CA Inter marathon Jan 2027: law, audit, costing, SM plan

Quick answer: a CA Inter marathon (one long revision lecture of a whole paper in a single sitting) helps in the last month only as one step of four: marathon → your own short notes → a full 3-hour paper written by hand → fix every mark you lost. Law is on Mon 4 Jan 2027, Costing on Fri 8 Jan, Audit on Sun 10 Jan and FM and SM on Tue 12 Jan.

Marks come from what you can write in three hours without help. Below: where a marathon fits before each paper, which chapters it must cover, and what to do after it.

What a CA Inter marathon is good for, and what it can't do

A marathon is good for one fast, connected pass of a paper you have already studied. It reminds you of half-forgotten sections, formats and lists, and shows which chapters still feel shaky.

It can't do three things for you:

• It can't make you write. Listening to an answer and writing it in exam language under time are different skills.
• It can't show your own mistakes. Only your written paper shows the step you skip or the working note you forget.
• It can't replace ICAI's material. ICAI sets the paper from its study material; its RTPs and MTPs show how it frames questions.

One marathon per paper, watched once, is plenty. A second one mostly costs days you need for writing.

The four-step loop for each paper

The marathon happens once; steps 3 and 4 repeat as often as your days allow.

Timing rule: watch the marathon once your first full revision of that paper is done, roughly four to five weeks before its exam date. That leaves room for at least two full papers after it.

Your fixed dates: exams and ICAI MTPs

The exam dates are from ICAI's Guidance Notes for Intermediate, January 2027 (PDF) (opens in a new tab) and the exam schedule (PDF) (opens in a new tab), both on ICAI's website, icai.org. Every paper runs 2 to 5 PM, with 15 minutes of reading time from 1:45 PM. ICAI's MTP dates are from its MTP notice for January 2027 (PDF) (opens in a new tab); MTP papers run 10 AM to 1 PM.

Use the MTPs as two of your full papers. A sensible order: marathon before Series II, short notes, Series II as your first full paper after it, then one more in late December. All MTP dates are in our CA Inter and Foundation MTP schedule for Jan 2027.

Papers 2, 4 and 5: 30 marks of MCQs, then Question 1 compulsory and any four of the other five.

CA Inter law marathon: what it must cover

A law marathon must spend real time on FEMA, LLP and the General Clauses Act. In ICAI's last four papers, FEMA took 14 marks every paper, LLP 12–14 and the General Clauses Act 12–14, with accounts of companies at 10–11. Every number here is counted in our CA Inter chapter wise weightage for Jan 2027.

Paper 2's syllabus has two parts: Company Law and LLP (70 marks) and Other Laws (30 marks). The other laws sit in fixed slots: in all four papers, part (c) of every descriptive question was an other-law question, and with their MCQs the other laws took 34–36 printed marks. If a marathon rushes them, give them your own extra time.

The A list for Law: FEMA, LLP, General Clauses Act, accounts of companies, share capital and debentures, and interpretation of statutes.

Right after the marathon: make one short sheet per chapter with section numbers, time limits and thresholds. Check doubtful points against ICAI's study material and the RTP, both on our CA Inter free resources page.

Then the full paper: write a complete Law paper in 3 hours; marks go when the provision, facts and conclusion are not set out clearly. How a Law mock should be written, with ICAI's pattern, is in our CA Inter Law mock test guide for Jan 2027. Full papers are on our CA Inter Law test series page.

CA Inter audit marathon: what it must cover

An audit marathon has no chapter to skip: all 11 chapters came up in all four of ICAI's last papers. Audit evidence took 11–20 marks, ethics and terms of audit engagements 10–16, audit of items of financial statements 11–19, and completion and review 9–21 (chapter wise weightage).

Ethics took 14–16 printed marks in three of the four papers, more than its section range. Give it your own extra pass.

Right after the marathon: write a one-page list of SA numbers with their titles, then short points for each A-list chapter: audit evidence, ethics, items of financial statements, completion and review, risk assessment, audit report, audit strategy and different entities. Use ICAI's study material wording.

Then the full paper: a full Audit paper shows whether your answers state the requirement, apply it to the case and conclude. ICAI's question types by chapter are in our CA Inter audit important questions for Jan 2027. Full papers are on our CA Inter Audit test series page.

CA Inter costing marathon: what it must cover

A costing marathon must cover almost the whole paper, because Costing spreads its marks. Nine chapters averaged 8 or more marks a paper in ICAI's last four papers. Marginal costing took 7–16 marks, the cost sheet 7–16, overheads 9–13 and budgets 5–17 (chapter wise weightage).

