CA Final SFM (Now AFM): Syllabus, ICAI Study Material and Classes

Where AFM fits in CA Final

AFM is one of three Group I papers, with Paper 1, Financial Reporting, and Paper 3, Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics. Group II has the two tax papers and Paper 6, Integrated Business Solutions, an entirely case-study-based paper that also tests AFM (ICAI FAQs, Q 4.3; Final syllabus). For all six papers, the self-paced online modules and who can sit the exam, see CA Final subjects under the new scheme.

To pass Group I you need, at one sitting, at least 40% in each Group I paper (AFM, Financial Reporting and Advanced Auditing) and 50% in the aggregate of the three papers (FAQ, Q 4.10). If you appear in the whole group and fail it but score 60% or more in AFM, the paper is exempted for the next three exams (Q 4.11).

AFM syllabus and weightage

Objective of the paper

ICAI sets a single objective for AFM: "To acquire the ability to apply financial management theories and techniques in strategic decision making." The old SFM syllabus states the same objective, word for word.

Chapters and section-wise weightage

Sources: ICAI's section-wise weightage for the Final course (26 October 2023, applicable from the May 2024 exam until changed); section numbers as printed in ICAI's AFM study material.

What each section covers, in ICAI's syllabus terms:

• Section I: the CFO's role in value creation, the strategic decision-making framework, value at risk (VaR), the effect of inflation, technology and government policy on capital budgeting, risk in investment decisions, adjusted present value and the optimum replacement cycle.
• Section II: fundamental and technical analysis, the efficient market hypothesis, equity research, valuation of equity shares, preference shares and bonds, the role of valuers, portfolio analysis, selection, revision and evaluation, capital market theory, and alternative investments such as real estate, gold, private equity, REITs, hedge funds, ETFs and commodities.
• Section III: securitisation and tokenisation; types and evaluation of mutual funds; forwards, futures, options (pricing, Greeks, exotic options), credit derivatives, real options, swaps, and commodity, weather and electricity derivatives.
• Section IV: what moves exchange rates, the role of SWIFT, payment gateways, foreign exchange risk management, international capital budgeting, sovereign funds, GIFT City, multinational working capital, benchmark rates, and hedging interest rate risk with FRAs, interest rate futures, options, swaps and swaptions.
• Section V: asset-, earnings- and cash-flow-based valuation, CAPM, arbitrage pricing theory, the beta of an unlisted company, relative valuation, EVA, MVA and SVA, valuing distressed companies, start-ups, digital platforms and professional firms, the impact of ESG on valuation; then mergers, takeover defences, reverse mergers, demergers, equity carve-outs, buyouts, cross-border mergers and SPACs.
• Section VI: pitch presentations, unicorns, the Government of India's startup initiative, sources of funding and succession planning.

ICAI has not issued Study Guidelines for AFM. Its Study Guidelines page lists only Intermediate GST and Final Indirect Tax Laws, and its applicability list for the May 2026 exam (March 2026) has entries for Final Papers 1, 3, 4 and 5 but none for Paper 2 (both checked 6 October 2026). For the November 2026 exam, the Board of Studies names only the study material as applicable for AFM, while for FR, Audit and the two tax papers it also names an RTP or update. AFM still has a November 2026 RTP for practice (see below).

What the subject is about

AFM builds on Financial Management, the 50-mark Section A of Intermediate Paper 6 (FAQ, Q 3.13). ICAI's study material says the paper "stresses the importance of applying the knowledge and techniques of financial management to planning, operating and monitoring of the finance function".

Because ICAI sees the paper as dynamic, the study material asks students to follow the Board of Studies' Students' Journal, ICAI's monthly journal The Chartered Accountant, and at least one financial newspaper every day.

What changed from SFM to AFM

The old SFM syllabus (ICAI Board of Studies, 2021) had 14 chapters; AFM has 15. Comparing the two ICAI syllabi, these are the main differences (our comparison, not an ICAI list):

• A new chapter 3, Advanced Capital Budgeting Decisions, on inflation, technology and government policy, risk in investment decisions, adjusted present value and the optimum replacement cycle.
• Corporate Valuation became Business Valuation, adding going-concern and non-going-concern valuation; the valuation of distressed companies, start-ups, digital platforms and professional or consultancy firms; and the impact of ESG on valuation.
• New topics in existing chapters: the CFO's role in value creation (chapter 1); equity research (4); the role and responsibilities of valuers (5); named alternative investment avenues (6); risks in securitisation and tokenisation (7); evaluation of mutual funds, the fund manager's role, hedge funds and FIIs (8); option Greeks, exotic options, credit derivatives, real options, derivative mishaps, and weather and electricity derivatives (9); SWIFT and payment gateways (10); raising funds abroad, sovereign funds and GIFT City (11); benchmark rates (12); SPACs and unlocking value through restructuring (14); and unicorns and succession planning (15).

