YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → 6 Month planner for May 27 CA Final| CA Ritij Saraf (AIR 2, May 26) & CA Divesh Harpalani (AIR 6,13)

6 Month planner for May 27 CA Final| CA Ritij Saraf (AIR 2, May 26) & CA Divesh Harpalani (AIR 6,13) — Transcript

by CA Divesh Harpalani (AIR 6,13)-CA Final AFM · 6,419 words · 909 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:01Hey future CAs, hope you are doing well
0:04. Welcome back to this channel. I am CA
0:07Devesh Bansal, CA Final FM Faculty, and
0:10I think the other gentleman in this
0:12video is someone who has a lot of
0:14followers. So, I hardly believe he needs
0:17any introduction, but still, formally
0:19welcoming you, Ritesh, once again to
0:21this channel. CA Ritesh Saraf, guys, All
0:24India Rank 2 from the May '26 attempt.
0:28Thanks a lot, Ritesh, for taking out the
0:30time, guys. You all must be wondering
0:31why we are making this video, Ritesh and
0:33I? I will hand it over to you in a
0:34second. But Ritesh secured All India
0:37Rank 2 in May '26. Of course, he is a
0:40star; he has done his industrial
0:42training. He was from the Big 4; right
0:45now, he is in one of the top FMCG
0:47companies in a management trainee role.
0:50He was also from SRCC.
0:53So, he is someone who is an all-rounder
0:56as a CA student and now as a CA as well
1:00.
1:01I had interviewed him right after his
1:04results, and I realized this guy has a
1:06lot of potential, and he has been
1:08posting a lot of videos on YouTube as
1:11well as Instagram, guiding budding
1:13Chartered Accountants, future CAs like
1:16you who are watching this video.
1:19So, first of all, if you haven't
1:21subscribed to Ritesh's channel, the link
1:23is in the description of this particular
1:25video; go and subscribe to Ritesh's
1:27channel. What is the purpose of this
1:29video? So, you all are going to take
1:31your exams in May '27. For those of you
1:33who are going to give exams in May '27.
1:36Right from now until May '27, there are
1:39roughly six months remaining.
1:41At the same time last year, Ritesh was
1:43also preparing for his CA Final with six
1:44months to go. So, I just thought we'd
1:46have a conversation with Ritesh. Through
1:48which we will understand what approach
1:49he followed. He followed for planning
1:51this six-month runway until his exams.
1:55And so you guys planning to appear in
1:57May '27 can also get guidance on what is
2:00the right way to plan well during these
2:02six months to make sure that May '27 is
2:04when you add the prefix CA to your name
2:07, and hopefully, just like Ritesh, add
2:09an All India Rank suffix as well.
2:12Over to Ritesh once again, thanks a lot
2:14for taking out the time.
2:15>> Yeah. So firstly, thank you so much,
2:17Devesh, for having me here.
2:18It's always a pleasure to be on your
2:20channel and like just share what I have
2:21to share.
2:23So you know, as Devesh said, the
2:25objective is to map out a road map for
2:26the next six months for people who are
2:28appearing in the May '27 exams, and it
2:30will be based on two broad principles.
2:33The first is to keep it very realistic.
2:35Very simple. And not overly ambitious,
2:37which would remain a plan on paper and
2:39difficult to execute.
2:40And secondly, with the objective that
2:42every revision should serve the purpose
2:44of making the next revision shorter.
2:47The objective of the first revision is
2:48not to prepare you for the final exams.
2:50It is just to help you make the next
2:52revision shorter. So, how to go about it
2:54progressively.
2:56So, I will just share my screen and try
2:57to take you through the roadmap in five
2:59to seven minutes.
3:01So, just give me a moment.
3:03>> And guys, just a sort of disclaimer.
3:07This video is definitely for those who
3:09have finished all their lectures by now
3:11.
3:11Those who have finished GMCS, Advanced
3:14ITT, and SPOM. So that is a given. The
3:17first plan is based on the assumption
3:18that you have completed all of this. But
3:20even if you have not completed your
3:21lectures. If your GMCS is pending, SPOM
3:23is pending, or anything else is left,
3:25just stay tuned, watch the entire video
3:27, we are going to cover what needs to be
3:28done for you as well. But why don't we
3:30discuss Ritesh's plan first on how he
3:32had figured all of this out. So, for the
3:35next six months, if you want to do pure
3:37self-study and all these things are done
3:39, then what? Over to Ritesh.
