CS Professional : New Syllabus: How to prepare: Interview with Ms Soundarya

ICSI has introduced new Syllabus for CS Professional from June 2019 exams. Ms Soundarya from Chennai, who wrote Module 1 and 2 in New Syllabus cleared both in the first attempt. Few questions to her on the new syllabus and how she prepared :

Congratulations on clearing Module 1 and 2 of CS Professional  New  syllabus;  While you had the option to chose old syllabus, you chose to write in new syllabus. Any specific reason for that?

Thank you ; Compared to the content of both the syllabus,  the  new syllabus felt updated to meet the current expectations

Any specific reason for choosing to write Module 1 and 2?

As some subjects are interconnected in module 1 and 2 , I chose to write the first two modules

What is your over all view on the new syllabus?

New syllabus is good and some contents are repeated which is easier to study and remember. Since June 2019 was  the first examination under new syllabus  it was very challenging to study under new syllabus. No scanners,  guides and  classes were not easily available. Self-study was the best option avaialble.

Please share something about the question paper pattern. What kind of questions were generally asked.

Every question was based on understanding of the concept. No direct questions were asked.

Question paper pattern for taxation

1)      4*5marks                                                                                         = 20marks

2)      4*5 marks with option to write 2 or 2A                                     = 20 marks

3)      5*4marks                                                                                         = 20 marks

4)      2*5marks                                                                                         = 20 marks

5)      5*3marks                                                                                         =15 marks

6)      3*5 marks with option to write 6 or 6A                                     =15 marks

For other subjects

1)      4*5marks                                                                                         = 20 marks

2)      4*4marks with option to write 2 or 2A                                      = 16 marks

3)      4*4marks                                                                                         = 16 marks

4)      4*4marks                                                                                         = 16 marks

5)      2*8marks                                                                                         = 16  marks

6)      4*4 marks                                                                                        =16 marks

How is the Institute study material? How much you relied on it? Any other books you followed for specific subjects?

Institute material is sufficient. Relied totally on the study material and it has given the fruitful result.

For reference, used CMA study material for indirect tax .

Is there any subject similar to old syllabus, so that you can ask those scanner for that particular subject? Guess Tax and Drafting are similar to old syllabus papers?

Yes , Drafting and Taxation are similar to old syllabus. In Drafting  2 chapters were newly introduced and  those  are found to be very useful .

You studied all the chapters or left out few?

Covered all the chapters but concentrated on selected important topics  and  chapters. I also gathered  basic understanding and knowledge about the other chapters.

How many times you did revision?

Covered the syllabus 3 times before the examination.

Your specific tips to clear Tax paper

New and different types of sums are asked in taxation so practice as many sums as possible . For practicing sums use other professional books too. Understanding of the concept is completely essential for solving sums.

About optional paper?

Going to write elective during December 2019 examination only and I have selected Forensic Audit as the optional paper.

Any other tips/ points that you would like to share.

Be consistent in your efforts .Replace excuses with effort, replace laziness with determination and everything else will fall into place. Before you quit, remember why you started. Hard work and consistency pays off well.

There is no shortcut to success , do your best leave the rest to God .

Questions by: A Mohan Kumar

Common Mistakes in Exam preparation & presentation: Girls' & Seniors perspective...

Ms. Divya Mohan

Mistakes at the time of preparation:

1. Preparing for exam just before a month which is supposed to be revision time. (In my case I prepared for 17 hours a day which is not possible for everyone, so they may atleast spend 2 hours a day to get in touch with the subject particularly subjects like Tax & FM)

2. Not sleeping enough and not on a regular sleep schedule.

3. Failing to prepare time table & if prepared, failing to follow the same

4. Getting distraction while studying

5. If in case of group study – Discussing about the unwanted stuffs and wasting time

6. Studying only scanners – it is most necessary to take up coaching classes for the most difficult subject like Tax and FM which will help to crack the exam at the earliest

7.       A student must have positive mind and must be an internal driven capacity. i.e. I CAN AND I WILL DO MY BEST.

At the time of presentation:

1.       Arriving late for a exam

2.       Feeling panic  at the exam hall

3.       Taking too much time to select  which question to answer

4.       Cramming too much information into the memory  -

5.       Failing to allocate time for each question –  which will result in lack of time to cover 100 marks

6.       Starting with the most difficult question – Which will take more time to complete

7.       Poor writing style

8.       Failing to answer all the unanswered Questions in the last few minutes.

9.       Failing to use diagrams and pie charts, flow charts wherever necessary especially in theory papers.

10.   While presenting answer they may quote their practical experience to make their answers  unique from others in turn increase the Marks. 

CS. Kanchana, Salem 

Kanchana & Poorinma 

The very common problem faced by the students is “Mind & Hand” link. That is most of the students say that they have written well but they dint clear / they dint get the score which they expected. What most of the students say is 100 % correct, they know the concepts really well but where they lack is to write, what exactly in their mind. This is called as “Non-Sink of Mind and Hand”.

For E.g.


Mind: Managing Director should affix the seal and sign in the AGM Notice.

Hand: Managing Director should sign in the AGM Notice.

