CMA Final · June 2026 · Paper 20C
CMA Final Entrepreneurship and Startup June 2026: paper analysis
Our own analysis of the official paper, as of 12 October 2026. The questions and answers belong to ICMAI; read them on ICMAI'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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Idea to Action | 5 | 30 | 23% |
| Scalability, Scaling up and Stabilisation of Sustainable Business | 3 | 23 | 18% |
| Value Addition | 7 | 19 | 15% |
| Types of New Age Business | 4 | 18 | 14% |
| The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem | 4 | 13 | 10% |
| Entrepreneurial Skill Sets | 2 | 9 | 7% |
| Risk Management Strategies | 2 | 9 | 7% |
| Leadership | 1 | 7 | 5% |
What each question tested
In our words, by question number. Open the official paper for the full question.
| Q | Marks | Tests | Chapter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2(a) | 7 | Common barriers that block entrepreneurs from building a successful business | Entrepreneurial Skill Sets |
| 2(b) | 7 | How information technology capabilities increase flexibility for entrepreneurs | Types of New Age Business |
| 3(a) | 7 | Factors making up the macro-economic environment for enterprises in India | The Entrepreneurial Ecosystem |
| 3(b) | 7 | Working capital requirement of a new firm and bank finance under holding norms with margin money | Idea to Action |
| 4(a) | 7 | Contents of a well-structured project report | Idea to Action |
| 4(b) | 7 | Advantages of crowdfunding as a source of startup finance | Idea to Action |
| 5(a) | 7 | Stages of the design thinking process | Idea to Action |
| 5(b) | 7 | Basic steps in positioning a brand in the customer's mind | Value Addition |
| 6(a) | 7 | Common startup valuation methods and when each applies | Scalability, Scaling up and Stabilisation of Sustainable Business |
| 6(b) | 7 | Benefits of enterprise risk management under the COSO framework | Risk Management Strategies |
| 7(a) | 7 | Ethical issues that arise in marketing | Leadership |
| 7(b) | 7 | Business models used by social enterprises | Types of New Age Business |
| 8 | 14 | Scaling challenges of a farmer-sourced consumer brand: supply, competition and cash-flow gaps, with growth strategies | Scalability, Scaling up and Stabilisation of Sustainable Business |
What stood out
- This elective was almost entirely descriptive; the only computation was a working capital and permissible bank finance estimate worth 7 marks.
- Question 8 was a single 14-mark case on scaling a startup, testing applied strategy rather than recall.
- The MCQ section included a five-question case on new-age digital marketing channels, so marketing terminology carried 10 marks.
- Idea-to-action topics (project report, crowdfunding, design thinking, working capital funding) supplied four written parts, the most of any chapter.
- Answers that are structured around frameworks such as COSO, positioning steps and design thinking stages fit the way questions were framed.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
Idea to Action, Scalability, Scaling up and Stabilisation of Sustainable Business, Value Addition: study guides and practice questions in the CMA Final format.