3:40>> Sure, so yeah. So this is a very
3:42standardized plan which I personally
3:44followed, and you can feel free to
3:45obviously make some amends and small
3:47tweaks to suit your needs; I will
3:49obviously give you the logic for placing
3:51everything where it is. So say, when we
3:53begin with the first revision, one thing
3:55that was very clear in my mind was that
3:57the first revision should be about
3:58quality and not about speed.
4:00So, although you have to have a timeline
4:02in mind, like I need to complete this in
4:0415 or 20 days, it should not be like a
4:05sword hanging over your head and the
4:07pressure that you take; you have to
4:08prioritize the quality, because every
4:10next revision is going to be a subset of
4:12the first revision.
4:13So, prioritizing quality in the first
4:15revision is very important. And
4:17therefore, I gave at least 15 days to
4:19all the subjects. For FR, I gave 25 days
4:21because most people would have a gap of
4:241.5 to 2 years since doing FR. It is the
4:26very first subject that we start with.
4:28And I started with DT and IDT. The
4:31reason being that these two subjects
4:32would be the freshest in your mind. You
4:34would have just completed their classes
4:35. So, revise these first and let's just
4:38get done with it. Whether you do FR
4:40first or fourth, it will take the same
4:41amount of time because it anyway takes
4:43one and a half days to lapse. So that is
4:45why I kept it for the last. So I did
4:46that starting from November 1st. From
4:49November 1st, we have exactly six months
4:51. So, we can do DT in 15 days. We do IDT
4:54in 15 days. Then 15 days for AFM and
4:56then I have kept 25 days for FR. So you
4:59must be wondering there is no separate
5:00block for Audit.
5:01So, I used to do Audit daily and I
5:03strongly recommend that you should also
5:04do Audit daily, at least for the first
5:06three to four months. Because one very
5:08common problem that all people face is
5:10that there is a retention problem in
5:12Audit. So, if you keep it in blocks,
5:14that problem will always be there. So,
5:15like, just don't let go of the flow from
5:18the subject. Do Audit every single day.
5:20That flow of yours will be maintained.
5:22Give your best three to four hours of
5:23the day to Audit. So, like, I used to
5:25wake up, give three to four hours to
5:27Audit, and then move on to DT, IDT, or
5:28whatever subject I was doing in that
5:30particular time period. So, that is how
5:32I approached my revision. So, along with
5:34this, I took a buffer of five days for
5:36my revision. So, the total period came
5:39to around 2.5 months.
5:41So, ideally, by the end of January 14th
5:42, you will be done with your first
5:44revision and you will be very confident
5:45with at least the concepts.
5:47Yes, you obviously won't retain
5:49everything. Even if the retention is 30
5:51, 40, or 50%, it is good enough for the
5:53first revision. The job of improving
5:54retention is for subsequent revisions.
5:56The first revision should be focused on
5:58getting concept clarity. That will
6:00overall help you in making your life
6:01easier in the next four months. Now,
6:03coming to Revision 2.
6:05Revision 2 will serve as, you know,
6:07summarizing and consolidating all the
6:09things you did in Revision 1.
6:11Trying to condense your study material.
6:13Trying to condense your question bank,
6:15making summary notes, making 'Geetas' of
6:17things that feel like problem areas to
6:18you. That is the objective of Revision 2
6:20. So, I have given around seven to eight
6:22days per subject here on an average. Now
6:24, obviously, for some, DT might be a
6:26little tougher. So, you can do plus two
6:29for DT. You can do minus two for AFM.
6:31Depending on what your personal
6:32strengths and weaknesses are, on an
6:34average? You should aim at eight days
6:36per subject. Plus, between Revision 1
6:38and Revision 2, you should dedicate
6:40seven days to Law and Cost.
6:42So, I took this seven-day gap after
6:44Revision 1 to cover Law and Cost. The
6:46objective was that I wanted to start
6:48practicing IBS case studies on a daily
6:50basis. Now, to do that, it is essential
6:52that you get done with Law and Cost. At
6:54least have a basic grip over the study
6:56material and the index. So that you can
6:58start solving case studies. After that,
6:59it will have its own learning curve. But
7:01just to begin the process, it is
7:03essential that you give seven days here
7:05to glance through Law and Cost.
7:07Otherwise, what happens is that people
7:09tend to delay IBS, and a simple subject
7:11becomes very overcomplicated and very
7:12stressful towards the end, and then it
7:14never gets done.
7:15>> Correct, correct.
7:17So we don't want to make that mistake;
7:18we shouldn't take too much stress or
7:20spend too much time, but we also
7:21shouldn't neglect it entirely because,
7:23ultimately, it also covers 100 marks.
