With the December 2026 CMA examinations close, most students ask the same thing: which questions should I practise in the time left? This guide gives you revision priorities and original practice questions for CMA Foundation, Intermediate and Final, built on the Syllabus 2022 paper structure and ICMAI's own resources.
One thing first. These are revision priorities, not predicted or leaked questions. No institute or website can tell you which questions will appear, and ICMAI does not publish an "important questions" list. What we can do is point you to the concepts and question types that carry most of the learning in each paper, so your last weeks are spent well. Please check every topic against your applicable syllabus before you rely on it. The CMA December 2026 syllabus guide lists the papers, and ICMAI's CMA Syllabus 2022 page is the official reference.
If you would like trained guidance on how to use these final weeks, you can look at SAC's CMA course overview and pick the level that matches yours.
CMA December 2026 Important Questions: What Students Should Know
"Important questions" means different things on different websites, so it helps to be precise.
An important topic is a concept that is central to a paper, builds later chapters, or is regularly tested in a particular style. An important question is a representative problem on such a topic that is worth solving yourself. Neither is a prediction.
Three things can guide your choice honestly:
- Syllabus coverage. Everything in the syllabus is examinable. Priorities only decide the order, never what you skip.
- Official papers. ICMAI's model papers, practice test papers and past papers show how questions are framed.
- Conceptual weight. Some chapters feed many others. Cost classification, for example, supports almost every cost and management accounting paper.
Why no guarantee? Question setters change the mix every term, and ICMAI has not published chapter-wise weightage that we could verify. Anything that claims "90% chance" or "sure-shot questions" is guesswork. If you want a data-based view of how marks have been spread in the past, see our CMA Foundation chapter-wise weightage guide and read it as history, not forecast.
CMA Foundation Important Questions for December 2026
CMA Foundation under Syllabus 2022 has four papers. SAC's exam pattern guide explains the objective-type format, which means speed and accuracy matter as much as understanding. Confirm the current pattern on ICMAI's examination overview page.
Paper 1: Fundamentals of Business Laws and Business Communication
Revision priorities: the essentials of a valid contract (offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity); sale of goods, especially conditions versus warranties and transfer of ownership; negotiable instruments such as promissory notes, bills and cheques; and business communication basics like barriers and formal writing.
Why practise these: law papers reward precision. Questions usually turn on one fact in the scenario, so you need to apply a rule, not recite it.
Practice question: A offers to sell his car to B for ₹4,00,000. B replies, "I will pay ₹3,50,000." Later B says he accepts at ₹4,00,000, but A has sold the car elsewhere. Is A liable?
Answer check: B's first reply is a counter-offer, which ends the original offer. B's later "acceptance" is therefore a fresh offer that A is free to refuse.
Paper 2: Fundamentals of Financial and Cost Accounting
Revision priorities: journal, ledger and trial balance; final accounts with adjustments; depreciation; cost classification and a simple cost sheet.
Why practise these: this paper is the base for Intermediate Financial Accounting and Cost Accounting. Weak habits here cost marks later.
Practice question: A machine costs ₹5,00,000 with a residual value of ₹50,000 and a life of 5 years. Find the depreciation for the first two years under (a) the straight-line method and (b) the written-down-value method at 20%.
Answer check: (a) ₹90,000 each year, since (5,00,000 − 50,000) ÷ 5 = 90,000. (b) Year 1 is ₹1,00,000 and year 2 is ₹80,000, since the second year works on ₹4,00,000.
Paper 3: Fundamentals of Business Mathematics and Statistics
Revision priorities: ratios and percentages; simple and compound interest; permutations and combinations; probability; averages and dispersion; correlation and regression.
Why practise these: it is the most calculation-heavy Foundation paper. Speed comes from repetition, not reading. ICMAI's official December 2026 model paper listing, when we checked on 20 October 2026, showed a Paper 3 question paper, so start there.
Practice question: ₹10,000 is invested at 10% a year, compounded annually, for two years. What is the compound interest?
Answer check: The amount is 10,000 × 1.1 × 1.1 = ₹12,100, so the compound interest is ₹2,100.
Paper 4: Fundamentals of Business Economics and Management
Revision priorities: demand, supply and elasticity; utility; production and cost; market structures; basic macroeconomics; management functions and organisational behaviour.
Why practise these: the numerical part is small, but definitions and distinctions (for example, perfect competition versus monopolistic competition) are where marks are lost to careless reading.
