SFM is one of those subjects where scoring 60+ is considered as a basic, anything lower and you are just the ‘meh’ student. Therefore, the urge to score an exemption in this subject is must for a CA Final student who wants a stellar report card at the end!
But don’t fret, we have divided the whole process from the beginning to the end in 5 phases which will not only make it easier for you to read this long blog but also help you understand the dynamics of the whole process! Sit tight amigo, this is gonna be a long ride but totally worth it!
| Phase | Talks about |
| 1 | Classes: Should you take classes for CA final SFM? |
| 2 | How to do First time Self Study after classes |
| 3 | 1st Revision (7 days) |
| 4 | Penultimate revision (5 days) |
| 5 | The Ultimate Revision (1.5 days strategy) |
Phase 1: Classes: Should you take classes for SFM? (2 – 3 months)
SFM is considered as one of the most scoring paper of CA Final exam.
Being a practical one, it is that one subject in which students should aim for exemption at all costs. And not just exemption but if your concepts are clear and you are well practiced with the subject, then scoring even higher will become a child’s play.
Don’t lose sight of these facts while taking the classes:
- Choose your faculty for SFM wisely because-
- There are many teachers out there who teach SFM, but not everyone is actually a pro in this subject and
- SFM is not a difficult paper to crack if you have proper guidance and solid concepts.
- SFM classes are comparatively shorter but it would still take around 2 months (upto 200-300 hrs). Therefore, you can plan to pair it up with a theory subject (Law/Audit).
- The only way to retain the concepts is to revise on a daily/weekly basis.
- Complete your class note book with all concepts and solved questions. This is going to be your self-study and revision material.
The benefits of taking classes:
- Discipline to finish the course in a timely manner
- Sequence of how to go about chapters
- Highlight the areas which require more focus as compared to others
- Relevant questions that can be solved after each concept
- Helps in covering 20 marks of theory, which students generally tend to leave out
Figuring out the above-mentioned things on your own will prove to be a very draining task, both in terms of energy and time. Nevertheless, you can still do it if you start your SFM prep well in advance (say a year before your exams).
Phase 2: First time study after classes (15-20 days)
The best strategy to follow after you are done with your classes is to start self – study. This is super important task for a student. If you gather up the courage and discipline to follow this phase, then the rest of the path will become much easier!
What self-study requires? A lot of patience and discipline.
What self-study gives you in return? Sets the tone for the future revisions and makes your subject ‘smooth like butter’!
Fresh and hot preparation techniques from the Ranker’s way!
- Sequence: SFM has around 14 chapters out of which 4 chapters are purely theoretical. That leaves you with around 10 conceptual chapters.
Out of these chapters, chapters like Foreign Exchange, Portfolio Management, Derivatives and mutual funds hold the maximum weightage.
These chapters might come easy for a few students, but for the rest of them, they are filled with multiple concepts and questions which makes them a bit tricky to get hold of.
In any case, instead of starting with the difficult chapters, start with the easy, for e.g. security valuation or mergers & acquisitions, Corporate restructuring or Mutual Funds.
You can also follow the flow which your faculty followed! Be mindful of what you pick first. A chapter like international financial management should be studied only after you are done with forex.
Suggested study order:
- Security Valuation
- Corporate Valuation
- Mergers, Acquisitions and Corporate restructuring
- Portfolio Management
- Mutual Fund
- Foreign Exchange Exposure and Risk Management
- International Financial Management
- Derivatives analysis and Valuation
- Interest Rate risk management
- Start-up finance
- Securitization
- Financial Policy and Corporate Strategy
- Risk management
- Security Analysis
- Do a written practice of all questions in the first sitting. Shortlist the questions for the first revision. Go through the theory question but there is no need to write and practice them.
PRO TIPS TO YOUR RESCUE!
- Along with a concept register you must also have a formula register. Prepare one yourself if it is not being provided by your teacher.
- Go through the new study material and check if any new question/concept has been added.
- Try to write 1 answer each day. After writing, evaluate your own paper and note down the mistake that you did, or the areas of improvement in a separate piece of paper.
- The most difficult aspect is to finish the syllabus timely. Keep a check on your time and ensure that daily targets are achieved.
- The best way to study SFM is to go through the concept and then practice a question. This way the concept sticks with you for longer!
