the matter you feel relevant but you are likely to forget. You may also make notes by the side of text book you are referring to, in respective pages. The notes should be very brief, say at an average of 10 words per page.
• Make a plan of the time available and the syllabus to be covered. Based on this, make a schedule with daily/weekly breakups giving details of the topics to be completed. Make achievable and practical schedules.
• Monitor the schedule on a weekly basis and reinforce your efforts to make up the backlog, if any.
• Ensure two revisions before you appear for the examination. In other words, a minimum of three readings should have been completed by the time you appear for the examination.
• Study the question papers of previous examinations to be able to categories all the topics in each subject and understand broad trends of these categories.
• Based on above and marks allotted give weightage to each category and accordingly prepare for the examination, spending more time and effort for important topics However, do not overemphasis the trends. They may go wrong.
• In the case of theory subjects, focus on understanding the concepts thoroughly and its application. In subjects such as law, give due regard to case laws and sections. In subjects such as Economics, spend some effort on statistics and general reading of business newspapers and news magazines.
• In the case of numerical subjects, such as accountancy, costing and mathematics focus on understanding the methods, formulae and format of presenting the solution. Solve as many problems as you can. Prepare for these subjects from the beginning of the year/ session and on a continuous basis. The rule of two revisions (plus the first) is particularly applicable to these subjects. Refer to a number of text books for these subjects so that you can encounter a wide variety of problems and approaches to solution.
• Practice use of your calculator effectively to maximize its efficiency in the examination Hall. Remember speed is a crucial requirement.
• Write simulated examinations with some of your friends setting the paper and valuing them, in an examination environment with set time schedules.
• Try joint studies with a couple of friends to be able to help one another, and instill competitive spirit.
• Prepare for the worst in the examination to minimize probability of failing in the examination.

Examination

• Take a quick glance at the question paper spending not more than five minutes to select the questions you are likely to answer. However, it is not necessary to select all the six questions at this stage itself.
• Answer the easiest question first and in that order the rest.
• It is compulsory to answer the Compulsory Question. By not answering the compulsory question your maximum marks will be limited to 80%. (But the answer paper itself , will be valid.).
• It is preferable to answer the fewer questions correctly and fully rather than more questions answered partially in each case.
• Just before answering each question, read the question very carefully word by word trying to make the significance of each word, at least once. If necessary, this may repeat even three or four times, particularly in the numerical subjects.
• Allot time for each question (depending on marks allotted to the concerned question) based on marks allotted to the question. Generally you have about 160 minutes to answer for 100 marks after deducting time for question paper scanning, planning answering sequence, personal relaxation time etc .Hence you can allot 1.5 minutes per mark. Try to stick to the schedules. However, the compulsory question may take longer, sometimes up to one hour. You will have to make up the time from the easier questions.
• Answer the theory questions preferably last in the case of numerical subjects as these can be answered correctly in shorter periods quite often.
• Impress the valuator with the first answer. It should represent you caliber to give a good answer in all respects: content, neatness and presentation.
• If there is a question for which you do know the answer but do not have the time to write it fully, write a synopsis for the answer. This should be done, if required, only at the end of the answer sheet.

 

Numerical Questions

 

• Always leave left hand page for showing workings, assumptions and notes. Workings are a must for the answer to be valid and should be fairly elaborate. Present them parallel to the question concerned. Use last page of the booklet for rough work.
• State necessary assumptions and notes wherever possible rather than wherever you feel essential. It is not a serious error if you write some extra assumptions, than miss some important ones.
• State currency in subjects such as costing and accountancy and draw columns with double lines when time permits.
• Provide Total columns where applicable in accountancy and costing, Similarly state narrations to journal entries in the case of accountancy.
• Avoid overwriting. Where they become inevitable, strike off and write again. Clarity is more important than neatness.
• If the balance sheet is not tallying in the case of accountancy, apply the principle of double entry by ticking off the entries. Any figure taken from a tallied statement should appear only once, and the rest, twice on opposite sides. Finally check totals. If still they do not tally, write totals as they come and do try to deceive the valuator.
• Do not try to deceive the valuator in any subject. They are likely to be smarter than you, in which case the penalty will be high.
• Wherever possible, check your answers with control figures to ensure accuracy of your solutions; for example, variance analysis in costing.
• Apply the rule of rounding off correctly for decimals. The rule is, a digit followed by a figure starting with five and above should be rounded off to the next higher digit.

 

Theory Questions

 

• Answer to the point and be brief. Valuator do not have ample time to read your answer paper thoroughly. They will abundantly make use of scanning technique.
• Present your points as a list wherever possible. This will increase the chances of the point being read by the valuator. Number the points numerically instead of alphabetically.
• Questions that use words such as describe and discuss require longer narrative answers. Present such answers in paragraphs with appropriate headings.
• Present examples and illustrations frequently.
• Underline key words in your answers. This is a must to enhance of your point being noticed by the valuator
• Tabulate the comparative points (in a columnar fashion), when you answer questions asking for comparison of alternatives, techniques, opinions, etc.
• Avoid writing long and descriptive answers that take up yours as well as valuator time. They test the patience of the valuator and it is risky to do so.
• When you forget some points when writing the examination, leave some space and start a new answer. You can return later and complete the previous answer when you recollect the points.
• In the case of law, if you are sure of the case laws and sections, provide these in the answer sheet. But in case of ambiguity, you may avoid, as a wrong quote is likely to have penalty. The same is true in the case of statistics for economics subject.
• Final students will be expected to give practical examples, application areas and good criticism of the subject matter (in applicable topics).

 

Reference books for 12th students for ICWAI foundation course

• Financial accounting: an international introduction by David Alexander, Christopher Nobes
• Schaum’s outline of theory and problems of financial accounting by Jae K. Shim, Joel G. Siegel
• Advanced accountancy by Hrishikesh Chakraborty
• Guide to Accounting Standard by Sanjiv Agarwal
• Accounting Theory by K.S. Most
• Financial Accounting Theory-Issues and Controversies by Bernstei & Wild
• Analysis and Use of Financial Statements by Sondhi & Fried
• Accounting Standards and Corporate Accounting Practices by T.P.Ghosh

Coaching centers for the ICWAI course

There are various coaching centers available for ICWAI course preparation. Out of them the most popular ones include Excel Academy, Accounts and Taxation Coaching centre, Prabhat Classes etc. The students should carefully select the right coaching centre by looking into the past track record and the perception of students studying presently in these institutes.

 

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