ICAI Secret Marking Rules Explained: Should You Attempt All Questions in CA Exams

In many CA exams conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, students often attempt all questions, including optional ones, especially when time permits, or the paper appears easy.

In such cases, understanding the evaluation process becomes crucial. When extra questions are attempted, only a specific set of answers is considered for marking based on ICAI’s current evaluation approach. 

The assessment focuses on selecting the best-performing answers rather than strictly following the order of attempt, making it important for students to be aware of how their responses are actually evaluated.

Read more to understand the ICAI Secret Marking Rules through certified copies of CAs and students, which will help you decide whether you should attempt all questions in CA exams. 

Should You Attempt All Questions in CA Exams?

In many cases, students attempt all questions in the examination, including optional ones, either due to extra time or because the paper appears relatively easy. In such situations, there is often uncertainty regarding the evaluation process and which answers will ultimately be considered for marking.

 The two main possibilities are:

1. ICAI evaluates your best answers, and those scores are reflected.

2. ICAI evaluates your first answers, ignoring subsequent attempts.

Official ICAI Rule on Extra Questions

The ICAI's official website, specifically a 2016 notification, states that the first answers will be evaluated, and any extra answers will not be considered. However, this 10-year-old rule, despite still being published, no longer applies to current and upcoming examinations.

Current ICAI Evaluation Method

.In a typical CA exam structure, there is usually one compulsory question and a set of optional questions, from which students must choose a specific number to answer (e.g., solve four out of five optional questions).

• Compulsory Question Evaluation: Marks for the compulsory question are always added to the total score without any selection.

• Optional Question Evaluation: If a candidate attempts all optional questions (e.g., all five when only four are required), the ICAI will consider the best scores among those optional questions. 

For instance, if five optional questions are attempted, the best four answers will be considered for evaluation, and the question with the lowest score will be omitted. 

Does the Order of Attempt Matter in CA Exams?

The order of attempt does not matter; ICAI evaluates the best scores from all attempted optional questions, regardless of when they were written. Even the last attempted question can be considered for allotting marks if the student has scored higher in it.

For instance, in example 1, given below, A significant insight from this case study is that the CA Rohit Chipper’s Question 3, which scored 18 marks, was answered last. Despite being the last attempt, ICAI included its 18 marks in the total. This demonstrates clearly that the order of attempting questions doesn’t matter. 

Example 1: CA Rohit Chipper’s AFM Certified Copy 

An excellent example is CA Rohit Chipper’s Advanced Financial Management (AFM) exam paper, in which he scored 91 marks. In this exam, one question was compulsory, and the "Best Four Rule" applied here.

• Scores (Optional Questions):

• Question 2: 19 marks

• Question 3: 18 marks

• Question 4: 19 marks

• Question 5: 16 marks

• Question 6: 12 marks (Lowest score)

• Evaluation Outcome: ICAI considered Questions 2, 3, 4, and 5 for the total score. Question 6 was not considered because it had the lowest score. The sum of the best four optional questions accounted for 72 out of 80 marks. 

Example 2: Recent Audit Exam Certified Copy

Another instance is from a recent Audit paper, where a student also attempted all optional questions.

• Scores (Optional Questions):

• Question 2: 6 marks

• Question 3: 6 marks

• Question 4: 7 marks

• Question 5: 7 marks

• Question 6: 7 marks

• Evaluation Outcome: ICAI considered Questions 4, 5, 6, and 2 as the best four answers. Question 3 was ignored because it was one of the lowest scores (6 marks). In situations with tied lowest scores, ICAI selects one of them to meet the "best four" requirement.

Example 3: CA Inter Financial Management Certified Copy

This rule consistently applies to CA Inter examinations as well. In a CA Inter Financial Management paper (35 descriptive marks), where Question 1 is compulsory and students must attempt two out of three optional questions, a student who attempted all three showed the rule in action.

• Scores (Optional Questions):

• Question 2: 8 marks

• Question 3: 5 marks

• Question 4: 5 marks

• Evaluation Outcome: ICAI excluded Question 3 and considered Question 4, even though both had 5 marks. This again confirms the principle of selecting the best possible scores for the candidate.

Based on a thorough analysis of certified answer copies, the Best Five Rule is currently applied to all CA exams, including CA Final and CA Inter. Students should not worry about the order of attempting questions.