Overview
CAF-5 Management Accounting is the old CAF-3 Cost and Management Accounting paper moved to a new number under the 2025 scheme. Both 2026 papers had nine compulsory questions: a 10-mark MCQ block with part-marks (1 to 2.5 marks each), five Section A questions of 5 to 10 marks, then three Section B questions of 13 to 18 marks.
Decision-making questions are the paper's weak spot. Spring 2026's 18-mark make-or-buy question had a 4% pass rate and Autumn 2026's 18-mark product-discontinuation question 10%. Practise building a full relevant-cost comparison under each option, not just a contribution line.
Written exam · 100 marks · 3 hours 15 minutes (incl. 15 minutes reading) · Section A short questions + Section B long questions
Worth knowing
- Only two sittings exist under the 2025 scheme so far. The examiners note that this paper moved from CAF-3 to CAF-5, so legacy CAF-3 CMA papers are useful practice but are not part of this index.
Sittings and official links
Each paper link opens the official PDF on ICAP's website. Our analysis page for each sitting lists every question with its topic, marks and pass rate.
| Sitting | Exam date | Question paper | Examiners' comments | Suggested answers | Pass rate | Our analysis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 2026 | 20 August 2026 | Portal login required | 38% | Autumn 2026 analysis | ||
| Spring 2026 | 5 March 2026 | Portal login required | 33% | Spring 2026 analysis |
Suggested answers and marking plans sit in ICAP's student area (CRN login required).
Yearly topical index
Marks per area in each sitting, from our reading of the official papers. Most-examined areas first. MCQ items are counted under their own area. Tap an area to practise its chapter MCQs.
| Area | Spring 2026 | Autumn 2026 | Total | Sittings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decision making and relevant costs | 28 | 20 | 48 | 2/2 |
| Cost-volume-profit analysis | 11 | 18 | 29 | 2/2 |
| Standard costing and variances | 15 | 10 | 25 | 2/2 |
| Joint and by-products | 2.5 | 15 | 17.5 | 2/2 |
| Overhead allocation and absorption | 9 | 7.5 | 16.5 | 2/2 |
| Marginal and absorption costing | 13 | 2 | 15 | 2/2 |
| Inventory valuation | 11 | – | 11 | 1/2 |
| Labour costing and learning curve | 1.5 | 8 | 9.5 | 2/2 |
| Job costing | – | 9 | 9 | 1/2 |
| Cost classification and manufacturing accounts | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2/2 |
| EOQ, safety stock and reorder levels | 7 | 1 | 8 | 2/2 |
| Activity-based costing | – | 2.5 | 2.5 | 1/2 |
| Process costing | 1 | – | 1 | 1/2 |
| Target costing | – | – | 0 | 0/2 |
Question-by-question index
| Sitting | Q | Main area | Marks | Pass rate | Walkthrough |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn 2026 | Q1 | MCQs (mixed areas) | 10 | 53% | Open |
| Autumn 2026 | Q2 | Job costing | 9 | 38% | Open |
| Autumn 2026 | Q3 | Standard costing and variances | 10 | 46% | Open |
| Autumn 2026 | Q4 | Overhead allocation and absorption | 5 | 67% | Open |
| Autumn 2026 | Q5 | Cost classification and manufacturing accounts | 7 | 74% | Open |
| Autumn 2026 | Q6 | Labour costing and learning curve | 8 | 64% | Open |
| Autumn 2026 | Q7 | Joint and by-products | 15 | 26% | Open |
| Autumn 2026 | Q8 | Cost-volume-profit analysis | 18 | 49% | Open |
| Autumn 2026 | Q9 | Decision making and relevant costs | 18 | 10% | Open |
| Spring 2026 | Q1 | MCQs (mixed areas) | 10 | 47% | Open |
| Spring 2026 | Q2 | EOQ, safety stock and reorder levels | 6 | 83% | Open |
| Spring 2026 | Q3 | Decision making and relevant costs | 10 | 13% | Open |
| Spring 2026 | Q4 | Cost-volume-profit analysis | 10 | 74% | Open |
| Spring 2026 | Q5 | Overhead allocation and absorption | 9 | 65% | Open |
| Spring 2026 | Q6 | Inventory valuation | 9 | 25% | Open |
| Spring 2026 | Q7 | Marginal and absorption costing | 13 | 41% | Open |
| Spring 2026 | Q8 | Decision making and relevant costs | 18 | 4% | Open |
| Spring 2026 | Q9 | Standard costing and variances | 15 | 34% | Open |
Trends across sittings
Patterns in the 2 indexed sittings. With so few papers under the current scheme, treat these as patterns to inform revision, not predictions of what will be set.