Non -Sink is: leaving the point of affixing the seal.

What can be done in this?

The sink can be done through a simple exercise. Just write any news which you heard in TV in your own language. Make either your parents / friends to read what you have written. Ask them what they have understood, from their reply you can find out whether you have conveyed what your mind exactly wanted to do. If not then do this exercise for a while until you feel that you’re able to write what you exactly want to convey. Once you’re good at “Mind & Hand” link you can easily convey your answer in rite manner to the person who values your paper.

Cs. Aishwarya Ramesh

First and foremost students must plan their course of preparation well ahead. They must try to finish their coaching classes atleast 4 months before the exams. The first round of studying the material should be a casual reading. During this time students may highlight or mark important topics for further reading. The second round should be a detailed studying and not reading. Students can Write down important sections and formulae in a sheet of paper with different colors and paste it in their room. 

Try to memorise what you have studied during the day before going to bed. 

Do not refer too many books. I did this mistake. Stick on to the institute material and just one good book for reference. 

Solving previous year question paper helps.

And also please avoid discussing with friends about preparation as it causes unnecessary panic .

Cs. Poornima Shankar, Salem

Common mistakes in preparation of law subjects :

1) Lag in understanding the basics of the law and just mugging up the points

2) Relying on scanners only

3) Not going through the study material (it will be useful for one marks)

4) Focus is needed in key points and sections

5) More awareness is needed on the updates and amendments

6) Solving different question papers will be helpful

In other subjects :

1) Working different kinds of problems is needed before exams

2) working with steps is necessary. Just cutting the steps and going to the final answer will not be helpful and students may get struck in the examination hall

3) should be aware of Latest amendments relating to direct and indirect taxation as it gets changing frequently

4) Being OMR based tax and costing papers , more practice is needed as wrong answers fetch them negative marks too

Common mistakes in presentation :

1) Continuing the answer for the questions in the same page rather than starting it in a new page. Starting each question in a new page will help the examiner to know what they have written properly.

2) Numbering of questions is not done properly. In the tension, some of the students fail to write the question numbers correctly.

3) Non mentioning of Part A or Part B to which their answers belong

4) Not differentiating the headings and the explanations. Use of black pens or underlining the headings will be helpful to get marks

5) Not showing the steps through which they arrived the solution

6) Failing to give notes or explanations supporting their answers

7) If they are nor able to remember the sections in law, its better not to quote it rather that quoting a wrong section and losing whole marks

8) It is always a good practice to put a line when a question is over.

These are some mistakes which students do inspite of the tension, short time in the examination hall though they are aware of these.

When these small mistakes are avoided, it will fetch you more marks and add pride to your path of becoming CS..!!

Apart from Girls perspective above, finally the views of an experienced person:

C R Shiv Kumaran MBA, ACMA, ACS

(He cleared CS recently)

CS is a thoroughly professional exam that puts to test both the mental and physical strength of the candidate. A lot of useful points have already been sent across by other contributors regarding the methods in which the syllabus has to be covered or on the do's and don't s in the examination hall. These are valuable inputs that needs to be adhered by the students to study and score marks.  On my part I would like to share a few points which I have rigorously adopted to prepare and present for exams.

1. Okay it is a professional course but that does not mean that it is a tough one: This thought should be in your mind even at the time of enrolling for the course. A professional course is designed to bring out the expert in you and is not designed to be tough so as to make you fail. At any given time remember that before you so many people have taken these very exams and have cleared them. You are not doing something not tried before. So if something has been done or achieved before you too are capable of doing the same. This very thought will bring you CONFIDENCE. 

2. Not all the time in my life is going to go towards preparation:

To many of us we lose half the battle when consciously or unconsciously right from the moment we enroll for a CS or CMA or CA course, we start to think that life is going to get tough. This in turn brings about an element of unease within us that we start to forego those very elements that bring relaxation in our lives, like time with family/friends, watching a movie, reading a book etc. A sense of urgency sets within us that our mind starts to gallop and allocates every single time conceivable towards examination preparation work. RELAX!,  a professional course is demanding but it does not mean that it is unassailable. What is needed is TIME MANAGEMENT and a PLAN for you to navigate the syllabus. Each day have a definite time plan for managing your active hours. Balance your available active hours between work, study and play. Also remember to make within that time schedule allowances for cheat days wherein you don't touch your study material but spend those hours doing nothing or something that you love to do. When you successfully manage a cheat day without having any guilt about it will make you feel that your life is completely under your control. It will bring CALMNESS and PREDICTABILITY and lead to better CLARITY IN THOUGHT. To you no longer is a professional course life threatening.

3. God is in parts:

Remember the famous saying God is in the Details, to you the caption should read as God is in parts. All professional courses have huge syllabuses that at sight overwhelm you. Never ever worry about the larger picture that the syllabus presents. Based on your time plan that you have developed for yourself, try to master smaller portions of a chapter one at a time. Look at your syllabus and your mastery over it as addition of smaller parts into a bigger one. Never do the mistake of thinking about rest of the syllabus/subjects when you are at mastering a chapter or module. The moment you do this your nervousness starts to reduce. This will lead to better  MEMORY RETENTION.

