CA Inter Audit mock test Jan 2027: SA-wise map of 4 papers
A CA Inter Audit mock test for January 2027 should test the Standards on Auditing the way ICAI's Paper 5 does: a case with a named company and auditor, a question that hides which SA applies, and marks for applying that SA to the facts. In ICAI's last four Paper 5s (September 2025 to September 2026), SA 230, SA 300 and SA 315 were set in the descriptive part every single time, and CARO 2020 was too. Below: the SA-wise map, the answer layout examiners reward, and one May 2026 case question worked through.
Auditing and Ethics is Paper 5, in Group II. ICAI's January 2027 exam notification (PDF) (opens in a new tab) sets the Group II days as 8, 10 and 12 January 2027; each sitting lasts from 2 PM until 5 PM, with reading time from 1:45 PM. It gives no paper-wise dates; should ICAI repeat September 2026's paper sequence, Audit falls on Sunday 10 January.
CA Inter Audit mock test paper: what Paper 5 looks like
Paper 5 carries 100 marks over 3 hours. Its Part I has 15 MCQs of 2 marks each; in May 2026, twelve sat inside three case scenarios and three stood alone. Part II is 70 marks. The September 2026 paper's instruction reads: "Answer Question No. 1 which is compulsory and any 4 out of the remaining 5 questions." Each of the six questions is 14 marks, split (a) 5, (b) 5 and (c) 4, and the only choice inside a question was an OR at Q6(c) in all four papers.
Which books apply: ICAI's list of study material editions for January 2027 (PDF) (opens in a new tab) names the July 2024 edition of the Paper 5 modules (its August 2025 and later reprints) together with the January 2027 RTP. No Statutory Update is listed for Audit.
CA Inter Audit SA wise questions: four papers mapped
We read every descriptive question in ICAI's September 2025 (opens in a new tab), January 2026 (opens in a new tab) and May 2026 (opens in a new tab) suggested answers and the September 2026 question paper (opens in a new tab) (all PDF), and tagged each part to the standard it tests. Where ICAI named the SA, we used its tag; where it didn't, the tag is our reading. The September 2026 column is our reading of the question paper itself.
| Standard | Sep 2025 | Jan 2026 | May 2026 | Sep 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SA 200: skepticism, audit risk | – | – | Q1(a) | Q4(a) |
| SA 210: terms of engagement | Q3(b) | – | Q6(a) | Q1(a) |
| SA 220 / SQC 1: quality control | Q4(b) | Q1(a), Q4(c) | – | Q2(c) |
| SA 230: documentation | Q4(a) | Q3(b) | Q3(c) | Q2(b) |
| SA 260 / SA 265: communication | Q2(a) | – | Q5(c) | – |
| SA 300: planning | Q5(a) | Q5(c) | Q6(c) OR | Q6(c) |
| SA 315: risk, internal control | Q1(b) | Q3(c) | Q2(a) | Q6(b) |
| SA 500 / SA 501: evidence | Q1(a), Q1(c) | Q1(c) | – | Q2(b) |
| SA 530: sampling | Q4(c) | – | Q1(b), Q3(a) | – |
| SA 550: related parties | – | – | – | Q5(a) |
| SA 560: subsequent events | – | Q5(a) | – | Q2(a) |
| SA 570: going concern | – | – | – | Q1(c) |
| SA 580: written representations | – | Q2(a) | Q1(c) | – |
| SA 610: internal auditors | – | Q6(b) | – | Q1(b) |
| SA 700 to 710: the report | Q2(b) | Q3(a) | Q3(b), Q6(b) | – |
Read the map like this:
- Three standards never missed: SA 230, SA 300 and SA 315.
- Pairs repeat within a year. SA 560 came in January and September 2026; SA 610 too. SA 580 came in January and May 2026. ICAI changes the angle, not the standard.
- Reporting never left. SA 700 to 710 had a descriptive part in each of the first three papers. September 2026 set none on them directly, but reached the report through SA 570 (an undisclosed material uncertainty) and Section 143(3)(j).
