Today we are going to discuss the CA final open book exam. The elective papers are the new additions in the CA Final Papers with the new curriculum which has been implemented on 1st July 2017. This has been a drastic change in the syllabus of the CA Final and arose a number of questions among the students. This has been introduced as a Paper No. 6 in place of ISCA (Information System Control and Audit).
There must be an infinite number of Questions raising in your mind relating to the Open Book Exam say what is it mean? Which subjects are available in the Open Book Examination? Whether we will be permitted to take our books into the examination hall? If yes, which books do we permit? Only ICAI Material or our Notes also? How much time, we will be allotted to complete the paper? Etc.
In today’s article, we have answered all your queries relating to Open Book Examination in CA Papers. Before we starting you can to check CA Course details at least once.
What Does Open Book CA Final Examination Mean?
Basically, Open Book Examination allows you to take notes, study material, or any other relevant material to the examination hall. They are not demanding you to learn every provision or every section, instead, they test your ability to find the information and apply such in your answer and trust me it’s not easy because the questions asked in such exams are indirectly based on some case studies.
Further, students are not allowed to copy the lines directly and mention them in their answer, they are required to analyze the question or situation we may call here, then observe the correct proviso related to such situation and smartly put it into the situation along with your observation.
Here ICAI is actually testing your ability how would you deal with practical life situations. You have to understand the situation and answer like a professional. But before moving into such a situation, your fundamentals must be strong then only you will be able to answer.
Furthermore, ICAI will release the CA Final Admit Card for the Nov 2023 exam to know the release date and download process check the article.
Why has Open Book Exam been Introduced by ICAI?
- Open Book Exam test the actual ability of the students to deal with the real-life situations.
- The students are not required to remember each and every section or proviso, their fundamentals need to be strong.
- Students are required to observe the situation, find the relevant proviso and answer their questions by giving reference to such information.
- These exams are far different from the rote learning. They required an extra effort for an average student and less for a smart student.
The open book exam is slightly easier and will help you in improving your overall CA Final result. However, you need to invest enough time to prepare for this paper.
Subjects of the Elective Paper in CA Final
ICAI has given six optional subjects in the revised scheme of education which are as follows –
Paper 6A: Risk Management
Paper 6B: Financial Services & Capital Markets
Paper 6C: International Taxation
Paper 6D: Economic Laws
Paper 6E: Global Financial Reporting Standards
Paper 6F: Multidisciplinary Case Study
ICAI has released the CA Final exam dates for the May 2023 attempt. According to the date sheet, the open book exam will conduct on May13, 2023.
Material Permitted in Exam Hall
As we have already informed you students are allowed to take their notes in the examination hall. But the next question is which books are they permitted to bring into the examination hall.
In such respect, ICAI has issued a notification dated 3rd Aug 2018 to clarify the open book exam methodology. According to such notification –
- Candidates will be permitted to bring their own material to the exam hall and consult them for answering the questions in the exam. Such material includes study material, practice manual, revisionary test papers supplied by ICAI, textbooks, bare acts, notes by students or any other reference material.
- Candidates will not be permitted to bring mobile phones, I pads, or any other electronic devices into the exam hall.
- Exchange of material amongst the candidates will not be permitted inside the examination hall.
Time Allotted For the Open Book Examination –
As an open book examination is different from your regular exams, it needs logical search and at the same time execute it into the paper. Hence ICAI has allotted one more hour for the Open Book Examination. Paper No 6 has been allotted four hours comprising of 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
Syllabus –
Paper 6A: Risk Management
Paper 6B: Financial Services and Capital Markets
Paper 6C: International Taxation
Case Studies for CA Final Paper 6C
Paper 6D: Economic Laws
Case Studies for CA Final Paper 6 D
Paper 6E: Global Financial Reporting Standards
| Study Guidelines for May, 2022 Examination |
| Case Study Digest |
| Significant Differences between IFRS and US GAAP |
Paper 6F: Multidisciplinary Case Study
In the above article, we have gone through What is an Open Book Examination, Why it has been introduced in the CA curriculum, the Subjects available in this examination, the time allotted as well syllabus of each subject.
Hope you found this article useful, Along with preparing for your CA exams, keep preparing for open-book exams as well to score good marks in exams. Stay tuned with VSI for more useful content like CA final registration, syllabus, mock tests, previous question paper etc. Share your queries in the comment section below.
Must Read: How to rank in CA final