As everyone knows, there are no shortcuts to success, and only consistency, patience, and hard work pays in the end. The CA Foundation exam might be easier to crack, but the CA Intermediate and the CA Final exams are a real challenge. Hence, you must be well prepared to crack these tough nuts.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) conducts the CA Exams in May and November, where many aspirants try to crack the paper. However, even after preparing a lot, many ambitious minds tend to make mistakes and don’t get the desired results.
In this article, we will share some of the common mistakes made by CA aspirants especially during CA Intermediate Preparation and CA Final Preparation and a few effective tips to avoid them. Let’s have a look at these mistakes.
COMMON MISTAKES:
1. You are dependent on others:
Mostly, a lot of CA students follow other students blindly. Some join the course because their friends have done so or someone from their family is doing it. Many times, students pursue what their friends are doing in job placements. If you do this, it will limit your interactions with other people and ruin your growth because you will not come out of your comfort zone.
2. Confusion between single group or both group exams:
Most students get confused about whether to attempt a single group or both groups at a time! It wholly depends on your time availability, preparations, and your capability to handle both groups simultaneously. So, there is no point in taking advice from other people. You can analyze yourself in a better way.
3. Inappropriate Guidance:
Some CA students listen, accept, and implement the advice of fellow students, which is wrong because it may harm your exam results. To minimize the distractions, try to filter out the irrelevant advice and pay attention to the important ones.
4. Unable to execute plans:
Planning is part of the possibility, so create a plan which can be successfully achieved. Plan your goals, accomplish small goals day by day, and succeed. Never postpone your plans, studies, and preparations for tomorrow.
5. Irregular in the class:
It’s common for students to procrastinate in their studies by not attending classes regularly. By skipping your classes, you will miss the critical topics; you will not clear your doubts and concepts, which will directly affect your CA exams and results. So, be regular in the class, do not bunk, clear your concepts, and revise and practice questions regularly to recall the topics in the examination hall.
6. Ignoring Articleship Training:
Articleship is a golden period in a CA student’s life that plays a crucial role in building their CA career. Articleship training will help you gain knowledge outside the pen and paper and strengthen your career base. Theoretical information and practical understanding are fundamental during CA Final Preparation, but the articleship training will help students learn concepts like Internal Audits, Direct and Indirect Taxes, Audit & Assurance, etc. Therefore, it is always advisable to take Articleship training seriously and practice it with the utmost interest.
Now when we are aware of the mistakes committed by students, let’s have a look at some of the ways you can avoid these mistakes.
HOW TO AVOID THE COMMON MISTAKES
1. Do not panic:
The most common mistake any CA student commits is panicking in the examination hall. If a question is a bit lengthy, students panic because they cannot devote much time to other unsolved questions. Do not worry about your previous exam performance. Just focus on next and prepare your best. Instead of worrying, give yourself a fresh start and start again for the second exam.
2. Do not ignore mock tests:
Reading textbooks has always been an excellent idea to succeed in any examination; going beyond that will not harm you. Have a glance over as many test papers as you have access to. Previous year question papers and mock tests always help you in conquering the exam and in giving you a clear idea of the exam patterns. You would be amazed to see how you’ll get higher marks in the current attempt than from the previous ones. Further, you can also solve various mock test papers to help you revise the whole syllabus in a limited time. Thus, students perform well in the exams this way.
3. Ignore selective study:
Usually, many CA aspirants study smartly by studying only repeated, predicted, important and selective topics leaving behind other essential topics. But, what if you get ten mark questions from the subjects that you didn’t study? It usually happens, and hence it is advisable not to skip any topic; instead, go through every chapter, revise it, and devote time for its preparation.
4. Revision is a must:
The importance of revision is twofold. Firstly, it helps you remember figures, topics, facts, and methodologies you learned some time ago. Secondly, it helps boost your confidence and reduce anxiety. Revise all the subjects and chapters thoroughly without skipping this essential ritual during CA Exam Preparation. It would help you if you dedicate your last few months to revisions before your final exams. Before starting, try to make a complete revision strategy.
5. Know time management skills:
Solve the questions one by one according to the marks weightage. Consider solving short questions first and then lengthy ones. Try to solve the questions whose answers you know first, and lastly, attempt those questions which are tough and hard to solve. Divide your time according to the question patterns and marks. Managing time judiciously is of utmost importance. It will help to improve your score and increase your chances of cracking the exams.
You need to be determined, organized, and disciplined to crack the CA exams in the first attempt because CA is not just like any other accounting course. So, know these common mistakes, try to avoid them, unlock your potential and enjoy the sweet fruit of success.
Have Fun!
The Team at OnePrep