Practice question: When the price of a good rises from ₹20 to ₹25, quantity demanded falls from 200 to 150 units. What is the price elasticity of demand?
Answer check: Price rises 25% and quantity falls 25%, so elasticity is 1 in absolute terms, which is unit elastic.
For a calm plan around these papers, use our CMA Foundation study plan for December 2026, the Foundation exam strategy guide and the subject-wise books guide. SAC's CMA Foundation coaching page explains the classroom and online options.
CMA Intermediate Important Questions for December 2026
Intermediate has eight papers, split into Group I (Papers 5 to 8) and Group II (Papers 9 to 12). Here the skill is not just knowing a topic but writing or solving it within time. Separate your practice into numerical papers (6, 8, 10, 11, 12) and descriptive-heavy papers (5, 9), and give each its own method. The taxation paper (7) needs both.
Group I
Paper 5: Business Laws and Ethics. Focus on the Contract Act, Sale of Goods, negotiable instruments, partnership and company law basics, labour laws and ethics. Practise case-style questions where you must name the rule and apply it.
Practice question: A buys a laptop sold as "16 GB RAM". It has 8 GB. Is this a breach of condition or warranty, and what can A do?
Answer check: A description is part of the contract, so a mismatch is generally treated as breach of a condition, which can allow A to reject the goods unless A has already accepted them. Write the rule first, then the application, then the remedy.
Paper 6: Financial Accounting. Prioritise inventory valuation, depreciation, investments, employee benefits and consolidation basics.
Practice question: 500 units cost ₹120 each. Net realisable value is ₹110 per unit. At what value should the stock appear and what is the write-down?
Answer check: Use the lower of cost and net realisable value. Stock is ₹55,000 against a cost of ₹60,000, so the write-down is ₹5,000.
Paper 7: Direct and Indirect Taxation. Practise classification under the heads of income, computation of total income, and GST basics. Tax law changes every year, so check ICMAI's notices on amendments applicable to your term before solving old questions.
Practice question: List five receipts of an individual and state the head of income under which each falls, giving the reason in one line.
Answer check: Marks usually come from the correct head, the correct reason and a clean computation layout.
Paper 8: Cost Accounting. Prioritise cost classification, material and labour costing, overheads, process and job costing, and marginal costing. Our Intermediate Cost & Management Accounting guide covers the concepts in more depth.
Practice question: Selling price is ₹100 a unit, variable cost ₹60, and fixed cost ₹2,00,000. Find the break-even point and the margin of safety at sales of 6,500 units.
Answer check: P/V ratio is 40%, so break-even is 5,000 units (₹5,00,000 of sales). Margin of safety is 1,500 units, or ₹1,50,000.
Group II
Paper 9: Operations Management and Strategic Management. Practise structured descriptive answers on production planning, quality, supply chain and strategy frameworks, using a short example from a business you know.
Paper 10: Corporate Accounting and Auditing. Prioritise share capital and reserves, dividend, amalgamation and absorption, and audit procedures. Practise the full journal and ledger layout, not only the final answer.
Paper 11: Financial Management and Business Data Analytics. Prioritise time value of money, working capital, capital budgeting, cost of capital and data interpretation.
Practice question: An outlay of ₹1,00,000 returns ₹40,000, ₹50,000 and ₹60,000 over three years. At 10%, find the NPV using factors 0.9091, 0.8264 and 0.7513.
Answer check: The present value of inflows is about ₹1,22,762, so NPV is about ₹22,762 and the project is acceptable.
Paper 12: Management Accounting. Prioritise budgeting, standard costing and variances, activity-based costing, decision-making and responsibility accounting.
Practice question: Standard usage is 2 kg per unit at ₹50 a kg. For 1,000 units, 2,100 kg were used at ₹48 a kg. Find the material price and usage variances.
Answer check: Price variance is ₹4,200 favourable and usage variance is ₹5,000 adverse, so the net variance is ₹800 adverse.
Students who plan to practise past papers should look at SAC's Question Bank, which lists Intermediate and Final papers by term. For batches and subject support, see the CMA Intermediate coaching page.
CMA Final Important Questions for December 2026
Final papers test judgement. A correct number with no workings, or a correct rule with no application, earns less than you expect. The best use of your time is a fixed method for each paper type.
Group III
Paper 13: Corporate and Economic Laws. Practise fact-based questions where you must identify the provision, apply it and conclude.