ICAI's November 2024 edition of the study material also notes that "at most of places" LIBOR has been replaced with alternative reference rates such as SOFR, ESTER and SONIA. SFM notes and recorded lectures made for the old syllabus predate these changes, so check any you plan to use against the list above.

ICAI keeps suggested answers for old SFM papers, from December 2021 to November 2023, on its Old Suggested Answers page. In our view they are still useful practice for chapters that did not change; for the current pattern, use the AFM papers from May 2024 onwards (below).

If you registered for Final under the old syllabus, check your course code on the Self Service Portal: ICAI's requirements for the November 2026 exam say that candidates whose code is not NEWFIN23 or CONFIN23 must convert to the new course before applying, and no fee is charged. The module rules for old-syllabus students are in the CA Final subjects guide linked above.

SFM in the CMA course

CMA Final still has a paper called Strategic Financial Management: Paper 14 of ICMAI's Syllabus 2022 (Curriculum 2022). It is a different exam with its own syllabus; for its question papers and pattern, see CMA Final question papers.

AFM study material, RTPs, mock tests and past papers

All of these are free downloads on ICAI's website and the BoS Knowledge Portal; only printed study material is ordered separately.

ICAI study material

• Download: ICAI's AFM study material page, marked "Applicable for May 2026 Exam", has the initial pages, 15 chapter PDFs and an appendix. A Hindi-medium version is also published.
• Edition: the initial pages show the November 2024 edition, reprinted in August 2025, and the Board of Studies names this edition (reprint August 2025 onwards) as applicable for the November 2026 exam.
• What each chapter contains: learning outcomes, the content, and "Test Your Knowledge" questions with answers. The appendix has an exponential (e power) value table, a natural log table and the area under the normal curve.
• Printed copies: registered Final students order the printed study material on ICAI's CDS portal, with login details that ICAI emails after registration (FAQ, Q 4.4).

Revision Test Paper

The November 2026 AFM RTP has 14 questions with suggested answers or hints: two case scenarios with MCQs (multilateral netting between subsidiaries, and a bank's nostro account), nine practical questions on chapters including advanced capital budgeting, security and business valuation, derivatives, portfolio management, mutual funds and mergers, and three theory questions.

Mock Test Papers

For the November 2026 exam, the Board of Studies ran two Mock Test Paper series, with the AFM papers set on 11 September (Series I) and 26 September 2026 (Series II), 2 PM to 5 PM. Question papers are on the BoS Knowledge Portal and the BoS MTP portal, with answer keys uploaded within 48 hours (announcement of 10 August 2026).

Past papers and suggested answers

ICAI's Final course question papers page has the AFM papers from May 2024, November 2024, May 2025, September 2025, January 2026 and May 2026, and the May 2026 suggested answers include Paper 2. The May 2026 paper shows how the pattern works:

• Part I (30 marks): 15 MCQs of 2 marks each, marked on an OMR sheet and set on five case scenarios: Sovereign Gold Bonds, a solar plant investment with an option to wait, takeover defence tactics, the VaR of a two-stock portfolio, and an importer's forward contract.
• Part II (70 marks): six descriptive questions; Question 1 is compulsory and you answer any four of the remaining five. Working notes form part of the answer.
• Question 1 (14 marks) combined an overseas project appraisal with a currency swap, a share valuation using the H-model, and a question on sustainable growth, so a single compulsory question can span several sections.

Free ICAI classes and what to check in paid ones

ICAI's Board of Studies runs free AFM classes on Zoom, with recordings, notes, assignments and MCQs. You join through the BoS Knowledge Portal, the ICAI BOS mobile app or ICAI's YouTube channel, ICAI CA Tube.

Private AFM courses differ in price, format (live or recorded) and what they include. In our view, these points matter more than price when you compare them:

• The lectures are recorded for the 15-chapter AFM syllabus, not reused from old SFM batches: check that they cover chapter 3 on advanced capital budgeting and topics added elsewhere, such as tokenisation, option Greeks and SPACs.
• Interest rate and foreign exchange examples use current benchmark rates such as SOFR, not LIBOR.
• The course makes you write ICAI's RTP, mock test papers and AFM past papers to time, including the case-scenario MCQs.
• Recordings stay available until your exam, you can get doubts answered, and Hindi lectures are available if you plan to answer in Hindi.