Taxmann Cracker - Strategic Management & Corporate Finance (SMCF) Book for CS Professional (2022 Syllabus) by N.S. Zad, Divya Bajpai

Strategic Management & Corporate Finance – CRACKER is a comprehensive previous-examinations–driven preparation manual for CS Professional – Group 2 | Paper 5, editorially engineered to mirror the ICSI's real examination mechanics rather than its theoretical syllabus outline. The book functions as an exam-decoding instrument, systematically converting historical question papers into a predictive preparation framework for the June and December 2026 examinations. Unlike narrative textbooks that explain concepts in abstraction, this publication is built on actual CS Professional examination questions, arranged topic-wise and chapter-wise, with fully updated, marks-oriented solutions. The core philosophy of the book is that Paper 5 is not tested as a theory subject, but as an applied, integrated, and strategically evaluated paper, where performance depends on issue identification, conceptual precision, structured presentation, and examiner-aligned language. The CRACKER edition is therefore designed not to teach 'what Strategic Management and Corporate Finance are,' but rather to show how ICSI examines them.

The Present Publication is the 4^th Edition, authored by CS NS Zad and CS Divya Bajpai, with the following noteworthy features:

• [Complete Coverage of Previous Exams up to December 2025] Incorporates all relevant CS Professional examination questions, including descriptive, practical, and integrated case-study questions
• [Topic-wise & Chapter-wise Arrangement] Questions are reorganised by syllabus topics—not exam sessions—allowing focused preparation and elimination of redundancy
• [Fully Updated, Examiner-Oriented Solutions] Answers are updated with current strategic frameworks, corporate finance practices, regulatory references, and judicial principles wherever applicable
• [Chapter-wise Marks Distribution Tables] Dedicated analytics section showing actual marks allocation across June/December 2024 and 2025 examinations, enabling data-backed prioritisation
• [Previous Exams Trend Analysis] A granular table mapping question type (descriptive/practical), chapter recurrence, and marks volatility across multiple attempts
• [Chapter-wise Mapping with ICSI Study Material] A precise correlation table aligning each chapter of the book with the corresponding ICSI Study Material chapters, ensuring syllabus certainty

The book is divided into two fully integrated parts, reflecting the actual structure of Paper 5:

• Part I | Strategic Management (Chapters 1–6) – Covers the entire strategic management framework as tested by ICSI, including:
• Strategic management process and levels of strategy
• External and internal environment analysis
• Business policy and formulation of functional strategies
• Strategic analysis, planning, and choice
• Competitive positioning and generic strategies
• Managing multi-business firms and strategic edge
• Each chapter includes repeatedly tested short notes, long descriptive answers, and applied case scenarios, solved in an exam-ready format
• Part II | Corporate Finance (Chapters 7–18) – Provides exhaustive question-based coverage of high-weightage finance areas, including:
• Sources of corporate funding
• Equity fundraising and public issue procedures
• REITs and InvITs
• Private funding and non-fund-based financing
• Debt financing and procedural aspects
• Foreign funding institutions and instruments
• IFSC listing and securities issuance
• Role of intermediaries in fundraising
• Project evaluation and financial decision-making
• The finance section reflects the ICSI's strong tilt towards practical-cum-descriptive questions, with solutions structured to fetch maximum marks

The structure of the book is as follows:

• Analytical Tools, including:
• Chapter-wise marks distribution
• Previous exams trend analysis
• Chapter-wise comparison with ICSI Study Material
• Each chapter follows a Consistent Exam-centric Flow:
• Actual exam questions (multiple attempts consolidated)
• Clearly labelled alternatives ('Or' questions)
• Structured, point-wise answers aligned with the ICSI marking style
• Balanced treatment of theory, application, and case orientation
• Language, depth, and presentation calibrated to CS Professional answer-writing expectations