4. Go....... take a walk:

This is especially true for people who work and study. Within your time plan have at least half hour of time wherein you exercise your body as well. This can be a walk in the park or even a walk back from office/college to home, any other mode of exercise, yoga/meditation or anything that exercises your mind and body. This practice is bound to have the magical effect of DE-STRESS on your thoughts. Try to avoid phone conversations, chatting or listening to music within this time. Just be by yourself during this time.

5. Sleep well and Eat well:

Sleep is important and so is eating nutritious food. Be judicious with your sleep time and with what you eat. Remember an exam is a test of both your mental ability and physical ability. A candidate needs to last those three hours multiplied by the number of exams he or she takes without any fatigue. To withstand the rigorous demands of a punishing exam schedule, the student has to prepare his or her body for that ultimate day. Many of us make the mistake of just preparing rigorously for the exams but not taking adequate care on our PHYSICAL WELL-BEING. A well nourished body repays its master handsomely.

I have jotted down a few practices which I have adopted all these years to overcome the trauma that is normally associated with pursuing a professional course. Hope you find them useful.

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You may also read the following related articles:

CS Final - How to prepare and present - Tips by Ms. Sanofar All India Rankholder

CS Final - Subject wise Analysis- Guidance from a senior 

Cs Final - Tips from Balaji, Rank holder

How to prepare Module II & III of CS Final 

How to prepare for Electives, FM & Tax - Chat with seniors

Whats up chat with seniors - How to prepare for CS Final exams

Common mistakes CS Students do in preparation & presentation

Students tend to make certain specific mistakes in Professional exams; that is one of the reason why certain groups need to be taken again and again to clear..

What are the mistakes students commonly do & how to avoid them; Some young CS who has qualified recently share their views..

SAILESH



1) Preparing only with scanners and notes (here notes refer to the notes taken by the student/friends while attending the classes. These will be incomplete for preparation unless we study the subject fully and relate it to the notes) - Many people, including me at first, think that going by the scanner will be helpful in covering the important areas of the whole syllabus.

I strongly oppose this thought. This view of going by scanner gives a false impression that we are covering the major aspects.But it is not so. Yes, its agreed that some important areas, rather questions, are covered in scanner, but by going only by the scanner, we are missing out the basic area of covering the subject. We cover only the questions and not the subject, if we follow the scanner/solved papers. Covering the topic/subject is necessary for effectively facing exams. I tried to follow this in my last attempt and was able to clear. I had the satisfaction of answering the questions well than my earlier attempts. I shared this view with one of my friends, who echoed this view after completing the exam. Thought of putting forth this here.

2) Continuously studying the same subject and concentrating on it and giving lesser importance to other subjects -

Students think that if they write a paper very well and score 70+ in it, they can compensate the marks with just 40+ marks in other 2 subjects in the module. this is wrong, because, being professional programme, no subject is going to be that easy to score 70+ or even 60+. You need to be studying all the subjects well or atleast give proper respect to the subject, to score well. The students need to concentrate on the subjects to score equally well in the subjects. To be practical, we can say that, we cannot score 70+ in all subjects, atleast we can study well to score 50+ in all the subjects. Any person who has come this far (let it be Executive or Professional) will be able to score 50+ in all subjects, if they put in equal efforts for the subjects, rather than concentrating on only few subjects. If in the single subject we are not able to perform well, it will totally destroy the confidence and we will not be able to do the other subjects even upto the limited extent we have prepared.

3) With regard to the presentation, its general tendancy to write the answer, which we know very well, for pages and pages and not properly writing other answers. This will surely send the signal to the valuer that we are not in a position to write the full paper well. As a result the other answers will be scrutinized highly. The anwers need to be upto the limit of marks and we need to be able to put down the basic points. Not everyone can write the answers exactly upto the point. atleast we can try to be precise and not exaggerate.

Exaggeration of the answers is one of the most common mistakes done during the presentation in exams.

4) Many people, including some of my school seniors, say that, we need to attend the answers which we know well first and then attend the other answers. But i beg to differ.

Its better to answer the questions as per the numerical order. This is because, i'm of the view that, if we write the answers that way, we are presenting ourself as someone who is confident in answering the question as per the order and we are prepared enough not to attend only some questions. We need to write the answers as much as relevant to the question. The student would have put in hard work and prepared. they would have surely known the answer, its just that they don't understand that, they need to strat writing to get the flow of ideas. They get a mental block that they don't know the answer at all and blindly jump to the next question.

( I beg to differ Sailesh: It is better to write in same order only when we are 100 % confident in all questions; else, we can write in the order in which we are comfortable - Mohan kumar)

R.S.BHARATH KUMAR 

Mistakes in Preparation

·         Lack of proper planning and Time Management Skills

* Not using Institute study materials and selecting some other books for reading; 

·         Confusion on how many groups to write. And  by this way students tend to ask opinion of others  and not believing themselves.

·         Reading only suggested answers and not going with the syllabus, thinking that only previous years questions will be repeated.

·         During your preparation try and study everything. Each and every topic. The basic idea behind this is that you must have something relevant to write about the given topic.

