ICAI Opens CA Final Mock-Test Series With Financial Reporting Paper

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India began its first mock-test series for candidates appearing in the November 2026 CA Final examination on Wednesday, 9 September. Financial Reporting opened the six-paper sequence, with each paper scheduled from 2 pm to 5 pm.

Series I runs until 21 September. Advanced Financial Management follows on 11 September, Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics on 15 September, Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation on 17 September, Indirect Tax Laws on 19 September, and Integrated Business Solutions on 21 September.

A second series is scheduled to begin on 23 September and continue into early October. For candidates, the value of two series lies less in collecting question papers than in using a first attempt to identify problems and a second to test whether those problems have actually been corrected.

A three-hour rehearsal should be treated as one

The Board of Studies schedule gives candidates a fixed three-hour window. Those attempting the papers remotely should reproduce examination conditions as closely as possible: begin on time, keep only permitted material, and stop at the end of the allotted period. Pausing for references or stretching a paper across an evening may feel productive but produces a misleading measure of speed.

After the attempt, candidates should compare their work with the suggested answers when these are made available through the official channel. The comparison is most useful when it goes beyond a total score. An answer may contain the correct conclusion but lose value through a missing working note, weak structure, poor application of a provision or inefficient time allocation.

The first series began with Financial Reporting, a paper in which presentation and disciplined workings matter alongside technical recall. A candidate who runs out of time should record where it happened and why. That evidence is more useful for the next fortnight than a vague plan to “write faster”.

How to use the gap between the two series

The spacing of the papers gives candidates a chance to review one subject without abandoning the next. A compact error log can separate conceptual gaps, memory failures, misreading, incomplete workings and time-management problems. Different causes need different remedies; rereading an entire module is not always the answer.

The second series, beginning 23 September with Financial Reporting, can then serve as a controlled re-test. Advanced Financial Management is scheduled for 26 September and Advanced Auditing for 28 September, with the remaining papers following under the Series II timetable. Candidates should check the ICAI announcement for the complete schedule and any instructions on physical or online participation.

ICAI had announced the two series on 10 August. The news on 9 September is the start of the exercise, not the release of a new examination date. The mock papers are support material for the November attempt and do not replace the formal examination application, admit card or examination timetable.

Students attending through a branch should confirm local arrangements directly, since seating, registration or distribution practices may vary. Those using downloadable papers should take them only from ICAI's Board of Studies resources. Coaching copies may reformat, annotate or circulate a paper before a candidate has attempted it independently.

The most sensible outcome from Series I is not confidence alone. It is a precise account of what failed under time pressure and a short plan to fix it before Series II. With six papers spread over 13 days, candidates have a built-in feedback cycle; using it honestly will matter more than merely marking every mock as completed.