CAG Incentive Exam for Sr. Accountants: Syllabus, Pattern and Pass Mark

The paper in one table

Five equal sections is the single most useful fact for planning. There is no heavy section to lean on and no light one to skip: a candidate who drops any one section gives away a fifth of the paper, and the pass line of 50 then needs 50 out of the 80 marks left. Two of the five sections are documents a Sr. Accountant already handles at work (the Civil Accounts Manual chapters on compilation, pension and adjustments, and the Account Code). The other three, the Regulations on Audit and Accounts, IT theory and the accounting standards, are new reading for most candidates.

Each section has its own guide in this series: the Civil Accounts Manual guide deals with the 2007 against 2024 numbering problem, the Constitution and Regulations guide covers Sections I and II, the IT Theory guide covers Section III, and the IGAS guide covers Section V.

Pattern and rules

Section-wise score checker

The example values filled in above are 62 right and 19 wrong, a raw total of 57.25, recorded as 58: a pass. They are made-up numbers to show how the checker works, not a typical score. The only published result we found is from one A&E office (Odisha, 03.08.2026) and gives names, not marks.

What the round-up does

Rounding up to the next whole number lifts a fractional total and never cuts one. On our arithmetic: 50 right and 3 wrong is 50 minus 0.75, a raw 49.25, recorded as 50, a pass. 50 right and 4 wrong is exactly 49, recorded as 49, a fail, because 49 is already a whole number. So with exactly 50 right answers, three wrong answers are free and the fourth costs the pass. The raw total has to be above 49, not 50.

The same arithmetic sets the minimum number of right answers for any number of questions attempted. Our table below does it for eleven levels of attempt. Two examples: all 100 attempted at 60 per cent accuracy is 60 minus 10, exactly 50, a pass; 80 attempted at 65 per cent is 52 minus 7, 45, a fail.

Guessing: a quarter-mark penalty means a guess adds marks on average whenever your chance of being right is better than one in five (0.2 x 1 equals 0.8 x 0.25). The documents we read do not say how many options each question has. If there are four, a blind guess is right one time in four, just above break-even, and ruling out one option makes it clearly worth answering. That is arithmetic on an assumption, not a rule from the circulars.

Who may sit

The one-year rule has a history. MSO para 9.8.2 first required three years in the grade; its Note brought it down to one year "from the examination to be held in April 1994 and onwards". The extension to Assistant Supervisors who did not pass is not in MSO para 9.8. The DGA (Central) Kolkata Office Procedure Manual, para 6.7, cites it to Headquarters Circular No. 624-Staff (App)-I/13-2021 dated 30 March 2021; that manual is written for audit offices, and we did not find the circular itself, so we know it only through that citation. You sit at your station of posting where an IA&AD office exists there.

What passing pays: one advance increment

Candidates who score 50 per cent or more get one advance increment in their respective pay level, Sr. Accountant or Asst. Supervisor, with effect from the 1st of the month in which the exam is held: "as on 01-04-2024" and "01-04-2025" in the Maharashtra circulars. MSO para 9.8.3 says the Head of Department sanctions it. Nothing else changes: this is not a promotion, a grade change or a new post.

Under the 7th CPC pay matrix an increment moves you to the next higher cell in the same level (printed immediately below the current cell in the matrix). Our table shows the first 15 cells of Levels 6 and 7 and what the next higher cell is worth each month. The cell values are read from the Railway Board copy of the matrix; the one-cell mechanism is our reading, since no A&E increment order was found to show a worked case.

The gain is on basic pay; allowances that are a percentage of basic pay move with it, and the higher cell carries on into every later increment. The table is a reading of the matrix, not a statement of your pay: your own pay slip and the office order decide.

Sittings so far

What is not published

Tick off the whole syllabus

What is the syllabus of the CAG Incentive Examination for Senior Accountants?

One paper, Finance & Government Accounts, 100 marks in five sections of 20: Constitution of India (Arts 110-117 and 203-207), Regulations on Audit & Accounts 2020 (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 14, 15), IT Theory, Civil Accounts Manual 2007 (named paragraphs of Chapters 1 and 4 and Chapters 5, 7, 8, 10, 16, 17), and Financial Accounting (GAAP, IGAS 1 to 4 and the Account Code for Accountant General Chapters 5 and 7).

Does passing change my post or grade?

No. Passing gives one advance increment in your pay level from the 1st of the month of the exam. Your post and grade do not change.

What is the pass mark?

50 per cent, higher than the 45 per cent of other IA&AD departmental exams. A fractional total is rounded up to the next whole number, so a raw 49.25 counts as 50.

Is there negative marking?

Yes, 0.25 mark for each wrong answer. A blank answer scores nothing.

Who can take it?

Senior Accountants in Pay Level 6 with one year of continuous service in the grade, and Assistant Supervisors in Level 7 who did not pass it as Senior Accountants. The MSO counts the year to the 1st of the month of the exam; for the May 2026 sitting one audit office counted to 1 April instead, so follow your own office's call circular for the cutoff.

When is the next exam?

Not notified as of 29 September 2026. The cycle is once a year in April under Circular 01 of 2024; the 2025 sitting was on 29 April and the 2026 sitting on 13 May.

Is there a fee or a limit on attempts?

No fee is mentioned in any circular we read. Circular 01 of 2024 says existing chances continue and the count restarted with central conduct; the AG (A&E)-I Uttar Pradesh order of 12.03.2024 said the number of chances was unlimited. No Exam Wing document restates the number.

Are results published?

Offices issue their own orders; there is no all-India list. PAG (A&E) Odisha published its result for the 13.05.2026 sitting on 03.08.2026 (10 successful, names only, no marks). Exam Wing publishes none for this paper.

Is it the same paper as the Sr. Auditor incentive exam?

No. Both are held at the same hour, but the audit offices take "Finance, Accounts and Audit" and the A&E offices take "Finance & Government Accounts". Only the Constitution overlaps, and even the article ranges differ.