PRESENTATION

·         If in a passage there are various points try and write them separately in points and give them separate number.

·         In exam never use short forms like AGM, EGM, CG, CLB,etc.,

·         While writing be specific about your answer.

·         Attempt full paper of 100 marks.

·         If you are not sure of section, then please don write section number.

·         Don’t write stories. Answer should be specific.

·         Try and improve your recalling power.

Prasanna Varadan



Preparation

1) Initially I didn't refer and study the material supplied by the institute & fully depended on the scanners available in the market. I cleared (in fourth attempt) only when I thoroughly read the institute materials.


2) My request is to avoid discussion with friends before the day of examination and before the start of examination;  this lead to failure, I have personally experienced it.


3) Mostly we will concentrate on arithmetical related papers i.e. FM & ATLP and we won't concentrate on theoretical papers.My kind advice is to concentrate equally on all papers at regular intervals.

4) I compared the level of preparations with my co friends which lead to some demotivation, which can be avoided.

Presentation

My recommendations based on the mistakes:

1) Answer all the questions in a fresh page.

2) Try to Maintain same level of handwriting throughout the answer book.

3) If headings are underlined, please follow the same throughout the answer book.

4) Whenever we are writing working notes,  we need to intimate the Working Note nos in the main problems.

5) Final answer was calculated in the Working notes but we may fail to write below the actual problems, Kindly highlight the final answer.

6) Drawing proper lines and tables using rulers help to fetch good marks,though we do not get correct answer for the question. (Step marks)

7) Please avoid leaving any space in between the answer book for any question to answer the same during the later part of the examination because sometimes we may not be able complete the answers within time.

8) Descriptive questions can be presented point wise.

9) Questions having side headings can be presented in the flow chart format.

10) Question Numbers has to be written correctly.(PART,Q.nos.,Sub Q.Nos.)

11) Without fail, write the Additional sheet number and put the tick mark for the questions answered in the front page of the answer book.
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Next part : Common mistakes - Girls' perspective.. Will be shared tomorrow ...

You may also read the following related articles:

CS Final - How to prepare and present - Tips by Ms. Sanofar All India Rankholder

CS Final - Subject wise Analysis- Guidance from a senior 

Cs Final - Tips from Balaji, Rank holder

How to prepare Module II & III of CS Final 

How to prepare for Electives, FM & Tax - Chat with seniors

Whats up chat with seniors - How to prepare for CS Final exams

How to prepare for Module II & III of CS professional exams? Interview with seniors

As mentioned earlier, there were 2 Whats app groups; following is the excerpts of discussion happened in the other group.

Mr. Balaji, all India third rank holder, Mr. Ashwin Company Secretary in IFMR & Ms. Nirosha who passed CS recently answered the queries of the students.

****************
Please guide on preparation for 3rd module. Tax & Strategic Management.

Balaji : 

For module 3: Strategic Management -  you have to go through study material fully. May be you can concentrate on part 2 and 3 more to fetch more marks.

For Tax you can refer Bangar's book and scanner. Also concentrate on IDT and international taxation where you can score more marks and is easy to understand.

Nirosha : 

Study material is very important especially for Strategic Management Part.  C & B is where you have to concentrate more.

And as far as part -A is concerned... Concentrate on 5 to 6 chapters based on the weightage.

I am straggling in module 2. Kindly guide me how to write FM theory and CRI.

Balaji : 

CRI is a subject where you can't skip any topic. However, what i felt is people fail to cover part B fully which is not related to company law.

If you can cover Part B and Sec 390 to 396 fully with judicial pronouncements, CRI should be a cake walk

Ashwin: 

There is a strategic approach to tax paper..pls focus on international tax 20 marks and indirect tax 50 marks. Read study material fully once w.r.t to indirect tax so that you can approach one word answers

In strategic management I  was able to get just 50 marks is der any other tips to get 60 plus in SM ? Whether any particular presentation s needed?

Nirosha : 

If you want to score more than 60.. you can cover entire part C and B fully and from Part c use the exact key words in your answers.

Balaji

Answer specific to the question. Unnecessary words should be avoided. Also avoid dragging the answer. For example for a 6 mark question, you should be able to answer in 8 points and it should not exceed a page

Could you please share your idea of writing exams as practise tests.

Balaji : 

Practise tests makes you improve on your presentation skills and time management. If you have covered the portion and take up two practise tests which will be really helpful

Regarding FM which chapters can be given weightage for problems??

Balaji : 

Give due weightage to capital budgeting, working capital management, forex and derivatives. If you have clear understanding in these topic along with theory you can easily score 50 to 60

Does theory fetch us marks in FM?

Nirosha : 

FM theory carries 40 marks and if you are really sensible with your answers you can score 30!!

Balaji : 

In FM if you answer theory questions specifically and appropriately you will easily score 75% of the marks alloted for theory

Ashwin: 

Theory is 60 actually; so it does fetch marks.

And Due diligence what is the strategy?? I am losing in close aggregate in module 4 !

Balaji : 

Due diligence is more of a paper wherein they test your practical knowledge about company law and other laws. Try to prepare company law and due diligence together to understand the subtle difference these two papers have.  and preparing from study material is the best way to clear due diligence

Changes ...due to 2013 Act.. How should we update ourself?

