CA Final IBS Paper Analysis November 2026: Marks by Subject

This CA Final IBS paper analysis covers Paper 6, Integrated Business Solutions, written on 13 November 2026. Each of its five cases prints five 2-mark MCQs after the facts: 25 MCQs for 50 marks, as in May 2026. My student-shared copy has printed pages 2 to 46. In them I could read 100 marks, and Corporate and Economic Laws carried the most, 20.

The MCQ block kept its shape, but FR moved into it: five FR MCQs worth 10 marks, one in every case, against one MCQ in May, and no FR descriptive question in the pages I have.

TL;DR

• Five cases, 25 MCQs of 2 marks (five per case) and ten readable descriptive questions of 5 marks each.
• Of the 100 readable marks, Corporate and Economic Laws has 20, AFM and IDT 16 each, DT 11 and FR 10.
• Seven MCQs worth 14 marks need a calculation, against ten worth 20 in May 2026. Our copy lacks the cover page, the marks of 3.6 and 3.7, and Case 5's descriptive questions.

What did the CA Final IBS Nov 2026 paper look like?

The five cases are a Ludhiana sports goods exporter, an engineering company, a listed IT group, a Chennai two- and three-wheeler maker and a Coimbatore foundry. Cases 1 to 4 print descriptive questions after their "5 x 2 = 10" MCQ blocks; my copy stops before Case 5's.

The fact sets are long: Case 5's facts and two annexures run from page 37 to page 44, with MCQ 5.1 on page 45. Cases 1, 2 and 4 are complete in my copy at 25 marks each, and every descriptive question whose marks I can see carries 5.

How did I count the marks?

I counted a student-shared scan, set code PDR, twice and independently; both counts agreed on every mark and subject total. Subject tags are my reading, as ICAI prints none. A question counts as a calculation when the answer it asks for is a number. For May 2026 I used ICAI's own question paper and suggested answers.

Which subjects carried the most marks in CA Final IBS Nov 2026?

Readable marks by subject, with MCQ + descriptive marks in brackets:

• Corporate and Economic Laws: 20 (10 + 10, from 3.8 and 4.7).
• AFM: 16 (6 + 10, from 1.6 and 2.6).
• IDT: 16 (6 + 10, from 1.7 and 2.8).
• DT: 11 (6 + 5, from 4.8).
• FR: 10, all from MCQs.
• Audit: 9 (4 + 5, from 1.8).
• Strategy frameworks: 7, from 4.1 and 4.6.
• Strategic Cost and Performance Management (SCPM): 6, all from MCQs.
• Technology: 5, from 2.7.

The five core papers, FR to IDT, take 62 of the 100. DT and Audit are understated, as 3.6 and 3.7 have their marks cut off, and no subject's total includes Case 5's descriptive questions, which my copy lacks.

What did each case study test?

Case 1: Zenith Sports Ltd (25 marks)

The MCQs cover Ind AS 101 transition for a below-market government loan, international cash management, a director's casual vacancy, GST under Rule 40(2) of the CGST Rules on selling old machinery, and Clause 22 of Form 3CD for section 43B(h) payments to MSMEs. Then 1.6 asks for an exchange rate forecasting technique in four situations, 1.7 covers the EPCG export obligation and early-fulfilment condonation, and 1.8 tests use of internal auditors under SA 610.

Case 2: ABC Company Ltd (25 marks)

The MCQs test internal control review, income-tax procedure, Deming's 14 points, a nominee director and the Ind AS 1 compliance statement. Question 2.6 is on valuing a technology start-up and 2.7 on automated accounting. In 2.8(A) the bill of entry was filed on 15 March 2026, before entry inwards on 18 March; the proviso to section 15(1) of the Customs Act, 1962 treats it as presented on the date of entry inwards. Part (B) is GST on events and returned goods.

Case 3: VDSL Technologies Ltd (15 readable marks)

The MCQs cover market risks in a securitised loan pool, divisional transfer pricing, FEMA current and capital account transactions, the scope of Ind AS 102, and GST on job work. Question 3.6 asks you to class three situations as tax planning, tax management or tax evasion, then covers the doctrine of form and substance and GAAR on an amalgamation; 3.7 is on cyber incidents in an ERP system. Question 3.8 covers a vigil mechanism and sharing UPSI with legal advisers.

