KASNEB CIFA Intermediate study plan

Compute the four core ratio families (liquidity, activity, solvency, profitability) from a full statement set you assemble yourself, and label each ratio's direction of 'good'.

Reconstruct a linked three-statement model and trace how a change in depreciation or inventory policy flows into operating cash flow and retained earnings.

Distinguish accrual profit from cash generation by building an indirect-method cash flow statement and explaining each reconciling line in one sentence.

Compare revenue recognition and inventory costing alternatives and quantify their effect on reported margin and asset turnover.

Value one equity using a dividend discount model and one using a free cash flow model, then reconcile the gap between the two outputs.

Price a coupon bond and compute its yield to maturity, Macaulay duration and modified duration, then reprice it for a 100 basis point yield shift.

Build a comparison table of money-market instruments (treasury bills, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, repurchase agreements) across issuer, tenor, credit risk and yield convention.

Convert a treasury bill quoted on a discount basis into a holding period return and an effective annual yield.

Map the primary versus secondary market and the roles of issuers, underwriters, brokers, dealers and regulators into a single annotated diagram.

Derive the payoff and profit profiles at expiry for long/short forwards, futures, calls, puts and a plain vanilla interest rate swap.

Compute initial margin, variation margin and daily mark-to-market cash flows for a futures position over a five-day price path.

Sequence the listing process for a company seeking admission to a securities exchange and identify the disclosure document required at each step.

Classify derivatives by underlying and explain how each is used to hedge versus speculate.

Compute expected return, variance and standard deviation for a two-asset and a three-asset portfolio and show the effect of correlation on portfolio risk.

Estimate beta from return data, plot the security market line and classify securities as underpriced or overpriced relative to it.

Calculate and differentiate the Sharpe, Treynor, Jensen's alpha and information ratio measures for two competing portfolios.

Draft an investment policy statement capturing objectives, constraints, risk tolerance and time horizon for a stated client profile.

Attribute a portfolio's return between asset allocation and security selection and quantify the contribution of each.

Describe and classify market, credit, liquidity, operational and legal risk exposures for a financial institution and a corporate treasury.

Compute value at risk for a single position using both the variance-covariance and historical simulation approaches and compare the outputs.

Construct a hedging recommendation for a stated exposure and justify the instrument, direction and approximate hedge ratio chosen.

Compute the duration gap of a balance sheet and estimate the change in net worth for a parallel shift in interest rates.

Measure credit risk using exposure at default, probability of default and loss given default, and combine them into an expected loss figure.

Evaluate forward, futures, option and swap hedges against the same interest rate or currency exposure and rank them on cost, basis risk and flexibility.

Distinguish hedging from speculation in three borderline scenarios and state the governance control that would keep activity on the hedging side.

Apply a structured ethical decision framework to six short scenarios and identify the specific principle engaged in each.

Distinguish insider dealing, market manipulation and misrepresentation, and state the practical controls that prevent each.

Evaluate board composition, committee structure and independence as mechanisms for controlling agency conflict between managers and shareholders.

Assess an auditor independence or conflict-of-interest situation and recommend a defensible course of action with reasons.

Outline the obligations of a professional in public practice when encountering suspected money laundering or fraud.

Sit three full timed mock papers under exam conditions and record every error by domain and by error type.

Re-drill only the two weakest sub-topics identified in the error log until you can produce correct worked solutions unaided.

Compress all quantitative methods into a single one-page formula sheet you can reproduce from memory.

Rehearse written-answer structure for ethics and governance questions using a rule-application-conclusion format.