Balaji :

Read the updated material and supplementary material available in institute website. That should help you keep abreast with the latest changes

Many say that FM book problems is more than enough how far it is true

Nirosha : Apart from Book problems please work out from your scanner problems also

Could you like to suggest any book for FM other than institute material.

Balaji : 

For practising more problems you can refer CA institute practice manual for FM  ( CA inter practice manual.Solve CA IPCC material). This is required only if you  want to practice more problems.

Otherwise I don think, we have a better book other than institute material to prepare for FM

In what way that papers can be presented in a better manner from examiner point of view ?

Balaji : 

My personal experience from the words of an evaluator. People who evaluate don't spend more than 5 mins in a paper. they look for specific answers with the technical jargons and keywords at final level. It is more of marketing your paper. Answer in points and write section numbers where ever possible and try to finish in the main sheet itself.

What ever we prepare, what matters most is how we present our paper in those 3 hrs. A good presentation with legible handwriting is a must. 

Nirosha : 

You can use black and blue while writing......black one for your headings and the other for the body/ content.  I think writing only required points and highlighting sections and case laws wherever possible will fetch more marks

Don't use anything apart from black and blue...it wont look professional

Using two colour pen is acceptable . There was an information from students and others that using two pens are not allowed

Ashwin: I used blue and black throughout my attempts

Nirosha: Yes even i did the same...I used blue and black

And about sections... Quote them only if you are really sure. It doesn't matter even if you don't quote section...but please don't quote wrong ones. It is very important.

Can any one highlight on the new syllabus

Nirosha : 

I don't have much idea about the new syllabus.. But I guess the basic approaches to face the final exams will be equally applicable to new syllabus also.

Balaji : 

Concentrate more on valuation and restructuring in new syllabus where you have more weight-age

Weight age of marks allocate in comparison to old syllabus vary to new syllabus . With regard to new syllabus the marks are awarded separately for sec audit and insolvency and valuation are give 20 and 30 marks separate in CRI paper and we write restructuring for 50 marks how should this be approached in new syllabus also we have paper like information technology and system audit what is the preparation method for those paper .

Balaji : 

Thanks for sharing the information on New sylllabus for the benefit of others.

Even though info tech is boring, preparing from study material is the best option. And I have gone through the material of info tech. You have to study it fully in order to pass. No other way out

Nirosha : 

Yes. Given that info tech is slightly tough paper in new syllabus you have to devote extra time and effort for the same.

What about tax...part A and Wealth Tax?

Ashwin: 

Tax part A, you can trust Bangar book. Exhaustive but worth

Balaji : 

Wealth tax may be included since the same is shelved only in this budget. Those who are referring Bangar book will come across wealth tax topic.

Check the tax updates released by CS institute. Tax updates will carry 10 to 15 marks in you question paper. so be wise in going through the same.

Nirosha : 

Tax -  give importance to case studies too. I think Wealth Tax is included for this June exam.Be aware about the updates as Balaji said

How to score in Due Diligence?

Balaji : 

You should approach company law in a practical perspective for due diligence paper. It is more about procedures on checking compliance on company law and other laws. approach the subject with that in mind and prepare from study material. you should easily score 60 +

Have to go through the Bare Act ....In case, you face problem in understanding bare Act read it in relation with company law material.When it company law our institute material is the best in the market. I use our institute company law material to prepare for CA finals

Try to write down notes and prepare. You can practise the same for scanner theroy questions. That make improve your presentation in order to fetch more marks

Nirosha : 

Company law give you the core Act where as due diligence is all about procedures of what is there in company law

I would say our institute material is more than sufficient for law papers

What are the most important chapters to be covered  in FM in theory part?

Ashwin: Please use scanner for theory..because questions may be repetitive

Balaji : 

There are no specific areas which are important from exam point of view. This is because institute has the habit of pulling questions from all the areas. Guessing a specific area and covering it will put you under risk. My suggestion is cover all the areas as much as possible along with scanner questions. That should suffice to confidently face your exams.

Due weightage can be given to chapters 3,4,8 and 9 which is more of  theoretical chapters

And preparing from scanner for FM theory will help you understand in what way questions are asked.

*********************

Balaji :

I would be happy and satisfied with good results from all of you. Hope a lot more people will clear from this group and share their experiences to the next batch !
************

The young CS members who helped the students can be reached in the following mail ID:

csbalajin@gmail.com

Ashwin_522@yahoo.com

niroshaakathiravan@gmail.com

(Chat with seniors is concluded)

How to prepare CS Final Electives/ FM/ Tax.. Is 2 months sufficient? Chat with Seniors Part 2

Chat made by CS Professional program students with their Seniors continues.

First part is available here. 

***********
How to prepare for elective paper?

Shreya Gandhi

I chose IPR as my elective..Just went through the Institute material on the day before exam..you just need to know what comes where..and its that easy..

Just went through the Institute material on d day before exam..you just need to know what comes where..and its that easy..

I have also selected IPR , advise how to answer for first 50 mark ? Bcs it is a practical question

Shreya Gandhi: 

For the 50 mark question, we will have like around 4-5 questions internally each for around 10-15 marks.

