CRACKER COMBO for CA Inter | Group II – Papers 4–6 brings together three Taxmann CRACKER books, one for each Group II paper: Cost & Management Accounting (CMA, Paper 4), Auditing & Ethics (Paper 5), and Financial Management & Strategic Management (FM & SM, Paper 6). Auditing & Ethics comes in two volumes, so the set has four volumes in all.
Each book has past ICAI exam questions, solved and arranged chapter by chapter, along with questions from ICAI's Revision Test Papers (RTPs) and, in CMA and Auditing & Ethics, Mock Test Papers (MTPs). Most questions carry a tag showing where they come from. Theory answers are mostly set out in points, and numerical answers in CMA and FM & SM come with working notes where needed.
CMA and FM & SM include the September 2026 paper, solved in full, and all three books include the May 2026 paper. Each book opens with a chapter-wise marks distribution table, and each has MCQs and case scenarios with answers.
The Present Publication is the October 2026 Edition, for CA Intermediate, Group II, Papers 4 to 6. It is applicable for the Jan. 2027 Exams. The set has the 14th Edition of CMA, the 18th Edition of Auditing & Ethics, and the 14th Edition of FM & SM. The books are authored by CA. Ravi Chhawchharia, CA. Yash Doctor, CA. Pankaj Garg, CA. Rakesh Rathi and CA. Vivek Panwar, with the following noteworthy features:
- Common
- Solved Past Exam Questions: Past ICAI exam questions are solved and arranged chapter by chapter: up to January 2026 in CMA and Auditing & Ethics, and up to January 2025 in FM & SM.
- Recent Papers Solved in Full: The May 2026 paper is solved in all three books, and CMA and FM & SM also solve the September 2026 paper. FM & SM gives five papers in all, from May 2025 to September 2026, plus a solved Model Test Paper.
- RTP, MTP and ICAI Module Questions: ICAI's RTP questions appear in all three books. CMA and Auditing & Ethics also include MTP questions, and CMA adds questions from the ICAI Module.
- Source Tags: Most questions carry a tag showing where they come from, such as a past exam with its marks, an RTP or an MTP.
- Chapter-wise Marks Distribution: Each book opens with a table of chapter-wise marks in recent exams: May 2023 to September 2026 in CMA, May 2024 to May 2026 in Auditing & Ethics, and May 2024 to September 2026 in FM & SM. Volume 2 of Auditing & Ethics adds a separate MCQ table for September 2024 to May 2026.
- MCQs and Case Scenarios: Each book has MCQs and case scenarios with answers: in a separate chapter in CMA, in the second volume of Auditing & Ethics, and in the solved papers of FM & SM.
- Paper-specific
- Cost & Management Accounting
- Over 500 solved theory and practical questions across 15 chapters, from 2-mark theory questions to 10-mark practical problems.
- A trend analysis of the descriptive questions in each exam from September 2024 to September 2026, question by question, showing each question's chapter and marks, and whether it was theory or practical.
- A table matching Chapters 1 to 15 with their chapters in the ICAI Study Material.
- Chapter 16 with 10 case scenarios and 25 standalone MCQs, 75 MCQs in all, from the September 2024 to January 2026 exams, grouped exam by exam. Each case scenario sets out a business situation with data, followed by five MCQs.
- Auditing & Ethics
- Two volumes on the same 11 chapters: Volume 1 has 780+ descriptive questions and case studies, and Volume 2 has about 480 individual MCQs and 90 case scenarios.
- Volume 1 questions arranged topic-wise and attempt-wise, with many topic heads mapped to individual Standards on Auditing.
- Volume 2 case scenarios (Part B) arranged chapter-wise, plus a Miscellaneous Topics set in attempt order. Each of these case scenarios is followed by a set of MCQs and an answer table.
- Financial Management & Strategic Management
- A trend analysis of the descriptive questions in each exam from January 2025 to September 2026, question by question, showing whether each question was compulsory, its chapter and marks, and whether it was theory or practical.
- A table matching the 14 chapters with their chapters in the ICAI Study Material.
- Summary notes open every chapter. Chapters 3 to 9 add a Formats and Formulas section.
- Questions grouped under sub-topic headings in the Strategic Management chapters and in most Financial Management practical sections, such as Walter Model in Dividend Decisions and Value Chain Analysis in Strategic Analysis: External Environment.
- A solved Model Test Paper with five questions on Financial Management and five on Strategic Management, including case-based questions.
The coverage of the COMBO is as follows:
- Paper 4 | Cost & Management Accounting (15 Chapters, MCQ Chapter & 2 Solved Papers)
- Basics — introduction to cost and management accounting, with theory questions only (Ch. 1).
- Elements of cost and overheads — material cost; employee cost and direct expenses; overheads under absorption costing; activity based costing (Ch. 2–5).