In every sitting (9)
- Decision making and relevant costs – 24 marks on average
- Cost-volume-profit analysis – 14.5 marks on average
- Standard costing and variances – 12.5 marks on average
- Joint and by-products – 8.8 marks on average
- Overhead allocation and absorption – 8.3 marks on average
- Marginal and absorption costing – 7.5 marks on average
- Labour costing and learning curve – 4.8 marks on average
- Cost classification and manufacturing accounts – 4 marks on average
- EOQ, safety stock and reorder levels – 4 marks on average
Rotating (4)
- Inventory valuation – Spring 2026
- Job costing – Autumn 2026
- Activity-based costing – Autumn 2026
- Process costing – Spring 2026
Not yet examined (1)
- Target costing
Examined before but absent from Autumn 2026: Inventory valuation, Process costing. A skipped area is a reasonable candidate to revise early, but a gap in a handful of papers predicts nothing, so don't drop any syllabus area.
Average marks by area
Average marks per sitting across the indexed papers.
What to prioritise
- Heaviest areas. Decision making and relevant costs (24 marks a sitting); Cost-volume-profit analysis (14.5 marks a sitting); Standard costing and variances (12.5 marks a sitting); Joint and by-products (8.8 marks a sitting). Between them these carry about 60 of every 100 marks.
- Where candidates lose the most. The lowest published pass rates were Spring 2026 Q8 (Decision making and relevant costs, 4%); Autumn 2026 Q9 (Decision making and relevant costs, 10%); Spring 2026 Q3 (Decision making and relevant costs, 13%); Spring 2026 Q6 (Inventory valuation, 25%). Work through those walkthroughs first.
- Don't skip the short areas. The MCQs and shorter questions regularly test smaller areas such as Job costing, Activity-based costing, Process costing. Chapter MCQs are the fastest way to cover them.
- Check the syllabus. Only two sittings exist under the 2025 scheme so far. The examiners note that this paper moved from CAF-3 to CAF-5, so legacy CAF-3 CMA papers are useful practice but are not part of this index.
Syllabus weightings
Weightings from ICAP's published syllabus, against the marks actually set in each sitting (our classification of each question into a syllabus section).
| Section | Syllabus weight | Spring 2026 | Autumn 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Costs associated with production | 35–45% | 35.5 | 36 |
| B. Cost flow (process, joint products, target costing, variances) | 20–30% | 18.5 | 25 |
| C. Cost management, planning and decisions | 30–40% | 46 | 39 |
Practice questions on the most-examined areas
Original exam-style questions written by us, with our own numbers. Try each before opening the solution.
Original practice question
Discontinue or keep a product
Budget: M 10,000 units at Rs 3,000; N 20,000 units at Rs 5,000. Materials net of an 8% discount: M Rs 9m, N Rs 30m; the discount drops to 3% if gross purchases fall below Rs 40m. Each unit takes 2 labour hours; normal capacity 55,000 hours at Rs 300, overtime Rs 400; idle hours are paid at Rs 200 because workers cannot be laid off. Variable overhead Rs 200 per hour worked; fixed factory overhead Rs 12m; operating expenses Rs 20m.
Required: Compare operating profit if M is kept at budget volume, sold at half volume, or discontinued.
