“Could you please provide me with detailed guidance on how to prepare for the SCMPE from scratch and score an exemption?”

SCMPE is like the Audit of Group 2 but trust me & yourself! You can score exemption in this paper too! “But ICAI asks too much theory, what to do about it?” “How to prepare case studies?” “Can we do self-study?” we know that you might have many such questions like every other student.

Keep calm & read ahead (read the whole blog and don’t just skip to the GOOD PART :P) and you won’t be feeling the same!

Before entering in the arena you must first understand who our opponent is, so let us understand what SCMPE is all about:

• Simply said SCMPE is an advanced version of CA Inter’s Costing & SM put together. It’s a very interesting subject to read and understand because a lot of concepts are used practically.
• Even though it is very interesting to learn this subject however it is difficult for many students to score good marks in SCMPE.

Seeing the past trend of exams, ICAI generally asks both theory & practical in around 60:40 respectively, which means that Both theory and Practical are equally important for an exemption.

There are total 11 chapters of which some are theory & some are practical with theory.

*Indicates the dominant type in the chapter

Types of Questions asked in Exam-

1. Plain Theory (e.g.- Define, State, List, etc)

This is no brainer, its just test of memory (bole toh Ratta)

• Calculation based with a twist of small theory (e.g.- Calculate & analyze)

Here the calculation will carry marks and, in the end, examiner will ask to interpret/analyse the results of calculations made. Analysis is to be presented in own words/understanding based on result of calculation

• Application based theory question

Here a concept will be asked for which key words and head points are important & also a small practical scenario will be given which is related to that concept.

• Case Study

Q1 which is compulsory is always a case study for 20 marks, it’s a mixture of plain theory part of about 10-12 marks and rest 8-10 marks based on logic and understanding of subject.

Now we know the structure of the subject and what to expect in exam, keeping this in mind we have made the process of revising SCMPE & divided the whole process from the beginning to end in 5 phases (Don’t miss the Pro tips at the end)

Phase 1: Classes: The infamous question, should you take classes for SCMPE?

Personally, I would suggest to take classes because of below factors

• Discipline to finish the course timely
• 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 you understand how to retain keywords 
• Getting to know real life examples connected to the concept
• Help in solving new conceptual questions
• Better understanding & approach to case studies

Theory is something you can handle on your own, but for practical topics and case studies, it is STRONGLY recommended to be done with the help of a subject expert.

• To choose a faculty for classes, ask your seniors for reviews and one most important thing to keep in mind is to check if that faculty is active on YouTube and uploading revision lectures, which are very useful during exam leave.
• Since SCMPE these days is becoming more serious about theory, the ideal time to take classes is 1 year prior to exam leave.
• Do not forget to revise what’s taught in classes on a daily basis, otherwise all the efforts will go in vain.

Phase 2: First time Self Study after classes

Now that we are done with classes the next step is Self-study.

This will take about 20 – 25 days and please do not rush through this.

Major points to remember to ace SCMPE the Ranker’s way by Shubham Singhal!

• Sequence – There is no specific order to follow but, it is recommended to do one theory and one practical chapter each day to maintain the interest in the subject. Also do standard costing in the end but don’t forget to spare it enough time because it’s a lengthy chapter which many students tend to skip, nevertheless, a sure question always comes from this chapter.
• Books-ICAI module is truly the best for preparing SCMPE! Along with that, you should also buy a question bank which covers all the questions issued by ICAI in RTP, MTP, Past papers, the reason behind that is, new questions are framed in SCMPE on a regular basis and many a times, a lot of things are covered in those Q’s which are not covered in the Modules, so yeah Question bank is a must have.
• Handwritten Notes – Try to make your own summary notes with mnemonics when it comes totheory area, this will help in quick look/recaps. For Practical topics make a LDR (Last day Revision) book which will consist of those Questions in which you made mistakes or were doubtful about, along with their learnings. This will prove to be a life saver for those last 1.5days.

Following must have in a LDR book-

• Mistakes made and to be avoided in future.
  • Difficult/ Tricky conceptual sums.
  • New types of Questions
  • Formulas

• Focus on Quality as well as quantity– May’22 exams have thrown the ABC analysis mantra out of window, ICAI can ask anything from anywhere now. So make sure you cover 100% syllabus. And be CLEAR with the CONCEPTS especially in chapters like Decision making, Performance evaluation, Strategic Analysis of Operating Income, Divisional TP, etc.

• Case study digest: ICAI has shifted its focus to case study based questions. During your self-study try and map the questions to the respective chapters to make it easier to locate during the revisions.

• Solve Practical sums by hand– Solve almost every sum in the Question bank on your own and keep noting mistakes made by you in the LDR book alongside. This is very crucial because in SCMPE its important to present answers/calculations in tabular formats which the ICAI expects.

• Ratta is also Important– Certain topics will require you to memorize their head points/key words, thus it will help you a lot if you make mnemonics for the same as well as understanding the concepts.

Phase 3: 1^st Revision (10 days)

After all the hurdles of taking classes, warming up with self-study and whatnot, the time has finally come for our very first revision! Obviously, first revision is no child’s play, and what you study here will go a long way!

Therefore, here are some things to be kept in mind while starting the First Revision:

1. Solve the sums which were a hurdle for you during self-study
   1. Focus on words such as Evaluate, Assess and Advice. You must try to understand the kind of answer institute expects from you when it frames the question using the above mentioned words!
   2. Go through all the concepts repeatedly, try to get them on your fingertips.
   3. By this time, you would be more familiar with the subject, so try to cut out unnecessary topics. This is needed because we have to make sure we are ready for the last 1.5days.
   4. GIVE A MOCK TEST!!! Yes don’t be afraid of it, mocks are a great opportunity do self SWOT analysis.

Phase 4: 2^nd Revision (5 days)

Now that you have come this far, it won’t look good to just leave things here, right? Buckle up folks, it’s time for the 2^nd revision, the upgraded brother and their sisters of the 1^st revision.

Upgraded how? We’ll tell you don’t worry!

Firstly, the things to be noted while starting the Second Revision:

1. 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 2^nd revision.
2. Don’t be a ghajini, try active recalling!
   • Try to actively recall Head points, formulas and key words rather than just going through your notes. This gives you a fair idea about how well you are able to retain stuff and gives you an insight in areas which you need to improve.
3. Learns from your mistakes made in Mock! Galti karke jo sikhta  hai vo hota hai insaan, baar baar ek hi galti karne wale ko _____ kehte hai ;P

Phase 5: Last Day Revision – 1.5 days

Ye nhi kiya to kya kiya?

This is not only the final revision but also the most important one!

Stay tuned to Our Youtube channel (Shubham Singhal) for a detailed strategy on last day revision for SCMPE

PRO TIPS!

• Do daily little revision of mnemonics. Use the power of compounding (Small milate jao Large Bante jao)
• Make a sheet with list of all the mnemonics and formulas and Do revise it every other day, you will eventually build a photogenic memory.
• Practice makes a man perfect. The more you practice, the more confident you will feel.
• Take mock tests and get them evaluated by an experienced source.
• Make sure you revise the entire syllabus in 1.5 days. Anything that you don’t revise in those 1.5 days, you won’t remember in the exam.
• 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. Health should be taken very seriously throughout your preparation leave.

Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” ― Michael Jordan

Thank you, Purvesh Naik, Sumedha Bhat and Aishwarya Garg for helping me present this blog in such a 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!

Let’s ace it The Ranker’s Way!