7:25So that is why I kept these seven days
7:27for Law and Cost.
7:29So, on January 21st, the day my Law and
7:31Cost revision ended. So, from January
7:3322nd, along with the revision, I also
7:35incorporated IBS case solving into my
7:37daily schedule. Now, if you can't do it
7:39absolutely daily, even if you can do it
7:41three times a week or even every
7:43alternate day, that is plenty.
7:45It's not about how many case studies you
7:47can do; it's about whether you can do at
7:49least 15-20 case studies, and if you are
7:50able to learn what mistakes you were
7:52making, why you were taking more time
7:53than expected, and if you are able to
7:55incorporate that into your next case
7:56study, it will help.
7:59Try to find a study buddy for yourself
8:01with whom you can solve one case study
8:02for 40-45 minutes before going to sleep
8:04at night, discuss it, and note down the
8:06learnings; this way, IBS and Audit will
8:08happen in parallel automatically.
8:10You won't even have to allocate a
8:11separate block for them. Out of six
8:13subjects, the stress for two will just
8:15vanish. So you can focus on multiple
8:17block divisions for these four subjects
8:19. So, that is how I have designed this
8:21plan. Plus, I have again kept six, yes,
8:23yes.
8:24>> Ritesh, I'm sorry to interrupt you, but
8:26I wanted to add a few things.
8:28Those who are following Ritesh already
8:30know about the 'Geetas' he mentioned.
8:32But for those who don't. Don't, I
8:34thought I'd just give a brief
8:35explanation. Or maybe Ritesh, why don't
8:37you explain in brief, what exactly is
8:39this Gita? And maybe people can go and
8:41watch the detailed video. We will put
8:43its link in this video's description as
8:44well. The PDF you have for the Gita, you
8:47will also find that on Ritesh's Telegram
8:49channel. We will also put the link to
8:51Ritesh's Telegram channel in this
8:52video's description. But Ritesh, why
8:54don't you describe what you mean by Gita
8:56?
8:56>> So, to put it very crisply, Gita used to
8:59be like a book, a notebook, a small
9:01notebook which I maintained, on average
9:0330 to 40 pages per subject. It was that
9:05small, where I used to just write down
9:07all the tricky points chapter-wise, any
9:09silly mistakes that I was repetitively
9:11making, like a trend I was seeing, like
9:13this is a pain area for me and I am
9:14continuously forgetting this, or any
9:16such minute ambiguous point; like in AFM
9:18, you will find a lot of ambiguous small
9:20points. So if you write those small
9:22points in your Gita, then that tension
9:24will be removed from the back of your
9:25mind. Otherwise, there is always a
9:27tension that, yes, the subject is fully
9:28revised, but there are a lot of small
9:30points here and there that keep
9:31revolving in the back of your mind that
9:32this isn't clear. So write them in the
9:34Gita and basically remove them from your
9:35mind and store them in the Gita. So that
9:37is what I started in my second revision
9:39. So you have to make your Gita by the
9:41end of the second revision and then keep
9:43improvising it with every subsequent
9:44revision. Read it again and again so
9:46that, again, very passively, you can set
9:48a system so that you don't have to put
9:50in extra effort. That thing remains
9:52taken care of automatically. So yeah,
9:54that is crisply what the Gita is.
9:56>> And you know Ritesh, I tell my students
9:58, my students meaning everyone, everyone
10:00watching this video is a student only.
10:02So, I have kept telling people that you
10:04should maintain a mistakes register, and
10:06not just for AFM, you need a mistakes
10:08register for all subjects. I think what
10:10Ritesh is also mentioning is quite
10:11similar, where you are noting down your
10:13chapter-wise mistakes. If you made
10:15mistakes in the first reading, no
10:16problem. I will, I will in fact
10:17encourage you to make mistakes in the
10:19first two readings, and as you keep
10:20making more and more mistakes, in the
10:22next revision before you start that
10:23chapter, just read those mistakes. And I
10:25bet, over a period of time, those 100%
10:27mistakes will come down to 40, 20, and
10:29eventually, by the fourth revision, it
10:31will be zero—zero itself. So that, in
10:33fact, is very good. Ritesh has shared
10:36his 'Gita' for reference on his Telegram
10:38channel. You can look at the link and
10:40just go through it once. Try to make
10:42your own 'Gita' because everyone's
10:43mistakes will be different. Ritesh must
10:45have made different mistakes. You will
10:46have different mistakes. But as a
10:47reference point, you can take a look at
10:49that. So that is point one. Point number
10:52two, I think it is pertinent to mention
10:54here that Ritesh had scored 80 marks in
10:57IBS.
