CTA Finance & Accounting study guide
CTA Finance & Accounting · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The CTA Finance & Accounting credential is aimed at professionals who combine tax and compliance work with a genuine command of the finance function - accountants moving into advisory roles, tax practitioners who need to read and challenge financial statements, and finance staff who increasingly own regulatory filings. The syllabus is broad rather than deep in any single niche: financial accounting and reporting, management accounting and costing, financial management and treasury, taxation and regulatory compliance, audit and internal control, and professional ethics and business law. The CTA Finance & Accounting study guide has 6 sections and about 2,740 words.
01Financial Accounting and Reporting
Financial Accounting and Reporting tests your ability to apply accrual accounting and IFRS recognition and measurement rules to prepare and interpret general-purpose financial statements. Revenue is recognized when a performance obligation is satisfied and control transfers, not when cash is received.
416 words, about 2 min02Management Accounting and Costing
Management Accounting and Costing tests whether you can classify costs, build product costs, and use costing information for planning, control, and short-term decisions. Separate fixed, variable, and mixed costs within the relevant range.
407 words, about 2 min03Financial Management and Treasury
Financial Management and Treasury tests capital investment decisions, cost of capital, working capital management, and treasury risk controls. Net present value discounts incremental after-tax cash flows at the weighted average cost of capital.
394 words, about 2 min04Taxation and Regulatory Compliance
Taxation and Regulatory Compliance tests current and deferred tax, indirect tax mechanics, and the compliance obligations that affect financial reporting and penalties. Current tax = taxable profit × tax rate.
376 words, about 2 min05Audit
Audit tests the risk-based audit process: assessing risk, selecting procedures, gathering evidence, and forming an opinion under International Standards on Auditing. Audit risk = inherent risk × control risk × detection risk.
399 words, about 2 min06Internal Control and Risk
Internal Control and Risk tests the design and evaluation of controls, risk assessment, and the governance processes that keep an entity within its risk appetite. The five COSO components are control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring.
748 words, about 4 min