They will give few paragraph..that will run for 3-4 sides. What I did was..i just went through the questions, read the paragraph like a story quickly and started hunting for the answers.

I did not read the paragraph keenly. Just the questions and directly figured out the answers from the material.

If you know the subject to some extent, you don't have to worry for elective . given that we already had IPR in our executive.

Sanofar 

For electives, whatever subject you chose, be familiar with institute material. That will help.

I have chosen Capital Commodity and Money market as Electives. Please help how to prepare?

Sanofar : 

Capital commodity and money market is a paper which needs more than book knowledge. Take interest in what's happening in money market in the current scenario, try to connect it with theory you learn.  You'll be able to answer in a better way which they expect in every professional course

Give some tips for Module 3

Sanofar : 

Module 3 - main is Tax. Concentrate on Indirect taxes and Transfer pricing. Read amendments in direct taxes. Don't leave any provision which you feel will be relevant for the question.

Shreya Gandhi: 

Direct tax is easy to score as well.. For international taxation , go through the institute material and be confident with executive portions ..easy to get 20/25 marks.

How should one prepare for FM and Tax? 

Sanofar : 

For FM, do all basic chapters like leverages, capital structure, cost of capital, dividend decisions. Then go for Big and important chapters like capital budgeting and working capital. Do theory from institute material and scanners

Tax is vast. Be thorough wid indirect taxes if you are in old syllabus

How should I prepare for Company Law and drafting?

Shreya Gandhi: 

Bare act and Institute material for company law.

Drafting is the most easy and scoring paper..institute material and scanner for reference will be more than sufficient.

Sanofar : 

Drafting institute material and scanner is sufficient. Learn conceptually. Drafting needs more of legal terms and logic

For FM & Tax, how to start  ...should we start with theory or problems.

Sanofar : 

Attempt Problems. If you are very sure how to go with a problem, do that first. Sums definitely need practice.  in exams, present them clearly with the formula. Usually if final answer is right, you may get full marks. The same is not the case with theory.

For theory, go through institute material and scanner

Shreya Gandhi: 

Problems first.. So that you get the practical application well.. Learning theory will then become easier and faster
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How to approach the case laws part being asked?

Aarti:

Try to understand the facts very well while reading the facts of the case. If you are understanding the facts correctly, you got 70% . Mostly we lack in it. Specially in exam hall atmosphere.

Sanofar : 

Yes. Have conceptual understanding for approaching. That will certainly help.

From where the case laws in tax are asked & whether giving reference of case law in each answer is necessary?

Sanofar : 

Reference of case law is important when they ask you exactly the same case. Some case laws are very important and are most repeated. Try to remember them well

Give a brief opinion for the case in connection with the reference case law, quote the case law. 

For problems, Bhangar's book is really useful

Shreya Gandhi: 

I would also suggest reading the Bhangar book for tax..

Like the merger and amalgamation chapter..the first one.. Concentrate more on that chapter.. Many case law questions are asked from that. Mention as per this case law, this was the judgement, and this is my opinion on it.

Stating the name of the case law does make a difference..Mention as per this case law, this was the judgement and this is your opinion and you nail it.

How to study the whole study material as it is so vast & repititive. Which points need to be studied and which to be dropped? How to Study  Institute material with Bhangar's book within such a short time span ?

Shreya Gandhi: 

The study material is vast..but if planned and executed well, it is the best source. Read little daily.. Keep brushing what you read.

3 revisions before the exam and you are good to go.

Be thorough with the lesson round up and the questions behind each chapter. Make notes for the important points. Use Highlighters and book marks in the material that you study.

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Whether attaching more supplementary answer sheets will get us more marks? 

What are your general tips for presentation? 

Aarthi 

Extra answer sheet will not fetch you more marks..More points more sheet does not matter..quality of your answer matters

Begin answer for each question in a fresh page. That will give a clarity about each full question.

Shreya Gandhi: 

Presentation matters the most.. Show the examiner you know the answer well..write what you know first..impress the examiner in first 2-3 minutes..

Show all what you know well first..get the game in your hand. Your slogging for months together is decided in just the first 3 valuable minutes of evaluation.

Sanofar 

My Guruji always said "3 months of solid preparation, 3 hours of perfect answering and smart presentation and 3 minutes of correction"

Ensure you don't leave any shortcoming in any of the 3. As Shreya's exact words - show the examiner you know the answer.

Impress examiner in first 2-3 minutes.Love law. Not results alone

Do we need to write more and more things or crisp points are enough for strategic management?

Sanofar : 

Write crisp points. Don't be repetitive. I had written only one side of one supplementary sheet attached and scored 72 in Strategic management. That proves pages don't fetch you marks. Your content does. Keep your answers full of content what you know. Doesn't mean you've to fill in everything you feel.

My handwriting is not that much legible. Does it matter in professional exams?

Aarthi 

Hardwriting does matter; Present neatly; Avoid overwriting.

Sanofar : 

Yes. Present in a better manner. Avoid scribbling too.  The examiner should be able to atleast understand what you write

How can I know about all the recent amendments regarding modules 2,3&4 ?