11:08With respect to IBS, it is worth noting
11:10. So I think Ritesh also prepared a
11:12video on how to handle IBS; that video
11:14is also a separate video, we will add
11:15that as well. All these videos that we
11:17are referring to, we will put the links
11:19in the description. So you can go and
11:21watch them. But, so IBS is one more
11:24point.
11:26The second, or rather the third, was the
11:27study buddy point that Ritesh mentioned
11:29, I think that is a very important point
11:31.
11:33So, even when I was in CA Final, Ritesh
11:35, we had a Telegram group of 13 people.
11:38By the way, coincidentally, I got AIR 13
11:40in CA Final. But that’s a different
11:42thing, unrelated, but the reason I
11:44mentioned this is that 13 is sort of
11:46unlucky for a lot of people, but I feel
11:48, you know, 13 happened to be the lucky
11:50number for me. My result came on
11:52September 13th, I got 13th rank, and
11:54there were 13 people in that Telegram
11:56group. But anyways, we made subject-wise
11:58Telegram groups; we were just friends.
12:00Out of those 13 people, 12 cleared in
12:01the first attempt, and the 13th one also
12:04eventually cleared, and out of the 13
12:05people, three of us got an All India
12:07Rank. So, it was a lucky group for us.
12:11The point is, you should have a group of
12:13studious people around you, people who
12:14want to study, who don't pull you down
12:16but actually sort of encourage you and
12:17pull you up.
12:19What were the things we did? For example
12:21, what did we do in DT? We had referred
12:23to a faculty's book. Right? So we were
12:25all slightly skeptical about which
12:26questions were not in this book that
12:28were not covered by the module.
12:30Basically, the module questions that are
12:31not covered in this book. So what we did
12:33was divide the chapters like, "I'll
12:34handle these three, you take these three
12:36, you take those three," and we would
12:38review the module questions one by one,
12:40covering any extra questions not in the
12:41book. So this is just one example; there
12:43were many such things. If I’m studying
12:45DT and have a doubt, I’ll write it down
12:46and someone else will solve it. Now, the
12:48next person studying DT has a 25-50%
12:50probability that half their doubts will
12:52be solved right there. They will look,
12:53and if they ask a doubt.
12:55We will simply tag the previous message
12:56, "Look here, this doubt was already
12:58asked," and this way, a lot of effort
13:00was reduced.
13:01So I think having a good study group is
13:03quite important, and I think that also
13:05leads me to say having a good mentor is
13:06also important.
13:08A mentor could be someone you watch
13:09YouTube videos of, like Ritesh, who is a
13:11very good mentor.
13:12A mentor could be an elder brother, a
13:14senior from articleship whom you can
13:16speak to and get guidance from. And I
13:18also understand a lot of people don't
13:20have mentors because they are from Tier
13:23-2 or Tier-3 cities. They are the first
13:24CA in their family. They can't talk to
13:26anyone in the family about this. So for
13:28those people, there is Rajan, along with
13:30Ritesh, who secured AIR 1 in May 25.
13:33So Rajan has started doing mentorship
13:36for both the May 27 and Nov 27 attempts
13:38.
13:39So Rajan is sort of mentoring people,
13:41and the aim is simple: by forming groups
13:43of five, Rajan will personally mentor
13:44these people, and those five to seven
13:46people can act as study buddies for each
13:48other.
13:49So guys, if you are interested in that,
13:50there is a separate video on mentorship
13:51. You can go and watch that too. Now
13:53people will say, "Sir, there are so many
13:54videos." How many should we watch? We
13:56will put the link in the description.
13:58Whichever one you like, you can watch it
13:59. Last thing—no, I say too many "last
14:01things," but I don't want to interrupt
14:03Ritesh's flow again and again.
14:05So I think the point that Ritesh made is
14:08very well articulated.
14:10I mean, it is very well articulated. He
14:12has probably put it well. Focus area.
14:16I think he perfectly mentioned that in
14:18the first reading, quality and depth—
14:19which is the understanding of each
14:21subject—is so much more important rather
14:23than actually rote learning.
14:25People say, "Sir, I am not able to
14:26remember Audit." I said, "How many times
14:28have you read Audit so far?" So a lot of
14:29this, and not just Audit.
14:31For all the other subjects too, the more
14:33times you read a particular subject, the
14:35more you will be able to grasp and it
14:36will be remembered automatically.