- Rare ones still turn up. SA 550 and SA 570 had one descriptive appearance each, both in the latest paper.
A full mock should touch most rows of this table.
Ethics, CARO and Schedule III: the marks outside the SAs
The same four papers also set:
| Topic | Where it was asked |
|---|---|
| CARO 2020 (applicability or a clause) | Sep 2025 Q3(a) applicability to a private company, Jan 2026 Q2(c), May 2026 Q2(c), Sep 2026 Q5(c) |
| Schedule III disclosures | Sep 2025 Q6(a) inventories; May 2026 Q2(c) promoters' shareholding, Q4(b) MSME dues; Sep 2026 Q3(c) undisclosed income |
| Ethics and independence | Sep 2025 Q6(c) OR threats; May 2026 Q1(a) principles vs rules, Q5(c) independence to TCWG; Sep 2026 Q3(b) familiarity threat |
| Banks | Sep 2025 Q3(c), Jan 2026 Q6(a), Sep 2026 Q6(a) |
| Entities and items | LLP, NGO, co-operative, club and hotel, government; PPE, cash, leases, sweat equity |
CARO is the steadiest source outside the SAs: a part in all four papers. The trap is the clause number. In May 2026 Q2(c), a promoter's property was taken in exchange for shares; ICAI's answer used Clause (xv) (non-cash transactions with directors or persons connected with them), and many students wrote about immovable property under Clause (i).
How ICAI marks a CA Inter audit answer
ICAI doesn't publish a mark split for Paper 5, but its May 2026 comments show where marks went missing, and nearly every lost mark fits one of three gaps:
| Layer | What it means | May 2026 evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1. The standard | Name the SA, clause or section, and state what it requires | Q1(b): "Several answers merely stated the name of the sampling technique without explaining its underlying concept" |
| 2. The facts | Apply that requirement to the company, people and dates in the case | Q1(c): "Several examinees merely reproduced general points instead of applying them to the given scenario" |
| 3. The conclusion | Say what the auditor should do, and why | Q3(a): "while the conclusion was often correct, the reasoning supporting it was incomplete or technically inadequate" |
So write three visible blocks. A bare SA number loses the first layer, a list from memory the second, a one-word "Beta" with no reason the third. How part marks work in descriptive answers is in step marking in CA exams.
Worked mini-answer: May 2026 Q1(c), SA 580
The question (4 marks): at Orion Manufacturing Ltd., the earlier management resigned midway through the year and a new team took charge. The new management offered written representations only for the period after it assumed office. With reference to SA 580, explain the appropriate date of the representations and the period they should cover.
A three-block answer, built from ICAI's own suggested answer:
Provision. As per SA 580 "Written Representations", the date of the written representations shall be as near as practicable to, but not after, the date of the auditor's report. They shall cover all financial statements and period(s) referred to in the auditor's report.
Applied to the facts. Current management may say it wasn't in place for part of the year. That does not reduce its responsibility for the financial statements as a whole, so the auditor still requests representations covering the whole period.
Conclusion. CA Raghav Mehta should obtain written representations from the current management, dated as near as practicable to, but not after, the audit report date, covering the entire financial year referred to in the auditor's report, including the months when the previous management was in charge.
Where students lost marks here, per ICAI's Group II suggested answers for May 2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab), whose examiners' comments sit at the end of the volume: many wrote "as near as practicable" but "failed to state the equally important requirement that they must not be dated after the auditor's report", and several overlooked the whole-year point.
The same paper tested the next step in an MCQ. Question 4 asked which action the auditor should not take when management refuses a written representation. ICAI's key gives (C): treating the refusal as a disagreement and issuing a qualified opinion. Its option (B) instead points to SA 705, having regard to a disclaimer of opinion. One SA, two angles, in a single paper; your mock should do the same.
Every paper's answers are listed in CA Inter suggested answers May 2026 PDF.
