How to plan for CMA Inter for Direct Route students

Jan, 2021

How to plan for CMA Inter for Direct Route students

CMA Inter | Direct Entry Route
CA Samiksha Sethia

The Institute allows you to enter directly to its Intermediate Course under the following scenarios -

Graduate of any Discipline (excluding performing art, music)
Pursuing Engineering Course (having completed 2nd year / Semester IV/ equivalent) or Qualified Engineers
Qualified Foundation Examination conducted by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India
Qualified the Intermediate Examination conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Candidates awaiting results of degree examinations may also apply for provisional admission. Such students would be provided a time period of 18 (eighteen) months to convert from Provisional to Regular Status.

It is said that - “If you fail to plan well, you are planning to fail”. So, you need to plan your study timeline well in advance to crack the examination in one shot.

Which are the Subjects to be studied at CMA Intermediate Level?

CMA Intermediate level comprise of 8 subjects divided into Group I and Group II, each group having four subjects as mentioned below:

Group I:

Financial Accounting
Laws and Ethics
Direct Taxation
Cost Accounting

Group II:

Operations Management and Strategic Management
Cost and Management Accounting and Financial Management
Indirect Taxation
Company Accounts and Audit

Within what time should you register for the Examination?

Examination Term	Last date of registration
June term	31st January of same year
December term	31st July of same year

How to decide whether to appear for both the groups or one group at a time?

The Institute allows you to appear for one group or both groups at a time. It is always advisable to prepare for both groups at a time to pass your CMA Exam at the earliest. However, you may decide to appear for a single group due to time or any other constraints.

Appearing for both the groups simultaneously increases the probability of clearing the examination due to the set-off benefit.

Say, your score is as follows:

Aggregate of Group I - 210 and
Aggregate of Group II - 195
40+ in every subject individually.
Total aggregate score is 405/800 (more than 50%) in both groups.

If you appear in both groups, you will pass this exam due to the set-off effect. Whereas, if you have appeared in a single group at a time, you will pass in Group I (as the aggregate score is more than 50%) and you will have to re-appear for Group II (as the aggregate score is less than 50%)

What should be your Average Study time per day?

The following table illustrates the detailed preparation time of the Intermediate exams in 3 cases-

- If you appear for Both Groups - Minimum 10 months study time required
- If you appear for Group I only - Minimum 6 months study time required
- If you appear for Group II only - Minimum 6 months study time required

	Both Groups	Only Group I	Only Group II
Preparation Time	8 months	4 months	4 months
Revision Time	2 months	2 months	2 months
Number of classes per subject	On average 70 classes of 2.5 hours each per subject	On average 70 classes of 2.5 hours each per subject	On average 70 classes of 2.5 hours each per subject
Total number of hours to be studied per subject	70 classes x 2.5 hours x 8 subjects = 1400 hours	70 classes x 2.5 hours x 4 subjects = 700 hours	70 classes x 2.5 hours x 4 subjects = 700 hours
Average Study Hours per day	1400 / 8 months / 25 days per month = 7 hours/day	700 / 4 months / 25 days per month = 7 hours/day	700 / 4 months / 25 days per month = 7 hours/day
Number of classes to be done each day	7 hours / 2.5 = 3 classes approx	7 hours / 2.5 = 3 classes approx	7 hours / 2.5 = 3 classes approx

Please Note:

As per this timeline, you are required to do the classes for 6 days a week i.e., on an average 25 days per month and 1 day per week should be devoted for Revision and for referring to the Institute's Study Material of the topics that have been covered during the week for every subject.
The above timeline has been prepared assuming that you are taking classes for every subject. However, if you are not taking classes for any particular subject then you should do an equivalent amount of self study for that subject as per the timeline to keep the preparation for all subjects at par.

What is the suggested Study Plan which I should follow to complete my preparation?

Case 1: If you are preparing for Both Groups

Days -Time Slots	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Monday	Cost Accounting	Sub 1 - Direct Taxation Sub 2 - Indirect Taxation	Law
Tuesday	Sub 1 - Direct Taxation Sub 2 - Indirect Taxation	Sub 1- Financial Accounting Sub 2 - Company Accounts	Law
Wednesday	Cost Accounting	Sub 1- Financial Accounting Sub 2 - Company Accounts	Sub 1 - Financial Management Sub 2 - Cost Gr 2
Thursday	Sub 1 - Direct Taxation Sub 2 - Indirect Taxation	Sub 1- Financial Accounting Sub 2 - Company Accounts	Sub 1 - Financial Management Sub 2 - Cost Gr 2
Friday	Cost Accounting	Sub 1- Financial Accounting Sub 2 - Company Accounts	OM-SM
Saturday	Sub 1 - Direct Taxation Sub 2 - Indirect Taxation	OM-SM	Audit
Sunday	Sub 1 - Direct Taxation Sub 2 - Indirect Taxation	Backlog and Revision

Note:

This Study Plan has been prepared assuming that you will initially invest in 5 or 6 subjects and after completing them you will invest in the other subjects.
You are advised to study Financial Accounting, Direct Taxation and Financial Management for the first 4 months and then start Company Accounts, Indirect Taxation and Cost Gr 2 during the remaining 4 months in the same time slots to avoid stress and maintain a balance.
This timetable has been prepared assuming that each subject comprises 70 classes on an average.However, the number of classes may vary (may be more or less) depending on the subjects. So, once you finish the classes of a particular subject (which has less classes) according to this schedule, you must utilise that time slot to complete the additional classes of other subjects (which has more classes)
If you are unable to complete the classes of any subject as per this time schedule, you should do 2 classes on Sundays to make for the difference.

Case 2: If you are preparing for Group I only

Days-Time Slots	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Monday	Cost Accounting	Financial Accounting	Direct Taxation
Tuesday	Law	Financial Accounting	Direct Taxation
Wednesday	Cost Accounting	Financial Accounting	Direct Taxation
Thursday	Law	Financial Accounting	Direct Taxation
Friday	Cost Accounting	Financial Accounting	Law
Saturday	Cost Accounting	Law	Direct Taxation
Sunday	Backlog and Revision

Note:

This timetable has been prepared assuming that each subject comprises 70 classes on an average. However, the number of classes may vary (may be more or less) depending on the subjects. So, if you finish any of the classes earlier you may utilise that time slot for completing other classes or for revision purposes.

Case 3 : If you are preparing for Group II only

Days-Time Slots	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Monday	Financial Management	Company Accounts	Indirect Taxation
Tuesday	OM-SM	Company Accounts	Indirect Taxation
Wednesday	Financial Management	Company Accounts	Indirect Taxation
Thursday	OM-SM	Cost Group 2	Indirect Taxation
Friday	Financial Management	Cost Group 2	Audit
Saturday	OM-SM	Cost Group 2	Audit
Sunday	Backlog and Revision

Note:

This timetable has been prepared assuming that each subject comprises 70 classes on an average. However, the number of classes may vary (may be more or less) depending on the subjects. So, if you finish any of the classes earlier you may utilise that time slot for completing other classes or for revision purposes.
You are advised to complete the classes of OM first and then start with SM classes.