- Cost sheet and cost accounting systems — cost sheets; integrated and non-integrated accounts, and reconciliation of cost and financial accounts (Ch. 6–7).
- Methods of costing — unit and batch costing; job costing; process costing; joint products and by-products; service costing (Ch. 8–12).
- Control and decisions — standard costing; marginal costing; budget and budgetary control (Ch. 13–15).
- Case scenarios and MCQs — 10 case scenarios and 25 standalone MCQs, 75 MCQs in all, from the September 2024 to January 2026 exams (Ch. 16).
- Solved papers — May 2026 and September 2026, with suggested answers.
- Paper 5 | Auditing & Ethics (11 Chapters, 2 Volumes & Solved Paper)
- Basics of audit — nature, objective and scope of audit, its inherent limitations, and types of engagements (Ch. 1).
- Planning and risk — audit strategy, planning and programme; risk assessment and internal control, including audit in an automated environment, data analytics, digital audit and internal financial controls (Ch. 2–3).
- Evidence and financial statement items — audit evidence, including sampling, external confirmations, opening balances, related parties and analytical procedures; audit of items of financial statements, from share capital and borrowings to inventories, fixed assets and expenses (Ch. 4–5).
- Documentation, review and reports — audit documentation; completion and review, including subsequent events, going concern and written representations; audit reports, including modified opinions, key audit matters, branch and joint audits, and reporting under the Companies Act and CARO 2020 (Ch. 6–8).
- Entities and banks — special features of audit of different types of entities, such as government, local bodies, NGOs, LLPs, educational institutions, hospitals, hotels and co-operative societies; audit of banks, including classification of advances and drawing power (Ch. 9–10).
- Ethics — fundamental principles, independence of auditors, professional skepticism, terms of audit engagements and quality control (Ch. 11).
- Solved paper — May 2026, with descriptive answers in Volume 1 and MCQ and case scenario answers in Volume 2.
- Paper 6 | Financial Management & Strategic Management (14 Chapters, Model Test Paper & 5 Solved Papers)
- Financial Management (Section A, 50 Marks)
- Basics and financing — scope and objectives of financial management; types of financing (Ch. 1–2).
- Ratios and cost of capital — ratio analysis; cost of capital (Ch. 3–4).
- Capital structure and leverages — capital structure decisions; operating, financial and combined leverage (Ch. 5–6).
- Investment, dividend and working capital — capital budgeting; dividend decisions; management of working capital (Ch. 7–9).
- Strategic Management (Section B, 50 Marks)
- Strategy basics and analysis — introduction to strategic management; strategic analysis of the external and internal environment (Ch. 10–12).
- Choices and implementation — strategic choices; strategy implementation and evaluation (Ch. 13–14).
- Model Test Paper and solved papers — May 2025, September 2025, January 2026, May 2026 and September 2026.
The three books are laid out as follows:
- Cost & Management Accounting
- Quick Review — Most chapters open with a short recap of key formulas, formats and definitions.
- Questions — Questions sit in shaded boxes, nearly all with a source tag. Theory questions come first; practical questions follow in Chapters 2 to 15, mostly grouped under topic headings such as Economic Order Quantity (EOQ).
- Answers — Theory answers are mostly set out in points. Practical answers use the format the topic needs, such as a cost sheet or journal entries, with the calculations shown and working notes where needed.
- MCQs and Solved Papers — Each case scenario is followed by its MCQs. The solved papers come in two parts, case scenarios and MCQs first, then descriptive questions, with marks shown against each question.
- Auditing & Ethics
- Volume 1 | Descriptive Questions & Case Studies — The 11 chapters, with questions under topic heads in most chapters and answers mostly in points. The volume closes with the descriptive part of the May 2026 paper, solved.
- Volume 2 | General MCQs & Case Scenarios — Part A has individual MCQs chapter-wise, each chapter with an answer key. Part B has case scenarios chapter-wise, then a Miscellaneous Topics set. The volume closes with the MCQs and case scenarios of the May 2026 paper, solved.
- Same Chapters in Both Volumes — Both volumes follow the same 11 chapters, so a topic sits in the same chapter in each.
- Financial Management & Strategic Management
- Chapter Flow — Each chapter opens with a summary. Chapters 3 to 9 then give Formats and Formulas before the questions. Most chapters close with additional questions.
- Question Layout — Questions are set in shaded boxes. Past exam questions show the exam and marks, such as (Nov. 2019, 5 Marks), and RTP questions show the RTP, such as (May 2024-RTP).
- Answers — Numerical answers either work from the formula to the figures to the result or are set out as statements, such as a cash budget, with working notes where needed. Theory answers are mostly set out in points.
- Solved Papers — Each paper has two parts, as in the exam: MCQs, including case scenarios, then descriptive questions with full answers.