14:39So you don't have to worry, no one is
14:41such an expert that they get everything
14:42in the first revision, that's not going
14:44to happen.
14:46And hence I really appreciate what
14:48Ritesh has written here, properly
14:49planned, as Ritesh mentioned.
14:52And I think people often ask, "What is
14:54the secret sauce to being a ranker?" And
14:56while I believe there is no secret sauce
14:58, over a period of time I have started
15:00to realize there is a secret sauce. But
15:01the only difference is, it isn't secret
15:03. It is spoken about a lot, but it isn't
15:06followed enough, which is effective
15:08planning.
15:09Guys, what makes CA tough? The length of
15:12the course, it's such a vast course that
15:15you have to study. If you go to count
15:16the pages, there are 10,000, 15,000
15:18pages you have to read. But if you plan
15:20it well, it becomes more conquerable, it
15:23becomes more doable. Is it tough? Yes,
15:25it is. Of course, it is tough. But is it
15:27not doable? It is doable. Ritesh is a
15:29very good example who secured AIR 2 with
15:31a good industrial training before
15:33articleship. He was from SRCC. So with
15:35all of this as well, he has done it. So
15:38that was only possible with the right
15:40planning and you can see the level of
15:41planning and the thought that has gone
15:43into it. The way he is providing a
15:45rationale that the first reading's focus
15:46area is this. The second reading's focus
15:48area is that. Read Audit every day. Read
15:50IBS case studies every day. And not just
15:52that, but also the buffer. I always tell
15:54people, Ritesh, that if you have to
15:56drive from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. It's a
15:58500 km journey, so you can't just think
16:00the car will cover it at 100 km per hour
16:02in 5 hours, that's not going to happen.
16:04The car will heat up, man. You will have
16:06to stop the car and let it cool down a
16:07bit. So, you will need enough breaks and
16:10buffers in between. Anyways, all of it
16:12comes down to what? Planning, effective
16:14planning. And Ritesh here is a good
16:16example of how he has done effective
16:17planning. Guys, the plan could differ
16:19for all of you. Someone will say, "Hey,
16:21I can't read Audit every day, I get
16:22frustrated." And honestly, I was one
16:24such person, I couldn't read every day.
16:25So, what I used to do was study AFM for
16:27three days, then Audit for three days,
16:29then back to AFM for three days, then
16:30Audit for three days. I can't study
16:32Audit for 15 days straight, so I used to
16:34study in three-day blocks.
16:36On different styles, so make sure you
16:38know, CA is one such course which is not
16:40one-size-fits-all.
16:42Alright? Here, everyone needs to have
16:44their own strategy, but people need to
16:46know what strategy works for them. You
16:48can, like, see, of course you can
16:49blindly copy Ritesh here, but even after
16:52blindly copying Ritesh, there is no
16:53guarantee that you will pass. Let’s get
16:55that right. Because everyone is a
16:57different human being. So you need to
16:59know what works for you. What Ritesh and
17:02to some extent I can guide you on is how
17:04to plan. So that is what Ritesh is
17:06guiding. I think I have spoken enough.
17:08But I wanted to give some context on
17:09your Geeta and IBS, etc. So that people
17:11are aware and they can also refer to
17:13those videos for guidance from you. But
17:15go ahead, over to you. Go for it.
17:17>> Absolutely. Yes. So thank you so much,
17:19Divesh, for that. So yes. So again,
17:21reiterating as Divesh mentioned, this is
17:23not a foolproof strategy.
17:25As he mentioned, it is more of a base
17:27where you can get an understanding of
17:29how I approached my strategy and then
17:30take some guidance from it.
17:32To develop something similar for
17:34yourself. It might be very different for
17:36very different people. So, okay, so
17:38quickly summarizing this.
17:40So, once we have completed revision two
17:42, you would all already have a good grip
17:44over the concepts.
17:46A good grip over your notes. You would
17:48have consolidated everything into one.
17:50You would have also practiced around
17:5215-20 IBS case studies. And for Audit as
17:54well, 70-80%of your learning would have
17:56been done by the end of revision two. So
17:58now the next revision's purpose will be
18:00to serve the speed which a lot of people
18:02try to achieve from revision one only.
18:04But like, if we take it step by step,
18:06that is the thing we need to cover in
18:07revision three. So first you did a 15-
18:09day revision, then you did a seven or
18:11eight-day revision. Now you will trim it
18:13down to five days, preparing a base to
18:15be ready for the 1.5-day revision. So in
18:17this five-day revision, you will
18:18understand a lot of things about your
18:20notes, like is there a need to further
18:22condense your notes? Is there a need to
18:23further condense your question bank? Are
18:25there any places where you need to make
18:26summary notes? Are there still any weak
18:28points that need more brushing up? So,
18:30this is the objective of these five days
18:31. So here too, I have allocated five
18:33days per subject in a similar manner.
