CA Intermediate · September 2026 · Paper 6
CA Intermediate Financial Management and Strategic Management September 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).
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 | Operating and financial leverage from year-on-year changes, implied debt level and leverage after a debt-funded expansion | Financing Decisions - Leverages |
| 1(b) | 5 | Deriving sales, cost of goods sold, inventory, debtors and proprietary funds from given ratios | Financial Analysis and Planning - Ratio Analysis |
| 1(c) | 5 | Working capital requirement estimate on a cash cost basis with a safety margin | Introduction to Working Capital Management |
| 2(a) | 7 | Modigliani-Miller with taxes: firm values, cost of equity and overall cost of capital for levered and unlevered firms | Financing Decisions - Capital Structure |
| 2(b) | 3 | Backing out the risk-free rate, market risk premium and market return from two CAPM-priced securities | Cost of Capital |
| 3(a) | 6 | Machine replacement decision using incremental cash flows, working capital and a perpetual terminal benefit | Investment Decisions |
| 3(b) | 4 | Sales level at which earnings are fully absorbed by fixed financial charges, and for a target EPS | Financing Decisions - Leverages |
| 4(a) | 4 | Circumstances in which debenture financing benefits a company | Types of Financing |
| 4(b) | 4 | Main features of the Miller-Orr cash management model | Treasury and Cash Management |
| 4(c) | 2 | Key responsibilities of a modern finance executive | Scope and Objectives of Financial Management |
| 4(c) OR | 2 | Features of green bonds | Types of Financing |
| 5(a) | 5 | Problems of a declining business and components of a turnaround action plan | Strategic Choices |
| 5(b) | 5 | Buyer bargaining power under the five forces model and its effect on industry competition | Strategic Analysis: External Environment |
| 5(c) | 5 | SWOT analysis applied to a proposed international online expansion | Strategic Analysis: Internal Environment |
| 6(a) | 5 | Why organisations need a mission and how to define the business they are in | Introduction to Strategic Management |
| 6(b) | 5 | Using the BCG growth-share matrix to justify investing more in a less profitable business | Strategic Choices |
| 7(a) | 5 | Value chain framework linking activities before, during and after the sale | Strategic Analysis: Internal Environment |
| 7(b) | 5 | Managerial frame of reference and responsibilities of a strategic leader | Strategy Implementation and Evaluation |
| 8(a) | 5 | Concept of core competency and the tests a competence must meet | Strategic Analysis: Internal Environment |
| 8(b) | 5 | Digital transformation and the change management process, its benefits and rising importance | Strategy Implementation and Evaluation |
| 8(b) OR | 5 | Strategic performance measurement, breaking silos and insights from different measures | Strategy Implementation and Evaluation |
What stood out
- The FM MCQs leaned on one capital budgeting case (four questions on cash flows, payback and NPV), so investment decisions dominated the objective marks of Section A.
- Leverage was tested twice in the FM descriptive part, while capital structure appeared through a Modigliani-Miller with taxes problem.
- FM theory was limited to Question 4 (debentures, Miller-Orr model, finance executive or green bonds), keeping Section A largely numerical.
- In SM, internal environment tools (SWOT, value chain, core competency) carried 15 descriptive marks, the largest single block.
- SM MCQs used an assertion-reason item and a short caselet on a small retailer, testing application of strategy types rather than definitions.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
Strategic Choices, Strategic Analysis: Internal Environment, Investment Decisions: study guides and practice questions in the CA Intermediate format.