The A list for Costing: marginal costing, cost sheet, overheads, budgets, material, employee cost, standard costing, service costing and activity based costing. Two more patterns from ICAI's papers: reconciliation of cost and financial profit came up in three papers in a row, and Question 6 was 5 + 5 + 4 marks of theory every time. A marathon that is all numbers still leaves those theory marks to you.

Right after the marathon: make a formula and format sheet: variance formulas, EOQ, equivalent units, CVP, the cost sheet layout and the reconciliation statement. Then solve a few ICAI RTP questions from it without the solution open.

Then the full paper: Costing marks are lost in workings and time; write a full paper in 3 hours and note where the clock went. ICAI's repeated question types are in our CA Inter costing important questions for Jan 2027. Full papers are on our CA Inter Costing test series page.

CA Inter SM marathon: what it must cover

An SM marathon must cover all five chapters evenly, because SM spreads its marks. Strategic Management is Section B of Paper 6, worth 50 marks; Financial Management is Section A of the same paper, also 50. In ICAI's last four papers, every SM chapter took 9–14 printed marks, and the introduction chapter was exactly 9 every time. All five chapters are on the A list (chapter wise weightage).

Right after the marathon: write one page per chapter with the models and frameworks in ICAI's study material, and one line on when each applies. Name the concept and apply it to the case.

Don't let SM crowd out FM. FM sits in the same paper and is mostly numbers; working capital alone took 9–11 marks each time. Keep your FM formula practice going in the same weeks as the SM marathon.

Then the full paper: write Paper 6 as one 3-hour paper, both sections together. Our CA Inter FM and SM mock test guide for Jan 2027 covers how. Full papers are on our CA Inter FM and SM test series page.

ICAI's own free revision classes (LVRC)

If you want a structured revision, ICAI runs its own free Live Virtual Revisionary Classes (LVRC) for January 2027, which started on 12 October 2026 (ICAI announcement, PDF (opens in a new tab)). You join through the BoS Knowledge Portal on boslive.icai.org; the classes are also on the ICAI BOS mobile app and ICAI CA tube on YouTube.

ICAI lists "Interactive Doubt-resolution Sessions" and "Unlimited Access to Recorded Lectures" among the features, so you can watch a paper's recorded classes on your own schedule. The full table, all six papers, is in our ICAI LVRC note for CA Inter Jan 2027. Classes are step 1, not the whole plan.

The gap day before each paper

The day before each paper is for that paper's short notes, not for a marathon. The gap day is Sun 3 Jan before Law, Thu 7 Jan before Costing, Sat 9 Jan before Audit and Mon 11 Jan before FM and SM. Read your short notes and your list of lost marks. What to revise on each gap day, paper by paper, is in our CA Inter revision planner for Jan 2027, which also puts every chapter on a date.

Frequently asked questions

Is a marathon enough for CA Inter law?

No, a marathon alone is revision, not practice. Follow it with your own short notes and at least two full 3-hour Law papers, one of them ICAI's MTP Series II on 5 December.

When should I watch the CA Inter audit marathon?

Once your first full revision of Audit is done, about four to five weeks before the paper on 10 January. Watching it before ICAI's MTP Series II on 11 December leaves time for that paper and one more full paper afterwards.

How many times should I revise costing in the last month?

Once in full, then only your weak chapters again. Costing improves with solving, not re-watching, so after one marathon or full revision, spend the month on full timed papers and the questions you got wrong in them. ICAI's MTP Series II on 9 December is a good first full paper.

Is SM marathon enough to pass Paper 6?

No. SM is 50 of Paper 6's 100 marks, and FM is the other 50. A good SM marathon helps with one half; FM still needs its own practice, and both sections need a full paper written together in 3 hours.

Write the paper the marathon prepares you for

A marathon tells you what to remember; a checked paper tells you what you actually wrote. Our CA Inter Group 2 test series has full-syllabus CA mock tests in Costing, Audit, and FM and SM, and Law is on the Corporate and Other Laws page. The papers are new every attempt, on the latest ICAI pattern of 30% MCQs and 70% descriptive, with every chapter covered across the mocks and more weight on what ICAI asks most.

You write by hand, and your copy comes back within 24 hours with ICAI-style step-wise marks and the reason for every mark cut, with the correct line to write. You also get a personalised study schedule till your exam. Pick a subject from Costing, Audit or FM and SM, or see every level on our CA test series home page.