18:35And here, I have not kept Audit on a
18:37daily basis. Since you have already been
18:38doing Audit daily for three to four
18:40months. You would have a good grip and
18:42most of your syllabus would be covered.
18:44So now, in Audit as well, you have to
18:46practice how to consolidate that entire
18:48syllabus in five days. Once you have
18:49practiced that in five days, then you
18:51can replicate that in 1.5 days. So here
18:53, for Audit as well, I have given a
18:55separate block of five days.
18:57IBS case studies go as they did last
18:58month, where you have to practice one
19:00case study on alternate days.
19:02And here too, I have kept a buffer of
19:04six days. So this brings it to a total
19:06of 30 days. Also, there is one point I
19:07need to clarify. This buffer does not
19:09necessarily mean that if your studies
19:11spill over, you use this. Of course, if
19:14your plan spills over, your buffer is
19:16being used. But you should try to give
19:17yourself the motivation that I don’t
19:19want to use this buffer for studying. I
19:21want to complete my studies on time. So
19:23that I can use that buffer to refresh
19:25myself and relax. Maybe not quit
19:27studying entirely, but study for only
19:29two-three hours and spend the rest of
19:30the day refreshing yourself.
19:32Go on a small trip nearby, or do some
19:34sports or activities.
19:35Meaning, doing something to just
19:37re-energize yourself. Because as Devesh
19:39mentioned, it is a marathon. You have to
19:41keep going for six months. So you cannot
19:43run your engine at full gear from day
19:45one. It has to gradually build up, just
19:47like running in a marathon. So that is
19:49also the use of the buffer that I
19:51personally tried to use.
19:53Then the last revision, which would
19:55ideally begin from April 1 st—like by
19:57the end of March you will be done with
19:59three revisions—and the last one will be
20:01more of a simulation than a revision,
20:03where you allocate exactly the same days
20:05. You allocate the same amount of time
20:07that you will get in the main exam. Now
20:09, there are various ways to give this
20:10simulation. Like, I opted for giving the
20:13physical mock test series that the ICAI
20:15conducts so that I get that exposure of
20:17traveling. Studying for 1.5 days after
20:19traveling, in that state of exhaustion,
20:20and adapting to an unknown environment.
20:22So, I wanted to experience all of that.
20:24That’s why I opted for a physical test
20:26series. Although it’s not necessary. It
20:27is completely optional. If you want, you
20:29can alternatively do an online test
20:31series on your own. But then you have to
20:32maintain that discipline that I have to
20:33take the exam from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00
20:35p.m. only. I have to use this much time
20:37for my studies. So, this is very
20:38important. But a lot of people ask me,
20:40what should be the 1.5-day strategy? So
20:42, trust me, there is no such strategy
20:44that anyone can tell you.
20:46It is this simulation which will help
20:48you understand where you are going wrong
20:50and how to fine-tune your 1.5-day
20:51strategy. So that is the purpose of this
20:54simulation. Where you will be able to
20:55understand which chapter you are giving
20:57more time to, which one less, and you
20:59will be able to optimize it for your
21:00main exams. So that will be the purpose
21:02of this simulation. This should end by
21:04April 15th, and then the 10 days of
21:06April are again a buffer for any
21:07spillovers, and in the last five days of
21:09April, we will be doing FR, so there's
21:11nothing else to think about. April 25th
21:13should be a hard stop, and you should
21:15prepare for FR from April 26th. So yeah
21:18, this is pretty much the revision road
21:21map.
21:22>> Ritesh, a few follow-up questions.
21:25>> Number one, and I am asking a very
21:27stereotypical question. But how many
21:29hours did you study? Or how many hours
21:31should anyone study?
21:33So, I personally used to study 8 to 9
21:36hours. In that, the effective study
21:38would be, say, 7 to 8 hours, and I
21:39consciously had a hard stop at that,
21:41that I shouldn't study more than 8 to 9
21:43hours. At least in the initial three,
21:45four, five months of my study break.
