CA Final Audit Chapter-wise Weightage: Marks Counted From 7 Papers

ICAI does not publish a CA Final Audit chapter-wise weightage. It fixes only five section-wise bands for Paper 3. So I counted the marks in seven Audit papers, May 2024 to November 2026, against ICAI's current 19 chapters. Professional Ethics and Liabilities of Auditors (chapter 19) averaged 24 of the 114 printed marks and was the largest chapter in all seven papers. Reporting (13.0) and audit of banks and NBFCs (9.8) came next. Together those three averaged 41% of the printed marks.

Three chapters carry two-fifths of the paper, yet every paper left a different set of chapters blank. Use the count to decide where extra hours go. Every chapter still needs one full reading.

TL;DR

• Ethics had 22 to 29 printed marks in every paper with MCQs.
• The top five chapters (19, 7, 14, 3 and 2) averaged 53.7% of the printed marks.
• Chapters 8, 9 and 11 had no MCQ marks, while chapters 6 and 13 took most of theirs through MCQs.
• Chapter 4 had marks in only 3 of 7 papers, yet those were 7, 7 and 6 marks.

Does ICAI publish a chapter-wise weightage for CA Final Audit?

No. ICAI's section-wise weightage document of 26 October 2023, for May 2024 and later exams, splits Paper 3 into five sections, each with a percentage band, and allows a deviation of up to 5%.

Section I alone covers 11 chapters at 45% to 55%, so the band says little about which of them to revise first. Any chapter-wise figure, ours included, is counted from past papers.

How did I count the marks?

I used ICAI's six Paper 3 question papers and suggested answers from May 2024 to May 2026, listed on its question papers page. November 2026 comes from our count of a student copy, because ICAI had not posted its Paper 3 when I counted on 10 November 2026. Our retyped November 2026 papers are here.

Method: every MCQ and Part II sub-question went to one of the 19 chapters, at its printed marks. Where ICAI reprints the question as a practice question in its study material, I used ICAI's chapter, and that covers most descriptive questions. Otherwise I used the chapter where the syllabus lists the main standard.

• Each paper prints 114 marks once the OR in Q6(c) is left out: 30 MCQ marks and six questions of 14. A student answers 100.
• May 2024 counts 84, because ICAI published only Part II for it. Averages use the six papers with MCQs, November 2024 to November 2026.
• ICAI files one SA 610 question under chapter 16 and one SA 600 question under chapter 3. Moving any one such item would put chapter 3 between 6.7 and 8.3 instead of 7.5. The top three stay the same however they are placed.

So every average below is per 114 printed marks, over six papers.

What is the CA Final Audit chapter wise weightage in recent papers?

Average printed marks per paper in the six papers with MCQs (November 2024 to November 2026), then the lowest and highest:

• Ch 19, Professional Ethics and Liabilities of Auditors: 24.0 (22 to 29).
• Ch 7, Reporting: 13.0 (10 to 16).
• Ch 14, Special Features of Audit of Banks and NBFCs: 9.8 (7 to 14).
• Ch 3, Audit Planning, Strategy and Execution: 7.5 (4 to 11).
• Ch 2, General Auditing Principles and Auditors Responsibilities: 6.8 (4 to 10).
• Ch 12, Digital Auditing and Assurance: 5.7 (4 to 7).
• Ch 5, Audit Evidence: 5.5 (2 to 10).
• Ch 18, SDG and ESG Assurance: 5.5 (4 to 6).
• Ch 10, Review of Financial Information: 4.7 (2 to 9).
• Ch 1, Quality Control: 4.3 (2 to 5).
• Ch 15, Overview of Audit of Public Sector Undertakings: 3.8 (2 to 5).
• Ch 17, Due Diligence, Investigation and Forensic Accounting: 3.7 (0 to 7).
• Ch 4, Materiality, Risk Assessment and Internal Control: 3.3 (0 to 7).
• Ch 8, Specialised Areas: 3.2 (0 to 5).
• Ch 11, Prospective Financial Information and Other Assurance Services: 3.0 (0 to 5).
• Ch 9, Related Services, and Ch 16, Internal Audit: 2.8 each (0 to 5).
• Ch 13, Group Audits: 2.3 (0 to 7).
• Ch 6, Completion and Review: 2.2 (0 to 6).

