CS Executive Syllabus: Subjects, Groups and Marks for Each Paper

CS Executive subjects at a glance

ICSI's syllabus splits most papers into parts with fixed marks. The table shows the seven papers, how their 100 marks are divided and the paper codes ICSI uses (ICSI Syllabus 2022 and Student Services FAQs):

Group 1 therefore carries 400 marks and Group 2 carries 300. ICSI sets the level of knowledge for every Executive paper at "Working Knowledge". It grouped the papers so that Group 1 builds the fundamental concepts used in Group 2, and advises students to give priority to Group 1 when they plan their exams.

ICSI gives marks only for these parts, not for individual chapters, so any chapter-wise marks table you see elsewhere is someone's estimate.

What each paper covers

These are summaries of ICSI's detailed contents. The full syllabus PDF on ICSI's New Syllabus 2022 page lists every topic.

The six law papers

Six of the seven papers are law papers. In brief:

• Paper 1, Jurisprudence, Interpretation & General Laws: sources of law, the Constitution of India, interpretation of statutes, administrative law, torts, civil and criminal procedure, evidence, limitation, arbitration, right to information, information technology, contracts and negotiable instruments.
• Paper 2, Company Law & Practice: the Companies Act, 2013, from types of companies, share capital, debentures, charges, dividends and accounts to general meetings, directors, board and committee meetings, the annual report and key managerial personnel.
• Paper 3, Setting Up of Business, Industrial & Labour Laws: choosing and setting up a business form (companies, LLPs, startups, MSMEs, non-corporate entities, NBFCs, foreign companies' offices), initial registrations and licences, and the labour laws on working conditions, industrial relations, wages and social security.
• Paper 5, Capital Market & Securities Laws: how the capital market and stock exchanges work, SEBI, depositories and intermediaries, then issue of securities, listing obligations, takeovers, insider trading, delisting, buy-back and mutual funds.
• Paper 6, Economic, Commercial and Intellectual Property Laws: foreign exchange, foreign investment and trade, special economic zones, money laundering, competition, consumer protection and real estate law, plus patents, trade marks, copyright, geographical indications and designs.
• Paper 7, Tax Laws & Practice: income tax for individuals, firms and companies, and GST with an overview of customs.

Our guide to the CS Executive law papers goes through each of these papers part by part, including the Company Law syllabus.

Paper 4: Corporate Accounting and Financial Management

This is the only paper that is not a law paper. It replaced two Syllabus 2017 papers, Corporate and Management Accounting and Financial and Strategic Management.

• Part I, Corporate Accounting (60 marks): accounting basics up to final accounts; the accounts a company must keep and Schedule III of the Companies Act, 2013; accounting standards and how AS, Ind AS and IFRS compare; accounting for share capital (issue, forfeiture, buy-back, bonus and rights shares, ESOPs, sweat equity) and debentures; consolidated financial statements of holding, subsidiary and associate companies; financial statement analysis with ratios; cash flow statements; and forecasting financial statements.
• Part II, Financial Management (40 marks): objectives of financial management, time value of money, capital budgeting (NPV, IRR, payback, profitability index), cost of capital, capital structure and EBIT-EPS analysis, dividend policy and models, working capital management, security analysis, and an overview of costing, including marginal costing and break-even point.

Changes from the December 2025 exams

ICSI's Council modified the contents of three papers, "to be effective from December 2025 examination, in view of its coverage in other papers of CS Course" (ICSI announcement on modified Executive contents): Jurisprudence, Interpretation & General Laws, Company Law & Practice, and Economic, Commercial and Intellectual Property Laws. The paper names and marks did not change.

The detailed syllabus marks what was removed. Among other changes, the lessons on specific relief, stamp law, registration of documents and sale of goods left Paper 1; inspection, inquiry and investigation left Paper 2; and external commercial borrowings left Paper 6. Most of these topics moved to CS Professional papers. Notes, scanners and recorded lectures made before December 2025 may still include them; the law papers guide lists every deleted topic.

Study material and the cut-off for updates

ICSI's study material for all seven papers can be downloaded from its Executive Programme page. According to ICSI's notice on the study material for the December 2026 exams:

• the material for Papers 1 to 6 is updated till 30 November 2025;
• the material for Paper 7, Tax Laws & Practice, is updated till 31 May 2025;
• students should also read the Executive supplements for the December 2026 exams, on ICSI's Supplements page.

The Executive Programme page also lists a separate Tax Laws and Practice book "for June 2027 exam onwards", so make sure you use the book meant for your exam session.

Questions can test amendments, notifications and court rulings up to 31 May of the same year for the December session, and up to 30 November of the previous year for the June session (ICSI Syllabus 2022, section D).

How the papers are examined

• Format: each paper is a written paper of 100 marks. In ICSI's December 2026 time table, papers run from 2:00 PM to 5:15 PM, and the first 15 minutes are for reading the question paper.
• Pre-Exam Test: under Syllabus 2022 you must pass ICSI's online Pre-Exam Test before you can enrol for the main exams (ICSI Syllabus 2022, section E).
• Passing marks: you pass a group with at least 40% in each paper and 50% in the aggregate of that group's papers, at one sitting. Sitting both groups together, you need 40% in each paper and 50% in the aggregate of all papers (ICSI qualifying marks).

Exam dates, the question format, the exam form and pass percentages are in our CS Executive exam guide.

The old Module 1 and Module 2 syllabus

Many books and websites still show Syllabus 2017, with two modules of four papers each. ICSI held the last Executive exam under it in December 2024; since June 2025, Executive exams are held only under Syllabus 2022 (ICSI Student Services FAQs, 18 September 2026).

Under ICSI's switchover scheme, papers passed under Syllabus 2017 count as follows:

• Module 1: Jurisprudence, Interpretation & General Laws, Company Law, and Setting up of Business Entities and Closure correspond to Papers 1, 2 and 3; Tax Laws corresponds to Paper 7.
• Module 2: Corporate and Management Accounting and Financial and Strategic Management both correspond to Paper 4; Securities Laws & Capital Markets to Paper 5; Economic, Business and Commercial Laws to Paper 6.

The new papers are not copies of the old ones: Paper 3 adds industrial and labour laws, and Paper 6 adds intellectual property laws. Students who switch over must also pass the Pre-Exam Test (ICSI Student Services FAQs).

Proposed Syllabus 2027 (draft only)

ICSI has published an exposure draft of a proposed Syllabus 2027 and invited comments until 30 September 2026. Neither the draft nor ICSI's consultation notice gives a start date, so Syllabus 2022 remains the syllabus for current exams. For the Executive stage, the draft proposes:

• Seven papers, three of them reshaped: Paper 3 would become Setting up of Business and Intellectual Property Laws, Paper 4 would become Corporate Accounting, and Paper 6 would become Economic, Commercial and Labour Laws. Papers 1, 2, 5 and 7 keep their current names.
• Written exams for all papers, with a grading system in which the written exam counts for 70% and internal continuous assessment for 30%.

Check ICSI's New Syllabus 2022 page for any final decision before buying material for a future session.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CS Executive the same as CS Inter?

Yes. "CS Inter" or "CS Intermediate" is an informal name for CS Executive, the middle stage between the CSEET entrance test and CS Professional. ICSI calls it the Executive Programme. Our CS Executive registration guide explains who can join it directly and the last dates.

What is the syllabus after CS Executive?

After passing both Executive groups you move on to CS Professional, sometimes called CS Final, which also has seven papers in two groups, including two electives. Its papers and marks are in our CS Professional syllabus guide.