How I Secured AIR 2 in CA Final | My Complete Strategy

Summary

CA Ritij Saraf describes the preparation systems he used to earn All India Rank 2 in the May 2026 CA Final examinations. His central message is that disciplined, consistent study and well-designed revision systems mattered more than exceptionally long study hours. He generally managed around 7–8 effective study hours a day.

Preparation Timeline and Revisions

During the first year of articleship, his workload left little time to study. In the second year, he committed to using whatever morning study time he could, even if that meant splitting classes into shorter sessions.

He completed his main classes and required training by around October 2025, then used the following months to revise before the May 2026 exams.

• First revision: His most thorough revision, focused on coverage and understanding rather than speed. He aimed to cover the full syllabus, allowing roughly 20–25 days per subject and about 30 days for FR.
• Second revision: Faster and more focused on weak areas, taking around 10–15 days per subject.
• Third revision: Shorter, generally around five or six days per subject.

His guiding principle was to make each revision easier and shorter than the last by recording problems and refining what needed further attention.

“Bucketing” Question-Bank Questions

During revision, he sorted questions from his question bank into three groups:

1. Bucket 1 — Difficult questions: Questions he could not solve properly and needed to attempt again in full.
2. Bucket 2 — Partly difficult questions: Questions he mostly understood, but where particular adjustments or steps caused difficulty. He marked those specific points instead of repeating the whole question.
3. Bucket 3 — Familiar questions: Questions he could solve confidently in one go and did not need to revisit for the time being.

With each revision, he tried to move questions from Bucket 1 to Bucket 2, and from Bucket 2 to Bucket 3. His aim was to leave only a manageable number of difficult questions—around 30–40 per subject—to revisit during the final 1.5 days.

He advised against collecting multiple question banks out of fear of missing something. Instead, he recommended sticking with one trusted question bank and adding relevant newer MTPs, RTPs, and past-year questions. He preferred repeated practice and stronger command of a focused set of resources over shallow coverage of many.

“Cheat Mocks” to Retain Earlier Subjects

To avoid forgetting subjects while revising others, he used short review-and-mock sessions for subjects he had already covered.

• After about 10–11 days spent revising a new subject, he set aside a day to revisit an earlier one.
• He quickly reviewed the earlier subject’s concept book—sometimes in about 7–8 hours—without redoing every question.
• He then wrote a three- to four-hour mock, primarily to practise recall and writing rather than to judge himself by the score.
• He repeated this process for earlier subjects during later revision periods.

His rule was not to leave a subject untouched for more than about two weeks. He described these sessions as a way to keep knowledge active and make later revisions quicker.

A Personal “Geeta” of Tricky Points

He kept a compact notebook for difficult-to-recall material, divided by subject and updated during revision. It included:

• Tricky or minor details he feared he would forget.
• Ambiguous points and unusual adjustments.
• Repeated silly mistakes.
• Brief explanations in his own words, with page references where useful.

He cautioned against turning it into a chapter summary: it was meant to contain only points that genuinely needed repeated recall. He reread it weekly or every 10 days and found it particularly useful in the final 1.5 days and while travelling to the exam centre.

Exam Readiness and Physical Mocks

He took ICAI’s physical mock-test series at an exam centre. The experience helped him practise under unfamiliar conditions and identify problems with his 1.5-day preparation plan, including overestimating how much he could cover and spending too long on certain topics.

The physical mocks also helped him practise the logistics of the IBS paper, such as handling multiple resources and arranging them for use. He felt that experiencing a realistic exam setting reduced his anxiety on the actual exam days.

Daily Routine and Wellbeing

His usual routine involved roughly 8–10 hours at his desk to produce about 7–8 effective study hours:

• He aimed for at least seven hours of sleep and did not want to sacrifice sleep, including during the final exam period.
• He studied Audit daily, usually for around three to four hours, alongside another subject.
• He devoted the main daytime study block to a practical subject.
• He set aside around 1.5–2 hours for the gym or other physical activity, which he considered important for physical health and mental balance.
• In the final month or two, he reduced gym time to shorter home exercise and added daily IBS case-study practice. He spent about 30–60 minutes a day on it, focusing on understanding the cases and finding answers without necessarily writing out every solution.

Planning and Support Systems

• Performance tracker: He tracked class and revision progress, self-study, mock tests, confidence by chapter, and weak areas. He broke a longer-term plan into monthly, weekly, and daily targets.
• Study group: He valued a motivated group for encouragement on difficult days and for sharing resources. He cautioned against letting group discussions and doubt-solving consume study time.
• Mental approach: He recommended setting an ambitious goal, using positive self-talk, and focusing on concept clarity rather than obsessing over rank. He viewed the goal as a source of motivation, especially on low-energy days, while emphasizing that it had to be matched by consistent work.

He presented these systems as ideas to adapt rather than a universal formula, and said he planned to share more subject-specific strategies.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Speaker: CA Ritij Saraf, identified in the subtitles as “Ritik Saraf,” sharing his preparation experience.
• Referenced sources and resources: ICAI physical mock-test series; question banks; MTPs, RTPs, and past-year questions; faculty-provided study resources; teachers and AI tools for doubt-solving; and the speaker’s study group.