Sanofar

You can subscribe to CA club, CS portals. They mail you almost all the notifications , amendments regularly.

Aarti: CAspot is also worth subscribing to.

Lakshmi Narasima: You can see the updates in the website under academic corner. Visit : Icsi.edu
Where they have given all the updates applicable for June 15 exam

I got my answer sheets from Institute and found that for every 5-6 mark question, I get only 2 or 3 marks. What shall I do?

Oh ! That means you've to write more Points. Please take care. 

I am appearing this June for new syllabus...I have covered Info security, CR and Secretrial audit...rest is left over with some knowldge in tax too...so can I make up for all 9 subjects this June??

Shreya Gandhi: 

You can make it up very easily..you have already finished around 4 subjects.. You can definitely give and clear all 9 papers..these 2 months are the most crucial ones..utilise them very well.

Don't forget the group advantage u get if u write all papers together!

This group advantage works wonders. Trust me. I have benefited from it.

Is it possible to cover module 2 & module 4 in next 50 days, I have appeared module 4 thrice and every time got above 95 in mod 4 but unable to pass. And module 2 i have appeared only once and got 92 marks.... Is 10 hrs per day is sufficient ? 

Shreya Gandhi: 

Yes certainly it is sufficient. You can pass. Since you already know the concepts, its just revision you need to do with  a little more focus..you can.. Don't worry.

Sanofar : 

10- 12 hours is sufficient And 4 papers revision in 50 days is certainly possible and easy

By reading same books again and again I am getting bored day by day. This is my sixth attempt consecutively I'm losing in aggregate that too in a thin margin in modules 2,3&4. Can u please give some tips? 

I am writing this attempt 4th time. Each time failing with a very short margin. So very disappointed this time. I get very tensed during exam. Only 2 papers remaining. Still worried.

Sanofar

Have confidence, don't stress yourself or take exams as a burden. Prepare as much as you can, when you're feeling tensed, drink water and go for a walk. Come back and study. That's wat I used to do

Having written few times, you must be very familiar with the subject now, and not clearing by a short margin is not bad too. You've the ability to get 40 marks. 10 more marks is no Big deal for you. You can and you will !

Shreya Gandhi 

You are getting bored..but you become strong in the subject as well..as you said you have only 2 papers remaining, just give ur best despite the shortcoming and you will definitely rock :)

Just 2 more months. Don't get bored. Learn with interest. Learn it whole heartedly as if you gotta teach someone tomorrow. This will make you understand the concept very well.

A Student : Friends never get too much worry and lose your confidence on your studies, I am writing my 9th attempt and I have to complete 3 modules this time. Be confident to achieve your goals. We are all almost near completion, Our hard works will never fail. Make oath that this time I will clear !

Your guidance is definitely going to help me a lot to regain my confidence. If I start preparing from now onwards, will it be sufficient? Because I feel I have wasted my time since result, which troubles me a lot.

Sanofar

It is not very late. Only 2 papers right. More than enough. But don't get bored. Plan smartly this time

Shreya Gandhi: 

Frankly speaking, these 2 months count the most..you can recoup whatever you have lost in these 2 months..This is the time most of them gain focus.. I too managed only in the last one to one and a half month as I was studying college simultaneoulsly. So its not something which you have really lost..You can still shine..Every moment from now counts.. Do your best !

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First part of this chat/ interview is available here 

Related links: (Please click the Title of the article given below to read that article)

How to clear FM & Tax - Interview with Mr. Balaji, All India Third rank holder

CS Exams - How to prepare and present - Tips by Ms. Sanofar - All India Third rank

Whats app chat with Seniors - How to prepare/ Present for CS Final exams...

Friends,

We had organized for a "Chat with Seniors on your doubts regarding exams" session in  2 Whats app groups created exclusively for CS Professional program (Final).

Mr. Balaji (All India 3rd rank holder in June 2015), Mr. Ashwin who cleared course 2 years back ,  who has written some interesting articles for the benefit of CS members and Ms. Nirosha who cleared CS course this June had a Chat in one Group (It consists of 100 members).

Sanofar (All India 3rd Rankholder) and Shreya Gandhi who cleared Final in first attempt in Dec 2015 answered in another Whats app group (Consisting of 90 members). Ms. Aarti who has cleared Final, was a part of the group also joined later and gave her views.

The discussion was very meaningful, extremely helpful and inspiring for the students. The discussion which started at 7 Pm went upto 9.30 PM in one group & till 10 PM in another.

We sincerely thank all the young 5 CS members who clarified the doubts of the Students.

We give below the questions asked by CS Final students & the answers given for the benefit of all.

Owing to volume of discussion, this will be published in 4 parts.

The first part is shared here:

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How to prepare for theory papers like company law?

Sanofar:

For theory questions, I used to write crisp answers. If it is  3 or 4 mark questions, write valid 6-8 points

I always used bullet points and capitals to highlight important key words. Don't drag or repeat your answer

Even for long questions, ensure you don't drag your answer for more than  2 pages.

For every chapter you study, take one A4 sheet and jot down important case laws with short statement of facts and judgement. This will definitely help you revise faster during exams.

