CA Intermediate · May 2026 · Paper 4
CA Intermediate Cost and Management Accounting May 2026: 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).
| Chapter | Questions | Marks | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marginal Costing | 3 | 13 | 11% |
| Standard Costing | 2 | 11 | 10% |
| Employee Cost and Direct Expenses | 3 | 11 | 10% |
| Activity Based Costing | 1 | 10 | 9% |
| Process & Operation Costing | 5 | 10 | 9% |
| Overheads - Absorption Costing Method | 5 | 10 | 9% |
| Budgets and Budgetary Control | 1 | 9 | 8% |
| Joint Products and By Products | 1 | 8 | 7% |
| Cost Sheet | 1 | 7 | 6% |
| Material Cost | 2 | 7 | 6% |
| Unit & Batch Costing | 1 | 5 | 4% |
| Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting | 1 | 5 | 4% |
| Cost Accounting Systems | 1 | 4 | 4% |
| Job Costing | 1 | 2 | 2% |
| Service Costing | 1 | 2 | 2% |
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 | Total cost of a production batch with department-wise labour and overheads, and per-unit selling price for a target margin | Unit & Batch Costing |
| 1(b) | 5 | Working back actual material price from a known variance, then material and labour variances | Standard Costing |
| 1(c) | 4 | Reconciling cost and financial accounts results for items appearing in only one set and absorption differences | Cost Accounting Systems |
| 2(a) | 7 | Cost sheet showing prime cost, works cost, cost of production, cost of sales and profit with scrap realisation | Cost Sheet |
| 2(b) | 7 | Break-even, cash break-even and capacity needed for a target profit with step fixed costs beyond a capacity level | Marginal Costing |
| 3(a) | 8 | Apportioning joint costs on split-off sales value and a sell-or-process-further decision using incremental analysis | Joint Products and By Products |
| 3(b) | 6 | Fixed overhead expenditure, volume, calendar and cost variances | Standard Costing |
| 4(a) | 9 | Product and channel-wise sales budget incorporating price changes, growth estimates and campaign-driven extra sales | Budgets and Budgetary Control |
| 4(b) | 5 | Working back workforce numbers from labour turnover rates under flux, replacement and separation methods | Employee Cost and Direct Expenses |
| 5(a) | 10 | Product profitability under traditional absorption versus activity based costing using cost drivers | Activity Based Costing |
| 5(b) | 4 | Deriving profit, P/V ratio, break-even sales and fixed cost from margin of safety data | Marginal Costing |
| 6(a) | 5 | Just-in-time pull system of inventory management and its underlying principles | Material Cost |
| 6(b) | 5 | Differences between cost control and cost reduction | Introduction to Cost and Management Accounting |
| 6(c) | 4 | Features of a biometric attendance system for controlling attendance and payroll errors | Employee Cost and Direct Expenses |
| 6(c) OR | 4 | Spoiled versus defective work and treatment of rectification cost in different situations | Job Costing |
What stood out
- Cost paper also carried a 30-mark MCQ section, with two five-question case scenarios on process costing and machine hour rates making up two-thirds of it.
- Numericals dominated: 56 of the 70 descriptive marks were practical, with theory confined to Question 6.
- Standard Costing and Marginal Costing each appeared twice in the descriptive part, reinforcing them as must-prepare chapters.
- Activity Based Costing returned as a 10-mark comparison with absorption costing, and budgeting was tested through a multi-channel sales budget.
- Employee cost appeared in three places (MCQ, labour turnover numerical and a theory item), so it should not be treated as a minor chapter.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
Marginal Costing, Standard Costing, Employee Cost and Direct Expenses: study guides and practice questions in the CA Intermediate format.