CA Final May 2026 Group 1 Pass Percentage: Paper-Wise Analysis

The CA Final May 2026 Group 1 pass percentage is 12.00%, with 6,555 students clearing out of 54,606 who appeared — a sharp fall from 21.03% in January 2026 and 24.66% in September 2025.

ICAI declared the CA Final May 2026 results on June 18, 2026, for examinations conducted across 544 centers in India and abroad. Group 1 under the new scheme consists of four papers: Financial Reporting (FR), Advanced Financial Management (AFM), Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics (AAA), and Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation (DT), each carrying 100 marks. Students must score at least 40 marks in every paper and an aggregate of 50% (200 out of 400) to pass the group. The May 2026 attempt recorded the lowest Group 1 pass rate across the three most recent ICAI CA Final sessions.

• Group 1 pass percentage (May 2026): 12.00% — 6,555 passed out of 54,606 appeared.
• Group 2 pass percentage (May 2026): 20.49% — 8,725 passed out of 42,573 appeared.
• Both Groups pass percentage: 14.07% — 3,345 passed out of 23,776 appeared.
• A total of 7,931 students qualified as Chartered Accountants in this attempt.
• ICAI does not officially publish individual paper-wise pass percentages; the analysis here is based on exam structure and documented difficulty patterns.

---

CA Final May 2026 Group 1: Result Overview

ICAI released the CA Final May 2026 results on June 18, 2026. Of the 54,606 students who appeared for Group 1, only 6,555 cleared the group, giving a pass rate of 12.00%. The table below shows the full group-wise performance snapshot.

A total of 87,497 students were admitted across 544 examination centers. The AIR 1 in the May 2026 CA Final was secured by Noor Singla from Patiala with 499 marks out of 600 (83.17% across both groups), followed by Ritij Saraf from Howrah (475 marks, 79.17%) and Sohan Anil Manjrekar from Dombivli East (473 marks, 78.83%).

---

Group 1 Papers and Marking Scheme

CA Final Group 1 under the ICAI new scheme has four papers, each carrying 100 marks. Students must score at least 40 marks per paper and an aggregate of 200 out of 400 marks to pass Group 1. A score of 60 or above in any paper earns an exemption that carries forward to the next attempt if the student fails the group.

A sub-40 score in any single paper results in a group failure, even if the aggregate crosses 200. This makes individual paper performance critical to clearing Group 1.

---

Paper-Wise Performance Analysis: May 2026

ICAI does not publish official paper-wise pass percentages. The analysis below is based on documented difficulty trends, question patterns, and candidate feedback for each Group 1 paper in the May 2026 attempt.

AFM (Paper 2) is the primary risk paper in Group 1. A score below 40 in AFM disqualifies the student from the group regardless of how well they performed in FR, AAA, or DT. Students who scored 60 or above in any paper receive an exemption, allowing them to skip that paper in their next attempt while retaining the score.

Financial Reporting tends to be the most scoring paper for disciplined students, and Indirect Tax Laws and FR have historically featured among subjects where toppers secure the highest marks. The AAA paper rewards students who engage with case-based preparation rather than rote theory recall.

---

CA Final Group 1 Pass Percentage: Attempt-Wise Comparison

May 2026 Group 1 pass percentage at 12.00% is the lowest across the last three CA Final attempts, representing a fall of more than 12 percentage points from September 2025. The table below shows the trend.

The number of students appearing for Group 1 has grown steadily across all three attempts, reflecting the larger pool of CA Final aspirants. However, the pass count dropped significantly in May 2026 despite the highest appearing count, indicating a tougher examination relative to previous sessions. The January 2026 Group 1 pass rate of 21.03% was itself considered partly inflated because a portion of students carried AFM exemptions from an earlier attempt, giving them a statistical advantage that the May 2026 cohort did not have to the same degree.

---

Why Did the Group 1 Pass Percentage Fall in May 2026?

Multiple factors contributed to the significant drop in Group 1 pass percentage from 21.03% in January 2026 to 12.00% in May 2026.

• Higher first-attempt student proportion: The May 2026 appearing pool of 54,606 was the largest in recent memory. A greater share of first-attempt students tends to lower the overall pass rate compared to repeat-heavy cohorts who benefit from prior familiarity and exemptions.
• Tougher AFM paper: Advanced Financial Management questions in May 2026 involved longer numerical derivations and multi-step calculations, making it harder to cross the 40-mark threshold and triggering group failures even for students who cleared other papers.
• Amendment-heavy DT paper: Finance Act 2025 provisions were tested prominently in Paper 4. Students who had not updated their preparation for recent amendments struggled to score adequately.
• Shift toward application-based questions: ICAI’s consistent move from recall-based to case-based questioning across all Group 1 papers penalises students who relied on traditional preparation methods.
• Reduced exemption benefit in May 2026: The January 2026 pass rate was partly boosted by students carrying AFM exemptions from earlier sessions. In May 2026, this advantage was less widespread, making the cohort collectively more vulnerable to Group 1 failure.