Practice question: A director of a company holds shares in a supplier, and the board approves a large purchase from that supplier. Advise on disclosure and approval.
Answer check: State the interested-director position, the disclosure expected, who must approve, and the consequence of non-compliance. Cite sections only when you are sure of them.
Paper 14: Strategic Financial Management. Prioritise capital budgeting, foreign exchange and forward rates, valuation, mergers and portfolio management.
Practice question: Spot is ₹83.00 per USD. The 6-month rates are 6% a year in India and 4% a year in the US. Find the 6-month forward rate by interest rate parity.
Answer check: 83.00 × (1.03 ÷ 1.02) ≈ ₹83.81.
Paper 15: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation. Practise computation questions with a clean layout, plus transfer pricing and double taxation. Check amendments for your term before using older papers.
Paper 16: Strategic Cost Management. Prioritise activity-based management, target costing, throughput accounting and pricing.
Practice question: The target selling price is ₹800 and the required margin is 20% of selling price. The current cost is ₹700. What cost reduction is needed?
Answer check: Target cost is ₹640, so the cost must fall by ₹60 a unit.
Group IV
Paper 17: Cost and Management Audit. Practise short structured answers on audit objectives, procedures, documentation and reporting, and rehearse the report format.
Paper 18: Corporate Financial Reporting. Prioritise revenue recognition, financial instruments, consolidation and disclosures.
Practice question: A bundle sells for ₹36,000. Standalone prices are ₹30,000 for a device and ₹12,000 for a 12-month service. Allocate the price between the two.
Answer check: Use relative standalone selling prices: device ≈ ₹25,714 and service ≈ ₹10,286.
Paper 19: Indirect Tax Laws and Practice. Practise input tax credit, place and time of supply, valuation and returns, always against current law.
Paper 20 (elective). Revise your chosen elective (20A, 20B or 20C) separately, as it needs its own plan.
Final students should combine this with our CMA Final preparation strategy. Details of the batches are on the CMA Final coaching page.
Important Questions vs Important Topics vs Model Papers
| Resource | What it is | Best use | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Important questions | Representative problems chosen by a teacher or site | Targeted practice on key concepts | Not official, not a prediction |
| Important topics | Concepts central to a paper | Deciding revision order | Do not skip other topics |
| Official model papers | Sample papers from ICMAI for a term | Learning the style and timing | Not actual exam papers; availability varies |
| Previous-year papers | Papers set in earlier exams | Seeing real difficulty | Syllabus and law may differ from yours |
| Mock tests | Tests set by an institute or platform | Exam simulation and feedback | Quality depends on the setter |
For a full walkthrough of the official model papers, read our CMA December 2026 model question papers guide. For past papers, see the CMA Foundation previous year question papers guide.
How to Find Official CMA Question Papers for December 2026
- Open ICMAI's Model Question Papers page and choose the December 2026 term, then your level.
- Read the heading, which names the syllabus and term. It should say Syllabus 2022 for your exam.
- Open only files listed there. When we checked on 20 October 2026, the Foundation tab listed one December 2026 paper, Paper 3 (Set 1) question paper. We could not confirm the Intermediate and Final tabs, so look at them yourself.
- If a paper is not uploaded, use an earlier term of the same syllabus as practice and label it clearly in your notes.
- Visit the CMA Syllabus 2022 page, which links the Practice Test Papers, MCQ bank, workbooks and postal test papers. ICMAI also runs an Online MCQ Portal.
- Check the Updates and Announcements page for notices, and the exam timetables for your level. Planning dates are in our CMA December 2026 exam dates guide.
Do not assume a paper is meant for December 2026 unless the official page says so.
How to Use Important Questions for Last-Stage Revision
Confirm the syllabus first. One wrong-syllabus paper can waste an evening.
Attempt before you read the solution. If you read first, you practise recognition, not recall.
Time yourself. Use the real duration for the paper once you have completed one revision of the subject.
Keep an error log. Write each mistake and tag it: concept, calculation, misreading or time. Review it weekly.
Re-attempt only what you got wrong. Repeating whole papers without analysis changes little.
Pair questions with full coverage. Important questions are a supplement. Finish the syllabus, then use the questions to sharpen it. If you are short on time, our CMA study time management guide and the December 2026 preparation strategy will help you plan.
If you want more structured practice beyond ICMAI's material, SAC's CMA coaching with test series page explains the test format, and the Question Bank has past papers to practise from.
