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Entering the final few weeks, the last lap, and the foremost lunge towards the CPT? You have prepared for months, all through your class XII exams, and devoted a lot of time, effort and patience. But what can you do to give your preparations the perfect finishing touch? What does it take to ensure that your name features in that elite list of merit rankers? 

 

The Common Proficiency Test or the CPT, as it is more popularly known, is the entry level ie lowest/first level at which a student can start pursuing the Chartered Accountancy course. Till a few months ago, one could begin their Articleship training right after clearing CPT, however the rules have changed and now one also needs to clear the Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC) after clearing CPT to begin with Articleship training. The revamped format should put less pressure on students, as now the fate of which firm they train with does not wholly rest upon the CPT scores. 

 

Nonetheless, it is imperative to put in your best in CPT and to begin with, you need to first assess yourself and understand where you stand. Only once you realise how prepared you truly are, will you be able to move ahead in the right direction. 

 

The CPT is made up of four distinct subjects divided into two sessions. 

SESSION – I (Two Sections – Two hours – 100 Marks) 

Section A: Fundamentals of Accounting (60 Marks) 

Section B: Mercantile Laws (40 Marks) 

SESSION – II (Two Sections – Two hours – 100 Marks) 

Section C: General Economics (50 Marks) 

Section D: Quantitative Aptitude (50 Marks) 

 

The current guidelines of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, India (ICAI), the statutory body that conducts and regulates the CPT say: 

A candidate shall ordinarily be declared to have passed the test if he obtains a minimum of 50% marks, subject to the principle of negative marking, in a manner as may be specified by the council from time to time. In its current format, the negative marking is 25% or one fourth of a grade. 

 

SUBJECT-WISE 

 

1. Fundamentals of Accounting 

The ICAI certainly lays more emphasis on this subject as is evident from the marks weightage. Since this is the base of your CA career, you are expected to be strong with the fundamentals. The basic concepts should be studied thoroughly and one should pay more attention to theory, as previous years have seen more weightage being given to theory questions. Manish Modi, a practicing CA who teaches accountancy at Pinnacle Education advises, “Students must concentrate on mastering the theoretical questions that can be asked from various aspects of the syllabus.” 

Since long questions cannot be asked for one mark, CPT usually has 

a. One long problem and four-five small questions based thereupon 

b. Small questions for one mark each 

Hence, one definitely cannot leave the lengthy questions while studying as that means risking four or five marks at one go. 

Apart from the theory questions, areas that could be focussed upon include calculating depreciation via various methods, computing discount/interest on bills, consignment and joint venture problems, goodwill, issue of shares/debentures, and others. 

 

2. Mercantile Laws 

The syllabus covers basic and structural laws beginning with the Indian Contract Act, 1872 (Sections 1 to 75); the Sales of Goods Act, 1930 and the Partnership Act, 1932. Keshav Thakkar, June 2008 CPT Rank Four, explains, “There are three acts of which, The Contract Act is undoubtedly the most important and complex. Case studies/illustrations for the provisions are a nice way of understanding the relevant laws.” 

Dhawal Vora, who had missed the All-India merit of the August 2007 CPT by merely two marks adds, “Be clear with similar sounding concepts in order to avoid confusion during the exam. The ICAI is known to test you on such concepts.” 

 

3. General Economics 

General Economics is made up of two parts — Micro and Macro. In Macro-economics, expect around four-five questions on statistics. Also, there have always been a few general knowledge questions related to economics, so it would do a student well to start reading the newspapers. While seeming trivial, these marks prove to be handy to go from average/good marks to a merit rank. Vora, now a final year CA student, from his own experience shares, “It is essential to have a good grip on economics so that you can complete the 50 questions quickly. This will leave you with ample time for Quantitative Aptitude. Prepare yourself to wrap up economics within 20 minutes at the maximum.” He says he finished economics in eight minutes flat but was still just barely able to finish Quantitative Aptitude. 

Another important piece of advice by Mahesh Deshpande, General Economics teacher at Gurukul Academy is, “Although you will not be asked to draw graphs, it is important to practise them to get the required conceptual clarity.” 

 

4. Quantitative Aptitude 

On Quantitative Aptitude, Sudhir Kamath, who teaches Maths at Eskays Learner Academy says, “Study the entire module which should generally guarantee you a score of 40+ in Quantitative Aptitude. During the exam, it would be better to attempt to finish the economics paper within 40-45 minutes. The balance should be kept for Quantitative Aptitude.” 

Hrishikesh Samant, August 2007 CPT Rank 3, has a few suggestions for students studying Quantitative Aptitude, “Get comfortable with the calculator. It proves a boon in an exam along with learning the shortcuts. Time yourself to give no more than a minute-and-a-half or two to each question.” 

When one sees the CPT as a whole, one comes across four subjects at a time. Here is where management tactics come into play. So how does one balance time amongst the four subjects? 

 

Again, Samant offers some very important tips. 

a. In economics, undertake rapid reading (as many number of times as possible) so that you can make out the correct statistics out of the four options that are given in the MCQs. b. For accounts, focus on Schedule VI disclosures and scan through Basic Accounting Standards (Chapters 1, 2, 6, 9, and 10) apart from Basic Accounting Conventions and Assumptions. c. When looking at Quantitative Aptitude, preferably revise only formulae and try solving papers. d. Review all the important provisions and check if you can recollect its content and a related case/ example when revising law. 

In addition to the above, Thakkar advises to solve the model question papers provided by ICAI to gain sufficient practice. He says, “Law and statistics are the subjects to focus on in case you want to cross 160. Statistics carry a very high weightage in the 50 marks paper.” General suggestions 

1. If the ICAI maintains the 25% negative score, the probability is that of every four questions that you answer, one might be correct. Thus, the equation becomes +1 - 0.25*3 = +0.25. On the other hand, if you don’t answer any of the four questions, you straight away lose those four marks. 

2. If you have just started studying only now, start with the basics of accounts and economics and become thorough with it. Study Micro-economics first and then head over to Macro. In Quantitative Aptitude, practice the statistics part well in addition to probability and permutations and combinations. Studying the initial parts of The Partnership and The Contract Act would do you well too. 

3. As Thakkar says, “The study material is the primary basis on which the papers are set. Studying from other books should be in addition to and not instead of it”.