Paper 6: CMA Intermediate - Laws and Ethics

Laws are a set of rules and principles created by a government that regulate the behaviour and actions of the community

Ethics are those moral principles that govern a person’s behaviour. It is concerned with what is good for a society and an individual in terms of rights and obligations. In the paper you will be concerned with business ethics, i.e., ethics as applied to business situations such as corporate governance, bribery, etc.

As a CMA, you would need to understand the laws and environment under which businesses operate in India
Due to the professional nature of the job, you will be responsible to many important stakeholders including the government. As such, you need to conduct yourself with a high degree of professionalism and with utmost integrity
The paper builds on the concepts you learned at the Foundation level. You will understand, to a greater depth, various business laws, with special emphasis on online contracts, etc. You will also get a better grounding in ethical principles

You will delve deeply into commercial laws such as Laws of Contracts, Laws relating to Sale of Commercial Goods, etc. under various Acts such as Indian Contracts Act, 1872, Sale of Goods Act, 1930, Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, Indian Partnership Act, 1932, and Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008
You should understand the objectives, scope and applicability of Industrial laws like Factories Act, 1948, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, Employees Provident Fund Act, 1952, Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, Minimum Wages Act, 1948 and Payment of Wages Act, 1936
In addition to the ethical principles outlined at the foundation level, you will gain further insight into the values and attitudes that go into becoming a professional accountant

Do not memorise without understanding: Law is a very theoretical subject and students think they need to memorise all the information. This is not correct because memorisation without understanding will lead to disaster. A better way is to understand the various applications of the law in practical situations
Do not cram: Spreading your study over a period of many days is better than going through the entire subject in just a few days before the exam
Plan your study: The best generals do not go to war without a plan of attack. In the same way, before even you begin your study, understand what is expected. Understand the objectives and syllabus to come up with a study timetable that will organise your study
Keep up with Updates: Due to the dynamic nature of the law, the syllabus keeps getting updated to reflect the latest changes in legislation. Keep visiting the ICMAI website for notifications and amendments applicable for your exam

Laws and Ethics