Show worked solution
| Rs m | Keep M | M at 50% | Drop M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 130.000 | 115.000 | 100.000 |
| Gross purchases | 42.391 | 37.500 | 32.609 |
| Materials (net of 8% / 3%) | (39.000) | (36.375) | (31.630) |
| Labour worked | (18.500) | (15.000) | (12.000) |
| Idle labour | – | (1.000) | (3.000) |
| Variable overhead | (12.000) | (10.000) | (8.000) |
| Fixed overhead + operating | (32.000) | (32.000) | (32.000) |
| Operating profit | 28.500 | 20.625 | 13.370 |
Keep M: 60,000 hours = 55,000 normal + 5,000 overtime. Half M: 50,000 hours, 5,000 idle. Drop M: 40,000 hours, 15,000 idle.
Answer: Keep M (Rs 28.5m). Dropping it loses its contribution, the volume discount and pays 15,000 idle hours.
Topic seen in CAF-5 Autumn 2026 Q9 – full walkthrough there.
Original practice question
Two-variant forecast
This year: 500 Basic at Rs 100,000 and 500 Deluxe at Rs 150,000. Per unit: general material Rs 40,000 (both); Deluxe also uses a special part of Rs 10,000; labour Rs 10,000; variable overhead Rs 6,000 (follows labour hours). Fixed factory costs Rs 18m; fixed operating costs Rs 15m.
Next year: volumes +4% (Basic) and +10% (Deluxe); prices +8%; general material +5%; special part +20%; wage rate +15% but hours per unit −5%; overhead inflation +10%; fixed factory +10%; fixed operating +8%.
Required: Calculate break-even sales and margin of safety.
Show worked solution
| Working | Rs m |
|---|---|
| Sales: 520 × 108,000 + 550 × 162,000 | 145.26 |
| General material: 1,070 × 42,000 | (44.94) |
| Special part: 550 × 12,000 | (6.60) |
| Labour: 1,070 × 10,000 × 1.15 × 0.95 | (11.69) |
| Variable overhead: 1,070 × 6,000 × 1.10 × 0.95 | (6.71) |
| Contribution | 75.32 |
| Fixed costs: 19.8 + 16.2 | 36.00 |
C/S ratio = 75.32 ÷ 145.26 = 51.85%. Break-even = 36.00 ÷ 0.5185 = Rs 69.43m.
Answer: Break-even ≈ Rs 69.4m; margin of safety ≈ 52.2% of forecast sales.
Topic seen in CAF-5 Autumn 2026 Q8 – full walkthrough there.
Original practice question
Variances in reverse
A product's material price variance was Rs 60,000 F and usage variance Rs 60,000 A. 30,000 kg were used, 2,000 kg more than standard for the 4,000 units made. Labour: rate variance Rs 36,000 A, actual rate Rs 212 vs standard Rs 200; standard 0.8 hours per unit. Variable overhead is Rs 40 per standard hour. Fixed overhead is Rs 25 per unit. Standard selling price Rs 600. Budgeted sales were 3,600 units; actual sales 4,000.
Required: Find the standard and actual material prices, actual labour hours and the sales volume profit variance.
Show worked solution
| Working | Result |
|---|---|
| Standard price: 60,000 ÷ 2,000 kg | Rs 30/kg |
| Actual price: 30 − 60,000 ÷ 30,000 | Rs 28/kg |
| Actual hours: 36,000 ÷ (212 − 200) | 3,000 hours |
| Standard material per unit: 28,000 ÷ 4,000 = 7 kg × 30 | Rs 210 |
| Standard profit: 600 − 210 − 160 − 32 − 25 | Rs 173 |
| Sales volume profit variance: 400 × 173 | Rs 69,200 F |
Answer: Standard Rs 30/kg, actual Rs 28/kg, 3,000 hours, sales volume profit variance Rs 69,200 F.
Topic seen in CAF-5 Autumn 2026 Q3 – full walkthrough there.
CAF-5 chapter MCQs
Free MCQs with explanations for every area in the index.
Official resources
- CAF syllabus (Spring 2027)
- CAF-5 examiners' comments (all sittings)
- CAF-5 suggested answers – ICAP student login required
- ICAP CAF-5 official page