Common Mistakes Students Should Avoid
- Depending only on predicted questions. Predictions fail regularly, and unseen questions are a normal part of every paper.
- Dropping chapters labelled "less important". A skipped chapter can cost you a whole question.
- Practising from the wrong syllabus. Check the heading every time.
- Reading solutions without attempting. It feels productive but builds little skill.
- Neglecting concepts. Application questions reward understanding, not memorised answers.
- Using unverified PDFs or wrong answer keys. Use ICMAI's own page. For other sources, cross-check with your textbook.
- Ignoring time. Many students know the answers but run out of time.
Intermediate students can also read our list of common CMA Intermediate mistakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What are the important questions for CMA December 2026?
There is no official list. The best approach is to practise representative questions on the core topics of each paper, as listed above, while completing the full syllabus.
2. Are CMA December 2026 important questions released by ICMAI?
No. ICMAI publishes model papers, practice test papers and past papers, not an important questions list. Anything labelled "official important questions" should be treated with caution.
3. How can I find CMA Foundation important questions?
Start with ICMAI's model papers, practice test papers and MCQ bank, then use the topic priorities for each of the four papers in this guide.
4. Where can I find CMA Intermediate important questions?
Use ICMAI's practice material and past papers for Papers 5 to 12, along with SAC's Question Bank, and confirm that the papers follow Syllabus 2022.
5. Where can I find CMA Final important questions?
The same approach works for Papers 13 to 20. Prioritise application-style questions, and verify the law and tax amendments for your term.
6. Can important questions guarantee a pass?
No. They help focus your practice, but a pass depends on syllabus coverage, understanding, speed and accuracy.
7. How should I select important topics for revision?
Weigh each topic by how central it is to the paper, how much it feeds later chapters, how weak you are on it, and how it appears in past papers. Keep a short list of weak topics and update it weekly.
8. Are model question papers the same as important questions?
No. Model papers are sample papers prepared by ICMAI. Important questions are a teacher's or site's selection of practice problems.
9. Where can I download official CMA model question papers?
From ICMAI's Model Question Papers page, by term and level. Only files listed there are official.
10. Should I practise previous-year papers?
Yes, if they follow your syllabus. They show the real difficulty and framing. Read our guide to Foundation previous year papers for how to use them.
11. How do I identify the correct syllabus for my exam?
Check your registration details and the heading on each paper. The December 2026 papers are covered by Syllabus 2022, as explained on ICMAI's syllabus page.
12. Should I prepare every subject or only important topics?
Prepare the whole syllabus, then use priorities to decide the order and the depth of revision.
13. How can Foundation students practise numerical questions?
Practise Paper 3 and the numerical parts of Paper 2 daily in short timed sets, and track whether errors are about formulae, calculation or reading.
14. How should Intermediate students revise practical subjects?
Re-solve questions from scratch, in the exam layout, and rework every error. Alternate numerical and descriptive papers each week.
15. How should Final students practise descriptive and practical questions?
Write short structured answers for law, audit and reporting, and solve practical questions end to end with workings shown, then compare your method, not only the final figure.
16. How can I improve my question-solving speed?
Use a timer, practise one topic at a time first, then mixed sets. Speed follows accuracy, not the other way round.
17. Where can I find additional CMA practice resources?
ICMAI's syllabus page links practice test papers, MCQ bank and workbooks. SAC also offers a Question Bank and test series.
18. Where can I get guidance for CMA December 2026 preparation?
You can explore SAC's CMA courses or read about student success stories to see how past students approached their preparation.
Conclusion
The most reliable way to prepare in the final weeks is simple: confirm your syllabus, finish one revision of every paper, use official ICMAI material, and practise representative questions under a timer. Important questions are a tool for focus, not a shortcut, and no list can replace understanding.
If you need help matching a plan to your level, call or WhatsApp Sachin Ajmera Classes on 99502 90358 or 81076 26660, or email sachinajmeracma@gmail.com. You can also use the contact page to ask about the course suited to your CMA level. Our online CMA coaching and backlog support are options if you are not in Jaipur or have missed part of the syllabus. The course fees guide covers ICMAI registration and exam costs.
About the author: FCA Sachin Ajmera is the founder of Sachin Ajmera Classes, Jaipur, with 23+ years of teaching experience and more than 50,000 students mentored. Read his profile.
Disclaimer: This article offers revision guidance only. It does not contain actual examination questions, and no question is guaranteed to appear. Always rely on ICMAI notices for syllabus, schedules and rules.
