Level II FSA item sets

    Intercorporate investments, pensions, multinationals and reporting quality.

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    10–15%
    of the exam
    2–3
    FSA sets on exam day
    12 min
    per item set of 4 questions
    45%
    passed Level II in Aug 2026

    What gets tested

    Expect two companies, a set of disclosures and numbers that change depending on the method.

    • Intercorporate investments

      Equity method and acquisition-method consolidation, and their effect on ratios.

    • Pensions and share-based pay

      Read defined benefit and stock compensation disclosures and adjust the numbers.

    • Multinationals and quality

      Foreign currency translation, financial institutions and the quality of reported results.

    Where candidates lose points

    Applying IFRS when the case is under US GAAP, or the reverse, and pulling a figure from the wrong year or the wrong company in a multi-column exhibit.

    How it differs from Level I

    Level I builds the three statements. Level II asks what a specific accounting method did to them and how an analyst should adjust.

    Level I Financial Statement Analysis practice questions

    Try one

    A real Level II question is part of a longer case. Here's a short slice of one.

    A company pays €48.0 million in cash for 30% of a private software firm and accounts for it with the equity method.

    Cash paid for 30%€48.0m
    Book value of net assets (100%)€120.0m
    Fair value excess, software (100%)€20.0m

    The goodwill included in the carrying amount of the investment is closest to:

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    Free Financial Statement Analysis item set

    An original case written by CFAQuiz on an investment in an associate under IFRS: goodwill, share of profit, the carrying amount and the effect on margins.

    TOPIC: FINANCIAL STATEMENT ANALYSIS

    Halvorsen Industrial

    0/4Exam pace 12:00

    Ingrid Solberg is an equity analyst at Nordlys Capital, an Oslo-based investment manager that runs concentrated portfolios of Nordic industrial companies. Solberg covers Halvorsen Industrial, a listed manufacturer of hydraulic systems for offshore vessels. Halvorsen Industrial prepares its financial statements under IFRS and reports in euros. Its financial year ends on 31 December.

    On 1 January 2026, Halvorsen Industrial paid €48.0 million in cash for 30% of the ordinary shares of Brekke Marine, a privately held designer of winch-control software. Before the transaction, Halvorsen Industrial held no shares in Brekke Marine. The remaining 70% of Brekke Marine is owned by its two founders, who continue to run the company day to day. Under the shareholder agreement, Halvorsen Industrial appoints two of the seven members of the Brekke Marine board and has the right to be consulted on the annual budget, but it cannot direct Brekke Marine's operating or financing decisions on its own. Halvorsen Industrial's management has concluded that it has significant influence but not control or joint control, and it accounts for the investment as an associate using the equity method.

    At the acquisition date, the book value of Brekke Marine's identifiable net assets was €120.0 million. A valuation commissioned by Halvorsen Industrial found that the fair value of Brekke Marine's capitalised software exceeded its book value by €20.0 million. The software has a remaining useful life of ten years and is amortised on a straight-line basis with no residual value. The fair values of all other identifiable assets and liabilities were equal to their book values. Any excess of the purchase price over Halvorsen Industrial's share of the fair value of identifiable net assets is treated as goodwill, which is not amortised. Solberg confirms from the notes that no impairment of the investment was recognised in 2026.

    Exhibit 1 summarises the acquisition, and Exhibit 2 shows Brekke Marine's results for 2026. Brekke Marine paid its only dividend of the year in December 2026. There were no transactions between the two companies other than the share purchase and the dividend, so no adjustment for unrealised profits is needed.

    Solberg is building a model of Halvorsen Industrial's 2026 results. Her first step is to reconstruct the amounts that the company should report for the associate, so that she can check them against the published accounts. She plans to show the share of profit of the associate as a separate line in her income statement model, below operating profit, as Halvorsen Industrial does in its own presentation.

    Solberg's colleague, Mats Eide, manages a portfolio that already owns Halvorsen Industrial shares. Eide has heard that Halvorsen Industrial may buy the founders' remaining shares within two years, which would give it control of Brekke Marine. He asks Solberg how Halvorsen Industrial's reported ratios would change if it already controlled Brekke Marine and consolidated it, rather than reporting Brekke Marine as an associate. To keep the comparison simple, Solberg agrees to assume that net income attributable to Halvorsen Industrial's shareholders would be the same under both approaches and that the only difference is the method of presentation. Exhibit 3 shows Halvorsen Industrial's 2026 revenue and its net income before the share of profit of the associate.

    Eide also asks whether the dividend Brekke Marine paid in December will increase Halvorsen Industrial's reported profit for 2026. Solberg says she will answer once she has finished reconstructing the investment account, because the answer depends on how the equity method treats distributions from an associate.

    Solberg notes that Halvorsen Industrial's investor presentation describes the Brekke Marine stake as giving the group a footprint in software, which management expects to support margins over time. She intends to test that claim separately once she has the reported figures right.

    Exhibit 1: Acquisition of 30% of Brekke Marine, 1 January 2026 (€ millions)
    ItemAmount
    Cash paid for 30% interest48.0
    Book value of Brekke Marine identifiable net assets (100%)120.0
    Fair value in excess of book value: capitalised software (100%)20.0
    Remaining useful life of software (years)10
    Exhibit 2: Brekke Marine, selected 2026 results (€ millions)
    Item2026
    Revenue150.0
    Net income18.0
    Dividends paid (December 2026)6.0
    Exhibit 3: Halvorsen Industrial, selected 2026 results (€ millions)
    Item2026
    Revenue640.0
    Net income before share of profit of associate41.2

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    How it works

    Three steps, on the real exam timing.

    1. Read the case

      A vignette and exhibits, like the exam.

    2. Answer against the clock

      Four questions, about 12 minutes a set.

    3. Review what you missed

      Every option explained, with the mistake behind each wrong answer.

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    Financial Statement Analysis questions

    How much of the CFA Level II exam is Financial Statement Analysis?

    CFA Institute gives Financial Statement Analysis a weight of 10-15% of the Level II exam. That is about 2-3 of the 22 item sets.

    Are these real CFA Level II questions?

    No. CFA Institute does not release past exams. CFAQuiz item sets are original and mapped to the 2026 Level II learning outcome statements.

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