In 3.8(A), the facts give VBSL's bank and institutional borrowings as ₹65 crore but print "exceeding" with no figure after it. Rule 7 of the Companies (Meetings of Board and its Powers) Rules, 2014 sets that figure at ₹50 crore, so in my copy a student had to supply it.

Case 4: AVS Motor Company Ltd (25 marks)

Three MCQs need a calculation: a two-stage dividend growth model, compensation for loss of office, and an Ind AS 109 bond at fair value through OCI. The other two cover the Value Proposition Map and GST on warranty parts. Then 4.6 applies the Value Proposition Canvas, 4.7 tests an amalgamation against company law and SEBI rules, and 4.8 asks for an arm's length price and advice on Safe Harbour Rules, at USD 1 = ₹96.

Case 5: HT Metal Casting Ltd (10 readable marks)

Three more calculation MCQs: OEE of a CNC machine, a below-market staff loan under Ind AS 109, and capital gains on compulsory acquisition. The other two cover a CFO vacancy and relying on last year's evidence on controls. The facts also carry a GST scrutiny notice (Form ASMT-10) on excess input tax credit, Porter's five forces and a ₹25 lakh employee fraud. No MCQ uses them.

All seven calculation MCQs sit in Cases 1, 4 and 5. Cases 2 and 3 have none.

How did IBS Nov 2026 compare with May 2026?

ICAI's May 2026 paper printed five cases of 25 marks each, each with five 2-mark MCQs; its cover asked for any four in 4 hours for 100 marks. Both MCQ blocks are complete. November MCQ marks, May in brackets: FR 10 (2), Corporate and Economic Laws 10 (12), IDT 6 (10), Audit 4 (8) and strategy frameworks 2 (0). AFM, DT and SCPM stayed at 6 each.

Calculation MCQs fell from 10 worth 20 marks to 7 worth 14. May's ten include 4.2, whose options all say yes and differ only in worked-out voting thresholds. May gave FR 14 descriptive marks and Corporate and Economic Laws none. My November pages give FR none and Corporate and Economic Laws 10.

November also has a foreign trade policy question (1.7) and a technology question (2.7), and May had neither. May's strategy models were the Business Model Canvas, McKinsey 7S and Kano; November's readable questions use the Value Proposition Map and Canvas and Deming's 14 points.

What does our copy of the paper lack?

Three things:

• Printed page 1, the cover. On ICAI's May 2026 paper it gave the total marks, time, number of cases to attempt and law base.
• The marks of 3.6 and 3.7, which sit in a margin cut off in the scan.
• Anything printed after page 46. My copy stops at MCQ 5.5, so Case 5's descriptive questions are not in it.

Where can I get the CA Final IBS Nov 2026 question paper?

Read our analyses of the other CA Final papers: FR on 2 November, AFM on 4 November, Audit on 6 November, DT on 9 November and IDT on 11 November.

ICAI has not yet published its November 2026 paper or answers, so any IBS key you see is unofficial; our CA Final question papers and suggested answers post links ICAI's papers by attempt.

We have retyped our pages, Case 1 to MCQ 5.5, into a free Gradehunt PDF: download the November 2026 IBS case studies. Our CA Final November 2026 question papers page has the other five papers (IDT Part I only).

What should May 2027 IBS students practise?

1. Practise to the last printed time limit: May 2026 gave 4 hours for four cases, about 60 minutes each.
2. Revise beyond the five core papers: in my pages, 38 of 100 marks came from Corporate and Economic Laws, SCPM, strategy frameworks and technology.
3. Prepare FR both ways. May 2026 tested it mostly in descriptive questions; my November pages test it only in MCQs.
4. Check the tax law for your attempt. My copy's DT questions cite the Income-tax Act, 1961 and AY 2026-27. ICAI's notice applying the Income-tax Act, 2025 to Final Paper 4 from May 2027 does not mention Paper 6, so check ICAI's IBS study material.
5. Answer every sub-part. Questions 1.7, 2.7, 2.8 and 3.8 each put two or three parts under one 5-mark figure.

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