CA Final Subjects: Group I and Group II Papers and What Each Covers

This is the list under ICAI's New Scheme of Education and Training, launched on 1 July 2023 (FAQ, Q 1.1), and it is the list on ICAI's Final syllabus page when we checked on 7 October 2026. The May 2023 exam, which this page first covered, was held under the previous eight-paper syllabus; that list is at the end of this article.

CA Final subjects by group

Sources: ICAI FAQs (Q 4.3 and Q 4.8), ICAI's Final syllabus (2023) and ICAI's exam announcement of 2 May 2026 (durations).

You can write one group or both groups in an attempt, and you can pass the two groups in different sittings (FAQ, Q 4.10). Each group is examined on its own set of days: for November 2026, Group I is on 2, 4 and 6 November and Group II on 9, 11 and 13 November (ICAI announcement, 2 May 2026). The full timetable and exam-day rules are in our guide to CA Final exam dates.

Group I papers: what they cover

The topic lists below summarise ICAI's Final syllabus (2023), which is still the version linked from ICAI's syllabus page. ICAI says the specific inclusions and exclusions in each topic are set through its Study Guidelines, issued every year where required, so check those for your attempt.

Paper 1: Financial Reporting

Paper 1 is about applying Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) to practical scenarios. It covers:

• general purpose financial statements under Ind AS, including Division II of Schedule III to the Companies Act, 2013, and the Ind AS conceptual framework;
• Ind AS on presentation, accounting policies and fair value, revenue (Ind AS 115), assets and liabilities, income taxes and foreign exchange, disclosures, and other standards such as share-based payment;
• financial instruments (Ind AS 32, 109 and 107), including hedge accounting;
• group accounting: business combinations (Ind AS 103) and consolidated and separate financial statements;
• first-time adoption of Ind AS (Ind AS 101), analysis of financial statements, ethics in accounting, and technology and accounting.

Paper 2: Advanced Financial Management

Paper 2 is the closest match to the old syllabus's Strategic Financial Management. Its 15 topics are financial policy and corporate strategy, risk management (including value at risk), advanced capital budgeting, security analysis, security valuation, portfolio management, securitization, mutual funds, derivatives, foreign exchange exposure and risk management, international financial management, interest rate risk management, business valuation, mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring, and startup finance.

Paper 3: Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics

Paper 3 has 19 topics. Most follow the Standards on Auditing: quality control, the auditor's responsibilities (fraud, laws and regulations, joint audits), planning, materiality and internal control, audit evidence, completion and review, and reporting. It then covers special purpose engagements, review and other assurance engagements, digital auditing, group audits, audits of banks and NBFCs, public sector audits, internal audit, due diligence, investigation and forensic accounting, emerging areas such as ESG assurance, and professional ethics and auditors' liabilities. ICAI's syllabus notes that several standards studied in depth at Intermediate can be tested at Final through case studies.

Group II papers: what they cover

Paper 4: Direct Tax Laws & International Taxation

ICAI's section-wise weightage (issued 26 October 2023, applicable from the May 2024 exam until changed, with a permitted deviation of ±5%) splits Paper 4 into three sections:

The 2023 syllabus is written around the Income-tax Act, 1961. ICAI's study material for the May and November 2027 exams explains that the Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026 and repealed the 1961 Act, and ICAI has started posting Paper 4 chapters for 2027 on that basis (checked 7 October 2026). Which law applies to which attempt is covered in our Paper 4 guide.

Paper 5: Indirect Tax Laws

• Part I: Goods and Services Tax (80 marks). The whole of the CGST Act, 2017 and the IGST Act, 2017, largely through case studies: levy and supply, place, time and value of supply, input tax credit, computation of GST liability, procedures (registration, invoices, e-way bills, returns, payment), refunds, job work, assessment and audit, inspection and search, demand and recovery, offences and penalties, appeals, advance ruling and ethics under GST. No State GST law is examined.
• Part II: Customs & FTP (20 marks). The Customs Act, 1962 and the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (levy and types of duty, classification and valuation, import and export procedures, warehousing, refund), plus the basics of the Foreign Trade Policy, including export promotion schemes.

Paper 6: Integrated Business Solutions

Paper 6 is entirely case-study based. According to ICAI's syllabus it tests your combined knowledge of seven subjects: the other five Final papers plus Corporate and Economic Laws and Strategic Cost & Performance Management, the two compulsory online modules. Its full title adds Strategic Management.

The question paper has five case studies of 25 marks each, and you attempt any four. In each case study, 10 marks are MCQs and 15 marks are descriptive questions (ICAI guidance notes, November 2026). It is the only open-book Final paper (FAQ, Q 4.8).

Self-Paced Online Modules: required, but not exam papers

Along with the six papers you must qualify four Self-Paced Online Modules before you can sit the Final exam (FAQ, Q 4.5). You register for them when you register for the Final course, with no separate fee (Q 7.3).

Each module carries 100 marks, and you qualify it with at least 50%, with no limit on attempts and no negative marking. Module marks are not added to your Final exam marks (FAQ, Q 7.2, Q 7.7 to Q 7.9). The full lists of SET C and SET D options, and the rules for students who started on the old syllabus, are in our comparison of the new and old CA Final syllabus.

How the papers are examined

• MCQs: 30% of the marks in Papers 1 to 5 and 40% in Paper 6 are case-based MCQs; the rest are descriptive (ICAI guidance notes, November 2026). There is no negative marking (FAQ, Q 4.9).
• Reading time: papers start at 2 PM, with 15 minutes of advance reading time from 1.45 PM (ICAI announcement, 2 May 2026).
• Language: you can answer in English or Hindi. The Hindi option is chosen in the exam application and covers the whole group, not single papers (ICAI guidance notes, November 2026).
• Passing a group: at least 40% in each paper and 50% in the aggregate of the group, at one sitting. If you write both groups together, you can also pass with 40% in each paper and 50% aggregate across both groups (FAQ, Q 4.10).
• Exemptions: if you write all papers of a group and fail it, any paper with 60% or more is exempted for the next three exams (FAQ, Q 4.11).
• Exam months: May and November, from the May 2026 exam onwards (ICAI announcement, 6 April 2026).

Registration, practical training and the other conditions for sitting the exam are explained in our CA Final course guide.

The May 2023 subject list (old syllabus)

The May 2023 exam came before ICAI launched the new scheme, so it followed the previous Final syllabus (ICAI Board of Studies, 2021). That syllabus had eight papers:

1. Financial Reporting
2. Strategic Financial Management
3. Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics
4. Corporate and Economic Laws
5. Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation
6. Elective, one of: 6A Risk Management, 6B Financial Services and Capital Markets, 6C International Taxation, 6D Economic Laws, 6E Global Financial Reporting Standards, 6F Multidisciplinary Case Study
7. Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation
8. Indirect Tax Laws

These papers are no longer set. ICAI's requirements for the November 2026 exams say that candidates whose Final course code on the Self Service Portal is not NEWFIN23 or CONFIN23 must convert to the new course before applying, and the conversion is free.

Official syllabus and study material

• Syllabus: ICAI's Final syllabus page links a PDF for each paper; the full Final syllabus is a single PDF.
• Study Guidelines: ICAI issues Study Guidelines when a paper's topics are added to or excluded for an attempt; when we checked (7 October 2026) the Final guidelines listed there were for Paper 5: Indirect Tax Laws.
• Weightage: the section-wise weightage for Papers 1 to 5 (Paper 6 is entirely case-study based and has no section-wise weightage in it).
• Practice: the BoS Knowledge Portal has ICAI's study material, Revision Test Papers, Mock Test Papers, past question papers and suggested answers.