Working Notes in CA Exams: What 9 ICAI Suggested Answers Show

Working notes in a CA exam are the numbered calculations that support the figures in your main answer, and ICAI asks for them in so many words. The instructions to the descriptive part of each May 2025 paper I read include the line "Working notes should form part of the answer." We counted the working notes in nine of ICAI's own May 2025 suggested answers. There were 35 of them, and they filled from 6% to 81% of the printed answer.

The main statement shows the examiner your answer. The working notes show where each number came from, so write them with the same care.

TL;DR

• Nine ICAI suggested answers (81 marks) from May 2025 carry 35 working notes. Their share of the answer runs from 6% in a Schedule III balance sheet to 81% in a balance sheet built from ratios.
• ICAI put the notes after the statement in six answers and first in three, where most figures had to be derived.
• Every note is numbered, and the statement points to it: "(W.N.1)", "(Refer W.N.5)", "(Working note- (i))".
• In six of the nine questions, the first mistake ICAI's examiners named was a figure that ICAI's answer works out inside a working note.

What are working notes in CA exams, and does ICAI ask for them?

A working note is a short, numbered calculation behind one figure in your main answer, such as purchase consideration, income tax paid or labour cost per product.

ICAI prints the rule on the paper. In the May 2025 Intermediate suggested answers, "Working notes should form part of the answer" sits at the top of Part II in Paper 1 (Advanced Accounting), Paper 4 (Cost and Management Accounting) and Paper 6A (Financial Management). Final FR has the same line, and AFM says "form part of the respective answer".

By ICAI's own instruction, working notes belong to the answer you submit. They are not rough work.

How much of an ICAI suggested answer is working notes?

For nine practical questions, we counted the working notes in ICAI's answer and the share of its printed lines they take.

• Inter Paper 1, Q1(b), 7 marks, investment account under AS 13: 8 working notes, 50% of the answer.
• Inter Paper 1, Q2, 14 marks, Schedule III balance sheet: 1 working note (capital reserve of ₹3,000), 6%.
• Inter Paper 1, Q3(a), 7 marks, cash flow statement under AS 3: 2 working notes, 38%.
• Inter Paper 1, Q4, 14 marks, amalgamation entries with realisation and cash accounts: 1 working note (purchase consideration), 13%.
• Inter Paper 4, Q2(a), 7 marks, cost sheet for two products: 2 working notes, 46%.
• Inter Paper 4, Q2(b), 7 marks, Halsey and Rowan schemes: 5 working notes, 39%.
• Inter Paper 6A, Q1(a), 5 marks, balance sheet from ratios: 7 workings, 81%.
• Final Paper 1 (FR), Q1, 14 marks, Ind AS 103 consolidated balance sheet: 5 working notes, 46%.
• Final Paper 2 (AFM), Q3(a), 6 marks, NPV in real terms: 4 working notes, 80%.

Source: ICAI suggested answers, May 2025 (Intermediate Papers 1, 4 and 6A; Final Papers 1 and 2), Gradehunt analysis. Share is working-note lines over all lines of ICAI's printed answer (Alternative 1 for Q1(b)), page headers removed.

Where the format is the work, as in the Schedule III balance sheet, ICAI needed one note. Where the question gives ratios or raw inputs and wants one result, the notes are nearly the whole answer. The fewer figures a question hands you, the longer the notes get.

Where do working notes go: before or after the main answer?

ICAI uses both.

• After the main statement: all four Advanced Accounting answers, the Paper 4 cost sheet and the FR consolidated balance sheet. The checker reads the format first and traces figures to the notes below.
• Before it: the FM ratio question, the AFM NPV question and the Halsey and Rowan question. The FM question names a balance sheet format but gives only two of its figures, so ICAI derives the rest first. The other two end in a short result.

I tell students the same. If the question gives you most of a statement's figures, draw the format first and put the notes after it. If most figures must be derived, or it asks for a number or advice, work the notes first and end with a clearly headed result.

How should you number and cross-refer working notes?

1. Number every note and give it a heading that names the figure. ICAI's FR answer runs from "Calculation of purchase consideration" to "Calculation of Goodwill".
2. Tag the figure in the main statement with its note number. ICAI wrote "Income taxes paid (W.N.1)" in the cash flow statement and "Non-controlling interest (W.N.4)" in the FR balance sheet.
3. Point one note to another when it builds on it. In the FR answer, W.N.4 (NCI of ₹248.40 lakhs) says "Refer W.N.3", and the goodwill of ₹461.95 lakhs in W.N.5 draws on W.N.1, W.N.3 and W.N.4.
4. Write the formula once, then the numbers. The Halsey bonus note reads 50% × 5,650 hours × ₹30 = ₹84,750.
5. Show your rounding inside the note. ICAI printed two full alternatives for Inter Paper 1 Q1(b): with an average cost of ₹11.09 a share, the closing investment is ₹2,38,435, against ₹2,38,455 without rounding.

In the copies I check, the usual gap is a figure in the statement with nothing behind it. The checker then can't tell a method error from a slip in arithmetic. Number, head and tag each note so every figure can be traced in one step.

Which working notes did examiners find wrong in May 2025?

ICAI publishes examiners' comments with each set of suggested answers. We set them against the nine answers above. In six, the first mistake the examiners named is a figure that ICAI works out inside a working note.

• Inter Paper 1, Q1(b): some got the closing value of investments wrong, and profit on sale was "often incorrect". ICAI computes both in working notes 5 to 7.
• Inter Paper 1, Q3(a): mistakes in income taxes paid and in PPE acquisitions. These are W.N.1 (₹4,000) and W.N.2 (₹1,49,000).
• Inter Paper 1, Q4: a majority could not compute the purchase consideration. That is the one working note, ₹16,85,000, and it feeds the realisation account.
• Inter Paper 4, Q2(a): the question tested how labour cost is split between the two toys, and a significant number of examinees did not approach it correctly. ICAI does that split in working note (i).
• Final FR, Q1: errors in the fair value of identifiable net assets and in deferred tax. These are W.N.3 (₹828 lakhs) and W.N.2 (₹87 lakhs).
• Final AFM, Q3(a): the common mistake was the inflation adjustment of real cash flows, which ICAI handles in W.N.3 and W.N.4.

Source: ICAI examiners' comments on the performance of examinees, May 2025, matched to ICAI suggested answers, Gradehunt analysis.

In the other three, the first comment was on Schedule III classification, on choosing between Halsey and Rowan, and none for the FM ratio question, where performance was above average.

How should you practise working notes for January 2027?

Solve one past question per subject each week on paper, then compare your notes with ICAI's line by line: the count, the tags and the intermediate figures. Our guide on using ICAI RTP, MTP and suggested answers sets out the routine, the ICAI CA Inter question papers and suggested answers page lists the papers, and our post on how CA exam answers are checked covers step marks.

If you want a checker to read your working notes as well as your final figures, the Gradehunt CA Inter test series has chapter tests and full mocks you write by hand and upload. Ex-examiners return step-wise marks and comments within 48 hours of upload, and your first paper is checked free.