Advanced Financial Management (AFM) | CRACKER

Advanced Financial Management | CRACKER is a question-driven companion for CA-Final Group I – Paper 2, guiding students from concept recall to full exam execution. It does not reteach theory; it assembles the complete practice set a student needs—past exam questions arranged subtopic-wise, additional solved questions, a chapter-wise bank of Case Scenario MCQs, and five fully solved recent papers. What distinguishes it is the depth of the answers: theory questions are answered in structured, tabulated form, and practical questions are worked end-to-end with every intermediate computation shown, so a student sees not just the correct answer but the exact presentation an examiner expects. The book is organised around the paper's real behaviour—practical and theory questions side by side, weighted toward recurring high-mark topics, and mapped directly onto the ICAI study material.

The Present Publication is the 14th Edition, authored by CA. (Dr) K.M. Bansal & CA. Anjali Agarwal, with the following noteworthy features:

• [Solved Past Exams, including May 2026] Coverage of solved past exam questions up to and including the May 2026 examination, each carrying its exam date(s) and marks
• [Marks Distribution & Trend Analysis] Chapter-wise marks distribution (averaged across six recent attempts) and a question-by-question previous-exams trend analysis that also classifies each past question as theory or practical—so students can see exactly where marks have come from and plan revision around it
• [Sub-topic-wise Arrangement] Questions within each chapter arranged sub-topic-wise, then reinforced with additional solved practice questions
• [Answer-writing Depth] Worked-solution depth designed for answer-writing: practical problems show full computation tables (margin accounts, NAV and real-return workings, Value at Risk, beta and futures-hedge calculations, option payoffs, forex forward-cover comparisons), while theory answers are presented in the structured, step-and-explanation format examiners reward
• [Dedicated Case Scenario MCQ Chapter] A dedicated Case Scenario MCQ chapter, organised chapter-wise, with multi-question scenarios that replicate the 30-mark MCQ block of the current paper
• [Mapped to ICAI Study Material] A chapter-wise comparison mapping each chapter to its corresponding ICAI study material chapter
• [Five Fully-solved Recent Papers] Five recent question papers—November 2024, May 2025, September 2025, January 2026 and May 2026—reproduced with full suggested answers for timed, full-paper practice

The coverage of the book is as follows:

• Financial Policy & Corporate Strategy
• Linkage of financial policy, corporate strategy, sustainable growth and business-succession planning
• Risk Management
• Enterprise and financial risk management, including Value at Risk
• Advanced Capital Budgeting
• Advanced capital budgeting under risk, uncertainty and real options
• Security Analysis
• Security analysis and the valuation of equity and debt instruments
• Portfolio Management
• Portfolio construction, beta estimation, hedging and performance evaluation
• Securitization
• Securitization structures and mechanics
• Mutual Funds
• Schemes, NAV computation, reinvestment, load adjustment and return measurement
• Derivatives Analysis & Valuation
• Analysis, pricing and valuation of forwards, futures, options and swaps, with margin and payoff workings
• Foreign Exchange Exposure & Risk Management
• Foreign exchange exposure measurement and forward/contractual hedging of currency risk
• International Financial Management
• International financial management and cross-border decision-making
• Interest Rate Risk Management
• Interest rate risk and the instruments used to manage it (caps, floors, swaps)
• Business Valuation
• Business valuation approaches and applications
• Mergers, Acquisitions & Corporate Restructuring
• Mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring
• Startup Finance
• Startup finance and funding considerations
• Case Scenario MCQs
• Integrated, multi-concept Case Scenario MCQs spanning the full syllabus

The book opens with reference apparatus—chapter-wise marks distribution, a detailed previous-exams trend analysis, and a chapter-wise comparison with the study material—then works through the syllabus in clear blocks, each chapter following a uniform internal pattern.

• Strategy, Risk & Investment Decisions (Chapters 1–3) — Financial Policy & Corporate Strategy; Risk Management; Advanced Capital Budgeting Decisions
• Securities, Portfolios & Funds (Chapters 4–8) — Security Analysis; Security Valuation; Portfolio Management; Securitization; Mutual Funds
• Derivatives & Global Finance (Chapters 9–12) — Derivatives Analysis & Valuation; Foreign Exchange Exposure & Risk Management; International Financial Management; Interest Rate Risk Management
• Valuation, Restructuring & New Finance (Chapters 13–15) — Business Valuation; Mergers, Acquisitions & Corporate Restructuring; Startup Finance
• Integrated Assessment (Chapter 16) — Case Scenario MCQs, themselves grouped chapter-wise
• Within each chapter the architecture is consistent:
• Questions grouped sub-topic-wise so related problems are practised together
• Each question carries its exam appearance(s) and marks
• Fully worked suggested answers follow every question — computation tables for practicals, structured point-and-explanation format for theory
• Additional solved practice questions reinforce each area