CA Final FR Paper Analysis November 2026: Tough or Easy?

CA Final Paper 1, Financial Reporting, on 2 November 2026 was a moderate paper with a long MCQ part. Part I packed 23 MCQs into 30 marks, up from 15 in May 2026, and business combinations under Ind AS 103 carried 24 of the 114 marks printed on the paper. Part II had fewer computation marks than May, so a student who chose questions well could make up time there.

Most of the marks sat on familiar standards. The time went on reading 23 MCQs and their case scenarios.

TL;DR

• Moderate paper. Part I is long (14 printed pages for 30 marks), Part II about average.
• Ind AS 103 has 24 printed marks and Ind AS 32/109 has 15. Nine standards tested in May 2026 have none.
• ICAI's official paper and suggested answers are awaited.

Was CA Final FR November 2026 tough or easy?

My verdict rests on the paper itself: length, marks that need calculations and the spread of standards.

1. Difficulty: moderate. Most questions ask for a standard Ind AS position, and only a handful hide a trap.
2. Length: Part I is lengthy, with 23 MCQs in three case scenarios and ten standalone questions. Part II is about average: 48 of its 84 printed marks need computation or journal entries, against 58 in May 2026.
3. Spread: Ind AS 103 alone carries 24 of 114 printed marks, and seven areas with no marks in May 2026 carry 45 marks now.

The content was fair. Part I's reading load is what made the paper long.

How did I count the marks?

I read the November 2026 paper from a scanned copy that students shared after the exam. I ignored the candidate's handwritten workings on it. May 2026 figures come from ICAI's official question paper. Each question goes to its main standard, and Part II counts as printed: six questions of 14 marks, though you write only five. With Part I's 30, each paper prints 114 marks.

Q5(c) is an internal choice, so its 4 marks count once.

Which chapters carried the most marks in CA Final FR Nov 2026?

Standard-wise printed marks for November 2026, MCQ plus descriptive, with May 2026 in brackets:

• Ind AS 103 business combinations and group accounts: 24 marks, 10 MCQ + 14 descriptive (22).
• Ind AS 32 and 109 financial instruments: 15 marks, 5 MCQ + 10 descriptive (14).
• Ind AS 12 income taxes: 8 marks, 2 MCQ + 6 descriptive (0).
• Ind AS 40 and 16 property classification: 8 marks, all descriptive (0).
• Ind AS 41 agriculture: 8 marks, all descriptive (0).
• Technology and cybersecurity: 7 marks, 2 MCQ + 5 descriptive (5).
• Ind AS 1 presentation: 6 marks, 2 MCQ + 4 descriptive (0).
• Ind AS 37 provisions: 6 marks, all descriptive (0).
• Ind AS 115 revenue: 6 marks, 1 MCQ + 5 descriptive (7).
• Applicability of Ind AS: 5 marks, all descriptive (0).
• Ind AS 116 leases: 5 marks, all descriptive (10).
• Ind AS 36 impairment: 4 marks, all MCQ (2).
• Ind AS 10 events after the reporting period: 4 marks, all descriptive (0).
• Ind AS 101 first-time adoption: 3 marks, all MCQ (7).
• Professional ethics: 1 mark, all MCQ (2).
• Q5(c) internal choice, either the Ind AS standard-setting process or derecognition under Ind AS 109: 4 marks.

Only May 2026 had marks for Ind AS 20 (8), 19 (6), 113 (6), 23 (5), 105, 34 and 108 (4 each), 8 and 33 (2 each) and the Conceptual Framework (4).

Ind AS 103 and Ind AS 32/109 together carry 39 of 114 printed marks, about a third of the paper, which is close to May's 36.

What grew, what shrank and what was new?

Part II kept the same skeleton as May 2026. Q1 is a 14-mark Ind AS 103 question both times. Q2(a) is a 10-mark compound instrument both times, convertible debentures with a put option in May and compulsorily convertible cumulative preference shares now. Q5(a) is 5 marks of Ind AS 115, Q6(a) is 5 marks of technology theory and Q5(c) is a 4-mark internal choice in both papers.

Part I changed. May had 15 MCQs of 2 marks each. November has 23, of which 16 carry 1 mark and 7 carry 2. Both papers have 9 computation MCQs, but these carry 14 of 30 marks now against 18 in May. More questions for the same marks means more reading per mark.

Ind AS 116 halved from 10 marks to 5, and Ind AS 101 fell from 7 to 3. Ind AS 12, 40 and 16, 41, 37, 1, 10 and the applicability rules had no marks in May and carry 45 now.

The two-attempt pattern is steady at the top. Ind AS 103 and the compound instrument question repeat, while the 4 to 8 mark questions rotate across standards.

Which questions were tricky or new?

In Part I

• MCQ 23 measures loan notes in the holder's books. The copy I read calls them 1% loan notes and later says interest is 4% of par. C Limited's later liquidity trouble and the waived interest do not affect initial measurement.
• MCQs 11 and 12 deal with buying your own franchisee: a reacquired right, then settling the pre-existing relationship. May 2026 MCQ 8 also tested the settlement of a pre-existing dispute, so this idea has now come up in two attempts in a row.
• MCQ 14 tests Ind AS 115 through an automated process that codes contract clauses with Boolean tags. May 2026 had no MCQ like it.
• MCQs 20 and 21 pair Ind AS 101's mandatory exceptions with its optional exemptions, and one option appears in both sets.

In Part II

• Q1 forms a new company, Planet Ltd, to combine Mercury and Venus. Under Ind AS 103 one of the existing entities is the acquirer, and the fair values and management facts point to the larger one.
• Q6(b) asks you to classify a lessee's lease, though Ind AS 116 has a single model for lessees. Say that first, then measure the right-of-use asset and the lease liability.
• Q4(b) on goats under Ind AS 41 needs entries on five dates for 8 marks. I count it as the longest question for its marks in Part II.
• Q4(a) is a short onerous contract test: provide for the least net cost of exiting the contract.

Most marks lost here will be time lost in Part I and Q4(b). Our post on writing FR Ind AS answers has the format I use for theory questions.

How should you approach AFM on 4 November?

Take one lesson from FR's Part I into Advanced Financial Management. The exam gives 180 minutes for 100 marks, which is 1.8 minutes a mark, so 30 MCQ marks are worth about 54 minutes. If AFM also sets many 1-mark MCQs, budget by marks and move on from any MCQ that runs past its share.

Tonight, write your formula sheet from memory once, then do one timed MCQ set from ICAI's RTP. Leave FR alone. Our exam week tips post has the paper-wise plan for the rest of the attempt.

When will ICAI release the FR suggested answers?

ICAI's official question paper and suggested answers for November 2026 are awaited. Our CA Final question papers and suggested answers post links ICAI's papers by attempt. Until then, every answer key, my reading included, is unofficial.

Get your answers checked

If you will write FR again in May 2027, or want to see where your Ind AS answers lose marks, the Gradehunt CA Final test series has full papers you write by hand and upload. Ex-examiners check them within 48 hours of upload, and your first paper is checked free.