Phase 3: 1st Revision (7 days)
Here are a few points to be kept in mind while starting the First Revision:
- Try to revise the concepts quickly by going through your concept register. Your focus should be on solving as many questions as possible.
- Don’t go through the formula derivations during the revisions. You should now focus on the application of the formula and not the detailed derivations explained in class. So skip that part and save your time!
- During the First Revision, take note of the questions that seem to be a bit tricky for you and mark them separately so that you can work on those areas in your second revision.
- You must revise the important theory chapters. Students can increase their score by 20 marks just by preparing the theory topics properly. So do not take theory lightly.
- Keep a note of the time you have spent on each chapter which will help you plan your 2nd and subsequent revisions.
- Attempt a mock test paper after completing the 1st Revision. Go through the concepts again on which you didn’t do well.
Phase 4: 2nd Revision (5 days)
Things to be kept in mind while starting the Second Revision:
Confidence is the name of this game!
- Be confident about the subject.
- After the first mock test, if you feel there is a lack of understanding in any concept then you must focus on those concepts while you are on your 2nd revision.
Won’t let you leave without our beloved pro tips and tricks!
- All subsequent revisions after the first revision should be focused on bringing down your revision time, increasing your speed of writing answers and improving your answer presentation.
- Get into a group of 3-4 students to help each other with doubts and also to motivate each other to adhere to the revision timeline.
- Refer your notes, any markings that you might have done in the Module along with the marked questions of the Question bank.
- A very important point here would be to write down all those “very important points” that you already marked or those points that seem tricky to you on a separate sheet of paper so that you can refer all such points at a glance a day before exam and avoid the frenzy.
- Attempt the latest mock test for the upcoming attempt under timed conditions, this will help you rehearse for the actual exam.
Phase 5: Last Day Revision – 1.5 days + Theory revision (3-4 days before picking FR before the papers)
Ultimately, it all boil downs to these days! You must have heard – “Anything that you are not able to revise on the day before exam, you will not be able to write it in the exam”. Nahin suna kya? Oops! It’s high time for you to start watching my YT Videos. Search for Shubham Singhal.
Coming back – People who revise the entire syllabus in last 1.5 days are able to score better than the ones who do selective studying.
Pro tips coming to your rescue yet again!
- An hour-by-hour study schedule should be prepared at least a month before the start of the exams (Can also be done after the 2nd revision).
- All resources for the revision must be ready – Concept notes, formula register, LDR Questions and Theory notes.
- It is very important to practice ALL LDR Questions by hand. Do not just go through the questions superficially.
- Revise theory at least 3 -4 days before picking up FR for the last day revision. Revise it in a manner that your last day theory revision is completed in 3 hours
- After coming back from the FR paper, if you want to pick something light, you can revise the important theory chapters.
Resources:
- Concept notes
- Formula register
- Theory notes
- Latest amended Question bank
- Past 1 attempt RTP/MTP
Key takeaways:
- Practice makes a man perfect. The more you practice and the more confident you will feel. Practice all LDR questions by hand in each revision no matter how much time it takes.
- Concept Notes are very important. If you do not have your concept notes in place, you will feel lost even after multiple revisions.
- 20 marks of theory is asked in every exam and especially out of the 4 theoretical chapters. Do pay attention to them!
- Give mock tests and get them evaluated from an experienced source.
- Say optimistic affirmations every day before and after studying and practice gratitude. It helps us to stay focused and away from the “Exam Anxiety”
- Keep yourself hydrated and eat light meals till the paper
- Do regular stretching/ warm-up to avoid fatigue during those three hours
Don’t fall for the below mentioned traps:
- Do not TALLY questions.
- The presentation of practical questions is very important. There is a need to properly draw the formats (tables) and don’t forget to prepare the working notes. Working notes are also an important part so show all the working notes properly at the end of the solution.
Do not rely entirely on revision videos. You have to write the paper yourself so you must revise yourself!!!!
Thank you, Sumedha Bhat and Aishwarya Garg for helping me present this blog in such formal way.
We hope this blog was helpful. Do let us know your feedback below so that we stay motivated to bring many more such blogs your way!
3 Comments
Your an saviour Subham sir I just started my SFM preparation after 2 years of classes , having no clue of what to do and when my classes was not so good you gave me an plan to do it myself and it really makes sense now ..
Thank You Sir
But still Bahut Dar Lag rha hai.
Thanks Shubham Sir. I will follow the same and let you know what challenges I am facing in real time.