Costing is a very interesting subject and is loved by most of the students. This is a hybrid subject which means that it involves both practical and theoretical parts. Before solving any questions, your concepts must be very clear. This subject is all about recording, systematically managing, and presenting data on COST ascertained by a production unit which we called a cost center in the costing world.

Always start with the basic concepts and read the theory well. Understand the formulas because learning them can create confusion in the exam. But if you understand them thoroughly then you will never get confused. Standard Costing is one of its examples, easy for the students who understand the formulas but cumbersome for the students who are busy learning them.

Please don’t ignore the theory. Learning theory doesn’t means you gulp the whole thick institute material of cost and FM. You can refer compiler, see the last year's question papers and read the theory accordingly.  Theory questions are straightforward forward hence it is always an advantage for you in COST/FM, so don’t leave the theory part.

Now coming to the Ascertainment of Cost and priority should be given to the Material, Labor, and Overhead because this is the core part to understand each and every chapter. ABC costing is simple and scoring.

Each and every method of Accounting is important but Process and Contract Costing are considered quite more important so go through them very well.

Reconciliation of Financial Accounts with the Cost Accounts should also be properly done.

Cost Control and Analysis cover a considerable part of your paper. Budgetary is the simplest chapter among them, Standard Costing is based on the formulas so grab the command over it and this will also be the Simplest chapter.

Start with a small or simple chapter first, it eases the pressure and makes the subject interesting at the first impression. So even if you are revising the subject from the beginning then pick a small chapter first but then onwards jump onto the important or big chapters.

You will not be able to understand whether you know this subject or not unless you practice it by writing. Practice writing will help you to recognize many minor mistakes which may cost you in the exam.

Make a mistake notebook where you can write your most common mistakes. This book will help you revise whenever you revise the subject. It will help to avoid you make common mistakes if you follow it sincerely.

Make a formula notebook that will contain all the formulas chapter-wise and a conceptual understanding of difficult questions written in your own words. This will help to avoid the wastage of time when you sit with the same chapter a second time and also helps in quick retention of the subject.

In the Cost Management Exam, the questions are categorized into three sections, A, B, and C namely. Questions in Section A are the hardest followed by questions in Section B and lastly, questions in Section C are the simplest so while you are preparing or revising you can skip questions from Section C as they are easier and do not require a lot of effort.