Shreya Gandhi

Yes.I second that with sonofar..Jotting down points , preparing notes by urself really helps..you just need to revise that before the exam if you feel that you lack time..

Did you support your descriptive answers with case laws. Particularly for the Corporate Restructuring paper

Sanofar:

For questions which carry more weightage, you should definitely quote case laws which are relevant.

For theory papers like Company law and CRI , I read sections from Bare Act before going through study material. So it was easy to remember section numbers and provisos.

In Institute study material, you have many topics where a sentence is repeated in different ways. So if you feel that topic is too huge to revise during exams, on top of every page, write what's the important point that's conveyed in that page

This way when you study before exam, you can finish one page in 2-3 mins.

Do revise the lesson round up at least if you're planning to omit any chapter. ( Avoid omissions strictly. I am suggesting for inevitable circumstances)

How to prepare for strategic management?

Sanofar

For Strategic management, study Part B and part C first

As WTO is little technical with years and dates, don't leave it for the last minute. Study when you're relaxed. Do go through scanners also

And part-A, you can make flow charts or note down headings alone as most of them are descriptive and simple questions.

And see the type of questions they ask from scanners

And in Strategic management, presentation plays a very major role. So take care of that

How to remember the topic ministerial conferences and decisions taken therein? Because at least 1 question is surely asked.

Sanofar

Good question . Make a table. That will be helpful to have a clear understanding.

I had made a table. Take columns as Conference, dates, decision, major countries participated. Write all conferences, one by one, write 4-5 points in decisions taken, ( you can also note down y this had come). Visualize and study. You won't forget.

How to keep mentally strong during exam?

Shreya Gandhi: 

Good preparation will definitely give you confidence..do your best..leave the rest to God.. Believe in hard work and God..

How you managed to study along with your training ? Read daily ?

Sanofar

I was not undergoing training but was helping my brother who was doing business while studying for CS. But I used to study daily from January for my June attempt

Study for at least 3 hrs a day was my plan. Either in the night or during lunch time. Sundays more time with books. Only a constant touch with books will give you the confidence. So keep studying everyday.

Please help me how to answer questions in Corporate Restructuring, Due Diligence and Corporate Governance ;  it looks easier than FM and Tax while studying but it seems to be difficult while answering...

Sanofar

In CRI, study case laws as much as you can. Be thorough and quote them when ever relevant section asked.  Finish mergers amalgamations and takeover thoroughly. That itself will cover 35%. Other small chapters like buy back and valuation, SARFAESI, debt recovery, etc. Study only what's important

Secretarial audit and due diligence is a combination of company law, CRI and Securities law.

Secretarial audit is so easy. Just visualize what happens in a company. What are all the compliances that are to followed, how they r to be checked. Due diligence cannot be attempted by studying scanner alone. Study material too

Corporate governance is a very easy paper. Do business ethics and sustainability first. Covers major marks. Governance is very simple. See scanners also. But institute material is a must read

For all the theory papers, I would suggest reading only the institute material..It is more than sufficient.

Shreya Gandhi: 

For Due Diligence, I just read the institute material.Concentrated on secretarial audit part (25 marks) and ICDR (in the other half) other chapters like compliance management, search and seizure, legal, environmental management, Due Diligence overview are very easy..go through the scanner if you have time..Due Diligence should not be a problem if you are thorough with the material.

Corporate Governance - you will find the paper very easy if you go through the material.. Its because you will find all questions being asked from the material itself.. You will gain confidence if you read the text both before and after the exam :)

Give some idealogy on choice of question during exam

Cst Shreya Gandhi:

Answer the question which you know better and you feel is easy to score in..

Sanofar : 

Please see if you are you able to attempt for 100 marks in exam. You should always attempt for total 100 marks to score above 50.  If you're thinking you lack in presentation, improve that. Write legibly. Write the answer you know very well first.

Keep the answers in bullet points and crisp. You know what are important words, use them first. Choose good questions where you don't have a doubt.

Aarthi

First answer the questions you know very well...then..which you know to some extent & at at last ...questions that you need to think and have some confusion.

Is it OK not to attempt questions in sequence. Because different people have different opinions on this.

Aarthi: 

No;  answering questions  in sequence is not neccessary. Even I answered this way in CS all levels and CA too

Sanofar 

Sequence isn't necessary but avoid answering 5 (a) first and 5(b) 10 pages later. So if you answer QN. No 5, make sure you attempt all parts there itself,. Answering different parts at different places will create chaos.

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In the next Part.....

By reading same books again and again I am getting bored day by day. This is my sixth attempt consecutively I'm losing in aggregate that too in a thin margin in modules 2,3&4. Can u please give some tips? 

I am writing this attempt 4th time. Each time failing with a very short margin. So very disappointed this time. I get very tensed during exam. Only 2 papers remaining. Still worried.

How to prepare & present for elective papers?

Related links: (Please click the Title of the article given below to read that article)
How to clear FM & Tax - Interview with Mr. Balaji, All India Third rank holder

CS Exams - How to prepare and present - Tips by Ms. Sanofar - All India Third rank