• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

M. V. Kali Prasad

M. V. Kali Prasad draws up standards for CA students preparing for exams

THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has been issuing Audit and Assurance Standards from time to time to bring about standardisation in the areas of auditing.

An attempt is made to relate these standards to preparation for examinations by students and, thus, evolve what may be called Examination Assurance Standards (EAS).

Basic principles governing preparation (EAS 1): A candidate should understand the basic principles of preparation. These include:

Integrity, independence and objectivity: As your parents repose a lot of confidence on you to get through the examination, your objective should not be merely to get through the examination, but to do so with a rank.

Do not view each paper separately. As a minimum of 40 marks in each paper and 50 per cent on the aggregate are required, all the papers are important. Maintain confidentiality about your method of preparation.

Skill and competence: Skill refers to the method used in preparing for the examination. Competence is the ability to prepare for the examination. Unless a candidate obtains the `eligibility certificate', he is not competent to write the examination.

Skill comes through experience and competence, by getting through the qualifying examination. Preparation for CA examinations requires different skills and competencies. Unless you possess them, do not attempt the examination.

Documentation: Proper documentation of all the `material' efforts is essential. A candidate should be, and appear to be, serious in attempting the examination.

Evidence: Required also is sufficient and appropriate evidence that you are serious and willing to take up the examination.

The evidence required for preparation should be more conclusive than persuasive. It could be oral (listening in a class room), written (notes taken during the course of a class), circumstantial or visual (such as CDs, and so on).

Work performed by others: You are entitled to rely upon the work performed by others — classmates, colleagues, teachers, and so on. But before doing so, you should be able to judge their competence, capabilities and to what extent they can be relied upon.

Planning: Plan your preparation. This will help systematise your preparation and also in timely completion of the same. Discuss your plan with those who are knowledgeable and responsible.

Evaluation of systems: Periodically evaluate the efforts being put in, so that you can decide the nature, extent and timing of various preparation procedures to be carried out.

Conclusions and answering: In the end, plan your answers properly. Answer completely and comprehensively. Ensure that you have covered all the relevant parts of the question, such as legal implications, explanations, and so on.

Scope and objective (EAS 2): The scope and objective is laid down in the syllabus for each paper. It is the candidate who decides how much, and in which way, he should prepare. . A candidate should study the subject thoroughly so as to form and present acceptable answers.

The most important objective of a student is to clear the examination in the first attempt and secure a rank.

If, in the process of preparation, a candidate comes across an area that arouses his suspicion, he should probe the matter further until he is clear in his mind about that aspect.

Inherent limitations of preparation: These are as follows:

a) It does not ensure that the candidate can answer any question on the day of examination.

b) It only suggests knowledge as on the date of preparation and does not assure performance in the examination.

c) Generally it involves the practice of guessing the likely chapters which may be covered in the examination. The candidates resort to test checks and sampling.

d) By relying upon the work of others, any lapse on their part creeps into the answer paper.

e) There is no assurance that the question paper is only from the syllabus.

Organising the preparation: The candidate should ensure that his answers are relevant to the question, the expressions clear and there is no ambiguity.

Answering (reporting): The candidate should consider the extent of preparation depending on the materiality of the question. If a question requires a longish answer, he should write the complete answer, open all the necessary accounts, or prepare the required statements.

Documentation (EAS3): A candidate should carefully document all the material aspects to ensure that he has carried out his preparation in accordance with the generally accepted preparation procedures. The preparation can be divided into permanent and current files. While studying subjects such as costing, income-tax, and so on, prepare a permanent file. It has two distinct advantages:

If the candidate passes the PE II examination, it may be useful for the Final level as well; and

If, for some reason, the candidate fails, it will be useful for the next examination. It can also be used to offer an explanation to parents when they question the utility of all the money, effort and time spent on the candidate.

(To be continued)

To access Mentor archives visit: www.thehindubusinessline.com/mn/arcmn.htm

Send your feedback on Mentor to: Mentor@TheHindu.co.in

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Tailor a lease on stated terms

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line