Financial Management & Strategic Management – CRACKER is a book of solved past exam questions for CA Intermediate, Group II, Paper 6. It brings past exam questions, ICAI's RTP questions, summary notes and formulas together, arranged chapter by chapter.
The book covers the full paper in 14 chapters: nine on Financial Management and five on Strategic Management. Each chapter opens with summary notes before moving to the solved questions. Most questions carry the exam or RTP they come from.
Exam analysis tables open the book. A solved Model Test Paper and five complete solved papers, from May 2025 to September 2026, close it. The student gets notes, formulas, past questions and full papers in one book.
The Present Publication is the 14th Edition. It is applicable for the January and May 2027 exams of CA Intermediate, Group II, Paper 6. The book is authored by CA. Rakesh Rathi and CA. Vivek Panwar, with the following noteworthy features:
- Solved Past Exam Questions up to September 2026: Past exam questions up to January 2025 are solved chapter-wise. The five exams from May 2025 to September 2026 are given at the end as complete papers. Every question in these papers has a suggested answer, including both options where the paper offers a choice.
- RTPs Issued by ICAI: Questions from ICAI's Revision Test Papers (RTPs), from May 2018 to May 2025, sit in the chapters alongside past exam questions.
- Chapter-wise Marks Distribution & Trend Analysis: A marks table covers every exam from May 2024 to September 2026, chapter by chapter, with an average for each chapter. A trend table then goes question by question through the descriptive part of each exam from January 2025 to September 2026. For each question, it gives the question number, the chapter, the marks, whether it was compulsory, and whether it was theory or practical.
- Sub-topic-wise Arrangement of Questions: In the Strategic Management chapters, and in most Financial Management practical sections, questions are grouped under sub-topic headings. For example, Dividend Decisions groups its problems under headings such as Walter Model and Gordon Model. Strategic Analysis: External Environment groups its questions under headings such as Value Chain Analysis and Porter's Five Forces.
- Solved Model Test Paper: A Model Test Paper covers both sections: five questions on Financial Management and five on Strategic Management, including case-based questions. Every question is answered, and the numerical answers show their working, with statements and working notes where needed.
- Chapter-wise Summary Notes with Relevant Formulae: Each chapter opens with summary notes on its key points, using charts, proformas and comparison tables where useful. Management of Working Capital, for example, opens with a proforma cash budget and the Baumol and Miller-Orr cash models. Chapters 3 to 9 then add a Formats and Formulas section, set out in tables. It gives the formulas, ready formats (such as the statement of working capital requirement), decision rules and step-by-step solving routes, for example for capital rationing, cost reduction proposals and the indifference point.
- Diagrams in Strategic Management Answers: Several Strategic Management answers include a diagram, such as the product life cycle curve, Porter's five forces, Ansoff's matrix and organisation structure charts.
The coverage of the book is as follows:
- Section A | Financial Management (50 Marks)
- Scope and Objectives of Financial Management, with theory questions on finance functions, profit and wealth maximisation, the role of the CFO and the evolution of financial management.
- Types of Financing, with theory questions on leasing, venture capital, bonds and international instruments, packing credit, securitisation, and newer sources such as crowd funding and angel financing.
- Financial Analysis and Planning – Ratio Analysis, with problems on calculating ratios, finding missing figures, and completing or preparing financial statements from given ratios.
- Cost of Capital, with problems on the cost of each source of capital, weighted average and marginal cost of capital, the yield to maturity method and convertible debentures.
- Financial Decisions – Capital Structure, with problems on alternative financing plans, the indifference point and financial break-even point, the MM approach with tax, the arbitrage process and the implied rate of return.
- Financial Decisions – Leverages, with problems on operating, financial and combined leverage.
- Investment Decisions/Capital Budgeting, with problems on new projects, capital rationing, cost reduction proposals, plant replacement and projects with unequal lives.
- Dividend Decisions, with problems on the Walter and Gordon models and intrinsic value per share.
- Management of Working Capital, with problems on cash budgets, the Baumol model, receivables management, factoring, and working capital estimation by the operating cycle and component-wise methods.
- Section B | Strategic Management (50 Marks)
- Introduction to Strategic Management, with questions on strategy, strategic management, strategic intent, vision, mission, objectives and goals, values, and the levels of strategy formulation.
- Strategic Analysis: External Environment, with questions on the business environment, the product life cycle, value chain analysis, Porter's five forces, the experience curve, the competitive landscape and key success factors.
- Strategic Analysis: Internal Environment, with questions on stakeholders, strategic drivers, strategic group mapping, core competency, SWOT analysis and Porter's generic strategies.
- Strategic Choices, with questions on stability, growth and expansion (including mergers, acquisitions and strategic alliances), retrenchment and turnaround, and planning tools such as the Ansoff, ADL, BCG and GE matrices.
- Strategy Implementation and Evaluation, with questions on the strategic management process, strategic change and digital transformation, organisation structures, organisation culture, strategic leadership, strategic control and performance measures.
- Model Test Paper | Financial Management & Strategic Management
- Solved Papers with Suggested Answers | May 2025, September 2025, January 2026, May 2026 and September 2026
The structure of the book is as follows:
- Chapter Flow: Chapters 3 to 9 have four parts: Summary, Formats and Formulas, Theory Questions and Practical Problems. Chapters 1, 2 and 10 to 14 have two parts: Summary and Theory Questions. Most chapters close with a set of additional questions.
- Question Layout: Chapter questions, Model Test Paper questions and the descriptive questions in the solved papers are set in shaded boxes. Past exam questions carry the exam and marks, such as (Nov. 2019, 5 Marks). RTP questions carry the RTP, such as (May 2024-RTP).
- Question Versions Together: Where a question has been asked in different words across exams or RTPs, the versions are often printed together with one answer.
- Answer Style: Numerical answers move from the formula to the figures to the result, often set out in statements and tables, with working notes and stated assumptions where needed. Many also state a clear decision or advice, such as which financing plan to choose or whether to replace a machine. Theory answers are mostly set out in points, and case-based questions are answered with reference to the facts given.
- Solved Paper Layout: Each solved paper is set out in two parts, as in the exam. Part I gives the multiple-choice questions (MCQs), including case scenarios, with the correct option. Part II gives the descriptive questions with full answers. In the January 2026, May 2026 and September 2026 papers, the Financial Management MCQ answers also show the working.
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