21:47Maybe in the last month it went above 10
21:49hours, but I had that thought in mind
21:51from the start that it's a marathon, so
21:53I shouldn't exhaust myself so much that
21:56I get saturated and am not able to
21:58perform in the main month. So I did a
22:00lot of other things also throughout my
22:02day that made me happy. I did not call
22:04them distractions. So, I love playing
22:06sports. So I used to play sports for 2
22:08hours too. Something or other. I also
22:09used to exercise for an hour. I would
22:11also use my mobile for a little while. I
22:12mean, everything in a controlled manner
22:14is not a distraction. When you are
22:15studying for 8 hours, then study fully.
22:17If you are resting for four hours, then
22:19rest completely. Like, keep those things
22:20completely separate. So that would be my
22:22suggestion. In seven to eight hours,
22:24it's ideal.
22:25>> I think now the entire audience will
22:26agree with why I called you an
22:28all-rounder. That even in studies,
22:30brother is finding time for exercise and
22:32sports. Honestly, I didn't do many other
22:34things, but yes, I used to spend a lot
22:36of time on the phone and such. I used to
22:38sleep for extra time or whatever, but I
22:41fully agree, guys; remember CA Inter was
22:44like a sprint. You have less time, so
22:46you have to run at full speed in
22:47whatever time you have. But CA Final is
22:50a marathon. You have to keep up your
22:52speed. Yes, but you don't have to keep
22:53full speed. Otherwise, you will get
22:54exhausted by the time you reach the
22:56finish line. What is the point if you
22:57can't cross it?
22:58So you will have to run at a decent pace
23:01and speed, and do it consistently.
23:05You just have to maintain a consistent
23:07speed. That is what CA Final is all
23:08about. And Nitesh here is a good example
23:10. So, there is no need to study for 12
23:12hours. As long as you are doing 7, 8, up
23:15to 10 hours effectively.
23:17And of course, in the last few months,
23:19you can just increase the pace.
23:21The second question, Ritaj, is how many
23:23mocks to give and when to give those
23:25mocks?
23:26So, there is no hard cap on the number
23:29of mocks you should give.
23:31Like, ideally, the bare minimum I would
23:33say is two mocks per subject, because
23:35that would be enough to help you
23:36understand the paper pattern, where you
23:38are going wrong, and all those things.
23:40Over and above two mocks, whatever mocks
23:42you give is just a bonus; the more mocks
23:44you keep giving, the more your
23:45confidence will increase, and silly
23:46mistakes will keep decreasing.
23:48But the bare minimum you should target
23:49is two mocks per subject, and on the
23:51upper end, four to five mocks. So, I
23:53also gave around four to five mocks for
23:55the four core subjects: FR, SFM, DT, IDT
23:57, but for Audit and IBS, I only gave two
23:59mocks, because they were too theoretical
24:01, so I didn't really feel like sitting
24:03and writing those mocks.
24:06And for FR, SFM, DT, IDT as well, when I
24:07say four mocks, those are not like four
24:09proper full mocks; like two mocks were
24:11in proper simulative conditions, while a
24:12couple of them were just mocks in
24:14between when I was doing some other
24:15subject, just to do writing practice, so
24:17that is how I approached it.
24:19Now the second part of the question,
24:21when to give? Ideally, try to take a
24:23mock exam after finishing every revision
24:25. Whether or not you want to take one
24:27after Revision 1 is optional.
24:30So ideally, if you are someone who gets
24:32affected significantly by mock marks and
24:34feels demotivated, then I would say
24:35avoid taking it after Revision 1; start
24:37taking mocks after Revision 2.
24:40>> Because by the 15th day, you won't even
24:41remember it.
24:42>> Correct? So it is difficult to retain.
24:45But if you are the type who wants to
24:47take mocks just for writing practice and
24:48you are chill about it—that it's just a
24:50mock exam, not the final one, and you
24:52have to take these learnings to improve
24:54in the next exam—If you are like that,
24:55then take the mocks after Revision 1;
24:57otherwise, don't.
24:59Otherwise, ideally, if you start taking
25:01mocks after Revision 2, it is good,
25:02because in Revision 2 you will be
25:04consolidating everything in five-six
25:05days, so it is better and a more
25:07accurate representation of a mock. So if
25:09you start from there, you will easily
25:10manage two to three mocks per subject
25:12until the date of your exam.
25:14You know, an alternate approach many
25:16people—I mean, I also suggest—is that in
25:18your first reading, what you can do is
25:20divide it into 13 and 2, or 15 and 2,
25:22whichever way. And then, in the last two
25:24days, just revise what you have done in
25:25the first week or 10 days, whatever you
25:27have forgotten, so it becomes a quick
25:28revision. So, in one reading, you get
25:30two readings done. Then you can take a
25:31mock. But again, don't get affected by
25:33mock marks. Take it seriously, but don't
25:35get demotivated; you won't remember much
25:37after the first reading.