ICAI examiner comments for Paper 5: the fix for each slip
ICAI's May 2026 Paper 5 comments, each turned into one habit for your next mock. The other five papers are covered in ICAI examiner comments for CA Inter May 2026.
| Question | What went wrong | Habit to build |
|---|---|---|
| Q1(a) skepticism | Confused with professional judgment, independence or due diligence | Give its three elements: questioning mind, alertness, critical assessment of evidence |
| Q2(a) SA 315 | Wrote about internal control in general | Stay on the information system: transactions, procedures, records, journal-entry controls |
| Q3(b) Basis for Opinion | Mixed it up with the Opinion or Auditor's Responsibilities sections | Learn each report section's contents separately |
| Q4(a) automated testing | Missed that "inquiry alone does not provide sufficient appropriate audit evidence" | Rank the four tests by strength, then name the best mix |
| Q4(b) MSME | Described trade payables procedures instead of the disclosures | Learn Schedule III items as a list you can reproduce |
| Q4(c) other disciplines | "merely reproduced the facts given in the question" | One line of theory, then one line from the case, per point |
| Q5(b) leases | Answered as the lessor, not the lessee STP Ltd. | Write whose books you are in at the top |
| Q6(b) SA 710 | Wrote Emphasis of Matter or Key Audit Matter | Know when each paragraph type is used |
Before 10 January: three Audit mocks that build on each other
- Mock 1, early December: once your first pass of the High chapters is done (the revision planner finishes Audit's by 4 December). Every question where you couldn't name the SA goes on your revision list.
- Mock 2, 13 to 19 December: in your Audit second-pass week; check whether each answer has the three blocks above.
- Mock 3, 28 December: at 2 PM, timed, between your Costing mock on the 27th and your FM and SM mock on the 29th, as the planner sets them. If ICAI's number order holds, the same two papers sit either side of Audit in January, so practise switching papers.
On the gap day before the paper, revise SA numbers and titles, CARO clauses and ethics threats, not new chapters. The full day-by-day plan lives in the CA Inter revision planner for January 2027, the marks per chapter are in CA Inter chapter wise weightage for Jan 2027, and the six-paper calendar sits in CA Inter Jan 2027 mock test plan.
Our CA Inter Audit mock tests for January 2027
On our CA Inter Auditing and Ethics test series you get 3 full-syllabus Paper 5 mocks, pitched at the standard of ICAI's own exam and on its latest pattern, and each one tests the amendments relevant to the January 2027 exam. You answer in your own handwriting, scan the sheets into one PDF and upload it; each paper takes one checked submission. Within 24 hours your checked copy gives the reason behind each mark cut and the line that earns it. Preview pages of Mock Test 1 are on that page.
Frequently asked questions
Which SAs are most important for CA Inter Audit in January 2027?
From ICAI's last four papers: SA 230, SA 300 and SA 315 had a descriptive part every time, and SA 210, SA 220 with SQC 1, and SA 500 to 501 came in three. SA 560, SA 580 and SA 610 each came twice in 2026. Don't drop the rest; SA 550 and SA 570 each had their only descriptive part of these four papers in September 2026. The eight questions ICAI repeated within a year, chapter by chapter, are in CA Inter audit important questions.
Do I have to write the SA number in a CA Inter audit answer?
ICAI's suggested answers name the standard and its title before applying it, for example "As per SA 580 'Written Representations'". Number plus title shows which requirement you are applying; if unsure of the number, write the title and the requirement correctly.
Is a CA Inter audit test series chapter wise or full syllabus?
Chapter tests suit a first revision; from late November, write full 100-mark papers, because one Paper 5 case can mix several chapters. ICAI's free papers for practice are linked from our CA Inter previous papers list.
Is the CA Inter Audit paper theory or case-based?
Case-based. In May 2026, twelve of the 15 MCQs sat in three case scenarios, and many descriptive questions in the map open with a named company and its auditor before asking for the standard.
Next step
Take ICAI's September 2026 Paper 5, write Questions 1 and 2 in about 55 minutes, and score each answer against the three blocks. Then move to full CA mock tests: our CA Inter Audit mock tests, the rest of Paper 5's group on the CA Inter Group II page, and every level of our CA test series.