CA Final · September 2025 · Paper 3
CA Final Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics September 2025: paper analysis
Our own analysis of the official paper, as of 12 October 2026. The questions and answers belong to ICAI; read them on ICAI's website.
Chapter-wise marks
Where the marks were in this paper (out of 100; internal-choice alternatives not double counted).
What each question tested
In our words, by question number. Open the official paper for the full question.
| Q | Marks | Tests | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1(a) | 5 | Engagement quality control review performed without examining the audit file: eligibility of the reviewer and documentation requirements | Quality Control |
| 1(b) | 5 | ICAI networking guidelines: registration of a network of Indian firms and tie-ups with an overseas network | Professional Ethics & Liabilities of Auditors |
| 1(c) | 4 | Reporting CARO qualifications of subsidiaries and joint ventures in the auditor's report on consolidated financial statements | Reporting |
| 2(a) | 5 | Auditor's responsibilities for an entity's compliance with laws and regulations having an indirect effect on financial statements | General Auditing Principles and Auditors Responsibilities |
| 2(b) | 5 | Responding to non-compliance with laws by a senior professional accountant in service, and additional documentation by the auditor | Professional Ethics & Liabilities of Auditors |
| 2(c) | 4 | Concept and perspective of compliance audit by the C&AG and the auditor's key concerns | Overview of Audit of Public Sector Undertakings |
| 3(a) | 5 | Drafting an Other Matter paragraph on reliance on other auditors for subsidiaries, including a foreign component | Group Audits |
| 3(b) | 5 | Evaluating estimation uncertainty for an accounting estimate identified as a significant risk | Audit Planning, Strategy and Execution |
| 3(c) | 4 | Objective of a review of interim financial information performed by the entity's statutory auditor | Review of Financial Information |
| 4(a) | 5 | Asset classification of a restructured retail loan and the provisioning rate applied in the memorandum of changes | Special Features of Audit of Banks & Non-Banking Financial Companies |
| 4(b) | 5 | Confidentiality, security and data protection considerations in a remote audit | Digital Auditing & Assurance |
| 4(c) | 4 | The social pillar of ESG: product safety, quality and labour relations and its key elements | Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) & Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Assurance |
| 5(a) | 5 | Procedures for reporting on abridged financial statements of a mutual fund derived from audited statements | Reporting |
| 5(b) | 5 | Maintaining control over external confirmation requests when responses are routed through management | Audit Evidence |
| 5(c) | 4 | Whether a practising member may underwrite a public issue and act as issue adviser for a commission | Professional Ethics & Liabilities of Auditors |
| 6(a) | 5 | Communicating significant deficiencies in internal control: to whom, how and the matters to include | Materiality, Risk Assessment and Internal Control |
| 6(b) | 5 | Areas to be covered by written representations in a review of interim financial information | Review of Financial Information |
| 6(c) | 4 | Submitting fee quotations for an audit when invited by the client and related misconduct | Professional Ethics & Liabilities of Auditors |
| 6(c) OR | 4 | Investigation procedures for detecting inflated sales through fictitious billing by sales staff | Due Diligence, Investigation & Forensic Accounting |
What stood out
- Reporting carried 10 of the 30 MCQ marks, with CARO clauses, Key Audit Matters, Emphasis of Matter and modified opinions tested inside the case scenarios.
- Review engagements received unusual weight in the written part, with two questions on reviews of interim financial information under SRE 2410.
- Ethics again crossed 20 marks overall, including networking guidelines, underwriting by a practising member and responding to fee quotation requests.
- Group and consolidation reporting appeared in both parts, from current-period consolidation adjustments to an Other Matter paragraph on component auditors.
- Bank and NBFC questions were computational in the MCQs (revenue leakage and risk-weighted assets) while the written part focused on restructured loan classification.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
Professional Ethics & Liabilities of Auditors, Reporting, Review of Financial Information: study guides and practice questions in the CA Final format.