25:39Next question, Ritesh, which a lot of
25:41people are waiting for: if lectures are
25:44pending, GMCS/Advanced IT is pending,
25:46SPOM is pending, then what is the
25:48approach?
25:49>> Right, so I will again quickly share my
25:51screen to explain that.
25:53So, here, if anything is pending for you
25:56—classes, GMCS, SPOM—then let's say you
25:58don't have the full six months, maybe
26:00you have five months or maybe less than
26:02five months, then you have to follow
26:04this exact same thing with some
26:06adjustments.
26:07In my opinion, you should not make any
26:09adjustments in Revision 1. It is worth
26:10giving it 15 or 25 days because, in this
26:12, you are focusing on quality. You
26:14should not compromise here. For
26:16subsequent revisions, you can try
26:17merging revision two and revision three
26:20. Like, rather than doing two different
26:21revisions. You can just do a single
26:23revision. Meaning, here it’s adding up
26:24to 8 + 5 = 13 days. So, instead of that
26:26, do a nine-day revision or just an
26:28eight-day revision. Skip revision three
26:30altogether. And after doing it for seven
26:32to eight days, jump directly to the two
26:34to three-day simulation. So, you will
26:36save around one month, or one month and
26:37one week. Depending on how much time you
26:40have left, you can either reduce the
26:42number of revisions or reduce the number
26:44of days you spend per revision. But do
26:46not touch revision one. I mean, keep
26:48this locked; that would be my strong
26:50recommendation. After that, depending on
26:52your time availability, you can adjust
26:55these two.
26:55>> Alternatively, a hybrid approach could
26:57be that you reduce one revision but keep
26:59four revisions for audit. Something like
27:01that is...
27:02>> Correct. Yes. Depending on the subjects
27:04that are troubling you a bit. True.
27:06But guys, keeping a buffer is very
27:07important. So just keep this buffer;
27:09keeping fewer days is fine, but keeping
27:11one is essential. That too for every
27:13reading. And you will have to plan
27:14properly in advance for the first
27:16reading. How many days for the second;
27:18you can't just go with the flow. And in
27:19fact, even before starting each subject
27:21, you need to plan how you will cover
27:22that subject in 15 days. How you will
27:24cover it in eight days, that also needs
27:25to be planned. Otherwise, if you start
27:26and only 70%is finished at the end of 15
27:28days, what will you do about the 30%?
27:29That is a different problem. So I think
27:31you have to be planned, but this has
27:33been super helpful, Ritesh. Any parting
27:35remarks from your end?
27:37>> So yeah, my parting remarks would just
27:39be that this is ultimately a plan that
27:41you will be making, but a plan is only a
27:43plan as long as it is on paper. So focus
27:45more on the execution; even if you
27:47aren't able to execute it 100%, it's
27:49okay. Like, even saying "I was able to
27:52achieve 75-80%of my plan" is a lot. So
27:54that is also okay. Now, there will be
27:56some days where you have a very bad day
27:58. The whole plan goes haywire. But then
28:01what is important is to not have
28:02back-to-back bad days. If you have a bad
28:04day, just come back from it. It's okay
28:06even if you are able to achieve 70-80%
28:08of the plan, you will do good. If you
28:10are making such a comprehensive plan. So
28:11just chill a little bit. Don't take so
28:13much stress. Enjoy the six months. The
28:16more you enjoy, the better you will
28:18study, I think.
28:19>> No, absolutely. And once again, thanks a
28:21lot Ritesh. You put in a great effort
28:23back in the day. You are doing a great
28:25job right now, guys.
28:26Ritesh really spends a lot of his
28:28precious time, because he is also in a
28:30busy job, to guide all the future CAs
28:32out there.
28:33So, do follow him, do join his Telegram
28:35channel, do follow him on YouTube as
28:37well. And Ritesh, we will keep speaking
28:39more on more strategy and more, so stay
28:41in touch. But wish you all the best
28:43Ritesh as well, all the best to all the
28:44May '27 aspirants as well. And do
28:46subscribe to my channel for a lot of AFM
28:48and in general CA guidance as well.
28:51Thanks a lot everyone, bye-bye.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of 6 Month planner for May 27 CA Final| CA Ritij Saraf (AIR 2, May 26) & CA Divesh Harpalani (AIR 6,13) by CA Divesh Harpalani (AIR 6,13)-CA Final AFM, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 6,419 words across 909 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to choose a caption track available on the video.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, caption language selection, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.