CS Professional · June 2026 · Paper 3
CS Professional Compliance Management, Audit and Due Diligence June 2026: paper analysis
Our own analysis of the official paper, as of 12 October 2026. The questions and answers belong to ICSI; read them on ICSI'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 | Professional misconduct where a practising CS certifies a secretarial audit report without verifying a trainee's work | Values, Ethics and Professional Conduct |
| 1(b) | 5 | Types of compliance risk and categorising inherent risk drivers into legal, financial, business and reputational effects | Compliance Framework |
| 1(c) | 5 | Best practices for file naming in digital maintenance of statutory records | Documentation and Maintenance of Records |
| 1(d) | 5 | Board meeting frequency and notice requirements for different classes of companies, and auditor appointment intimation | Compliance Framework |
| 2(a) | 5 | Consequences of not filing registered office verification with the ROC, with judicial precedent | Non-Compliances, Penalties and Adjudications |
| 2(b)(i) | 3 | UDIN guidelines, mandatory quoting and consequences of non-compliance | Signing and Certification |
| 2(b)(ii) | 2 | Permissible timing for generating UDIN relative to the certificate signing date | Signing and Certification |
| 2(c) | 5 | Annual return certification by a PCS: applicability thresholds, e-forms and documents to be examined | Signing and Certification |
| 2(d) | 5 | Special Courts taking cognizance of Companies Act offences on an SFIO complaint and offences triable by them | Non-Compliances, Penalties and Adjudications |
| 2A(i) | 5 | Adjudication of penalties by ROC adjudicating officers and its genesis under the Companies Act | Non-Compliances, Penalties and Adjudications |
| 2A(ii) | 5 | Maintaining statutory registers and records in electronic form under the management and administration rules | Documentation and Maintenance of Records |
| 2A(iii) | 5 | Recent government measures simplifying start-up registration and recognition | Compliance Framework |
| 2A(iv) | 5 | Compounding authorities under the Companies Act and compoundable versus non-compoundable offences | Relief and Remedies |
| 3(a) | 5 | Independence and conflict of interest in accepting a secretarial audit where a team member previously served a group company | Values, Ethics and Professional Conduct |
| 3(b) | 5 | Minimum mandatory issues in a social audit and their role in assessing social impact | Concepts of Various Audits |
| 3(c) | 5 | Preconditions to be checked before accepting a secretarial audit engagement | Audit Engagement |
| 4(a) | 3 | Recent amendments widening eligibility for fast-track mergers and demergers under the CAA Rules | Compliance Framework |
| 4(b) | 3 | Reasons errors and misstatements arise in financial statements and records | Audit Principles and Techniques |
| 4(c) | 3 | Risk assessment and identifying critical and high-risk areas during audit planning | Audit Process and Documentation |
| 4(d) | 3 | Appointment of a Quality Reviewer under the ICSI quality review framework | Peer Review and Quality Review |
| 4(e) | 3 | ICSI Auditing Standards and their objectives | Audit Principles and Techniques |
| 5(a) | 5 | Purpose and importance of audit documentation | Audit Process and Documentation |
| 5(b) | 5 | Planning a quality review and framing the overall review strategy | Peer Review and Quality Review |
| 5(c) | 5 | Key checks in a labour law audit under the Payment of Bonus Act | Concepts of Various Audits |
| 6(a) | 5 | Audit techniques for obtaining sufficient and appropriate audit evidence | Audit Principles and Techniques |
| 6(b) | 5 | Role of Company Secretaries in bank due diligence and the methodology to be followed | Due Diligence |
| 6(c) | 5 | Fraud detection and reporting beyond compliance, and fraud versus non-compliance | Forming an Opinion and Reporting |
| 6A(i) | 5 | Objectives of internal audit reports and basic steps in preparing them | Internal Audit and Performance Audit |
| 6A(ii) | 5 | Considering materiality while forming an audit opinion | Forming an Opinion and Reporting |
| 6A(iii) | 5 | Steps in appraisal of management decisions | Internal Audit and Performance Audit |
What stood out
- Part I (Q1 and Q2, 40 marks) on compliance management; Part II (Q3 to Q6, 60 marks) on audit, quality review and due diligence; choices in Q2/Q2A and Q6/Q6A.
- No case study block; the compulsory path split into 47 marks of application problems and 53 marks of theory.
- Recent notifications were examined: the September 2025 widening of fast-track merger eligibility (3 marks) and the August 2025 start-up registration measures (alternative 2A(iii)).
- Q4 used five short 3-mark parts spread across audit principles, process, quality review and auditing standards.
- Due Diligence received only 5 marks (bank due diligence), while Signing and Certification (UDIN, annual return certification) drew 10 marks.
Practise the chapters that carried the marks
Compliance Framework, Non-Compliances, Penalties and Adjudications, Audit Principles and Techniques: study guides and practice questions in the CS Professional format.