Source: ICAI Final Paper 3 question papers and suggested answers, May 2024 to May 2026 (icai.org); November 2026 from a student copy (ICAI's paper was not on icai.org on 10 November 2026). Gradehunt count.

Ethics had 17 printed marks in May 2024 (descriptive only), then 22, 22, 24, 25, 22 and 29. For one attempt chapter by chapter, see our November 2026 Audit paper analysis.

Ethics, reporting and banks and NBFCs averaged 46.8 of 114 printed marks (41%). No other chapter averaged more than 7.5.

How much of each chapter comes as MCQs?

In all six papers with Part I, 24 of the 30 MCQ marks sat in case scenarios and 6 in standalone MCQs. November 2026 had 23 MCQs of 1 or 2 marks. The five official papers had 15 of 2 marks.

• Ethics: descriptive marks stayed at 17 to 19 in every paper. The jump to 29 in November 2026 came mostly from MCQs: 10 marks, all on branch offices under section 27 of the Chartered Accountants Act, against 4 to 6 in the five official papers.
• Banks and NBFCs: 24 of the 180 MCQ marks, level with Reporting and behind only Ethics (34). Most were computations or RBI norms: CRAR, DTL, drawing power, NOF and NPA provisioning.
• Chapters 8, 9 and 11: no MCQ marks. The SA 800 series, SRS 4400 and 4410, and SAE 3400 and 3420 came only in Part II.
• Chapters 6 and 13: 9 of 13 and 9 of 14 marks came through MCQs.

Each of ICAI's five official keys had one MCQ with two accepted answers or no correct option: 5 of 75 MCQs.

Prepare chapters 6 and 13 for short case MCQs, and chapters 8, 9 and 11 for written answers.

Did the papers stay within ICAI's section-wise weightage?

Yes for the five official papers with MCQs. Average share of the 114 printed marks in six papers, against ICAI's band:

• Section I (chapters 1 to 11): 49.4%, band 45% to 55%.
• Section II (chapter 12): 5.0%, band 3% to 6%.
• Section III (chapters 13 to 17): 19.7%, band 17% to 24%.
• Section IV (chapter 18): 4.8%, band 3% to 6%.
• Section V (chapter 19): 21.1%, band 17% to 24%.

November 2026 went outside three bands, Section II at 6.1%, Section III at 15.8% and Section V at 25.4%, but stayed inside the 5% deviation. The check is approximate: ICAI's bands are shares of a 100-mark paper, ours are shares of 114 printed marks.

The five official papers kept to ICAI's bands, and November 2026 stayed within the 5% deviation while leaning harder on ethics and lighter on Section III.

Which chapters can drop out of a paper?

Seven chapters had marks in all seven papers: 1, 2, 7, 10, 12, 18 and 19. Every paper left at least two chapters blank, and never the same set: chapters 4 and 13 in November 2024, 6, 9, 11, 16 and 17 in September 2025, and 11 and 16 in November 2026.

Chapter 4 was blank in May 2024, November 2024 and May 2025, then had 7, 7, 0 and 6 marks in the next four papers. A blank in one attempt said nothing about the next.

How I would plan Audit revision for May 2027

1. Start with chapter 19 and learn each clause with its Schedule.
2. Revise Reporting next: CARO clauses, KAM, modified opinions and SA 720.
3. Practise bank and NBFC computations until CRAR, drawing power and NPA provisions need no notes.
4. Solve the practice questions ICAI added at the end of chapters 1 to 18 in the September 2026 edition of the study material, which applies from May 2027.
5. Cover the remaining chapters once each, then past questions from the CA Final PYQ Question Bank.

In the September 2026 edition, chapter 16 follows the revised Standards on Internal Audit and chapter 19 the revised Code of Ethics. In ethics answers, the slip I see most in checked copies is a correct conclusion with no clause named. Name the Schedule and clause, then apply it to the facts.

Give chapters 19, 7 and 14 the most hours.

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