APPSC FAO/TO & STO Syllabus 2026 - Check Exam Pattern

The Arunachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC) has notified the syllabus for direct recruitment to the posts of Finance and Accounts Officer/Treasury Officer (FAO/TO) and Sub-Treasury Officer (STO) vide Notification No. PSC-R/10/2026 dated 16th July 2026. Candidates preparing for this recruitment must go through the syllabus and exam pattern together, since the written test includes a compulsory Commercial Mathematics paper along with one optional subject chosen by the candidate. This article covers the complete APPSC FAO/TO and STO Syllabus 2026, subject-wise topics, and the official PDF download link.

APPSC FAO/TO and STO Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026 - Overview

APPSC FAO/TO and STO Exam Pattern 2026

Commercial Mathematics Paper (Recruitment Test)

Optional Subject Papers

APPSC FAO/TO and STO Syllabus 2026

Below is the complete subject-wise APPSC FAO/TO and STO syllabus as notified in Annexure-I to Annexure-V of the official notification.

1. Commercial Mathematics (Annexure-I - Recruitment Test, 200 Marks)

• Percentage: Conversion between fraction, decimal, percentage; Percentage increase and decrease; Comparison of percentages; Successive percentage change; Relationship between quantities using percentage
• Profit, Loss and Discount: Cost Price (CP), Selling Price (SP); Profit and Loss percentage; Marked Price (MP); Trade discount; Successive discount; Profit or loss after discounts; Equal profit and loss situations
• Simple Interest (SI): Principal, Rate, Time relationship; Finding rate, time, principal; Interest over different periods; Multiple loans at different rates
• Compound Interest (CI): Compound Interest; Annual compounding; Half-yearly/Quarterly compounding; Difference between SI and CI; Compound Interest for fractional periods
• Banker’s Discount and Bills of Exchange: Bill of exchange; True Discount; Banker’s Discount; Banker’s Gain; Present worth of a bill; Time of bill
• Partnership and Division of Money: Investment sharing; Profit distribution; Division of sum with equal interest conditions; Loans at different rates
• Ratio and Proportion: Ratio formation; Ratio from percentage difference; Comparison between numbers; Proportion relationships; Direct/Indirect proportions
• Time and Interest Applications: Time value of money; Settling accounts; Present value calculations; Interest for fractional time periods
• Probability: Probability formula; Coin toss probability; Simple problems on Event outcome
• Linear Equations/Algebraic Word Problems: Forming equations from statements; Solving single variable equations, Quadratic Equations; Percentage equations
• Time and Work: Arithmetic Mean, problems on Average Speed, Average Age, etc.; Work rate problems; Efficiency comparison; Work-Wages problems
• Basic Statistics: Mean; Median; Mode

2. Optional Paper - Commerce (Annexure-II)

(A) Paper I - Accounting and Finance Accounting, Taxation & Auditing

• Financial Accounting: Accounting as a financial information system; impact of behavioural sciences; Accounting Standards for Depreciation, Inventories, Research and Development Costs, Long-term Construction Contracts, Revenue Recognition, Fixed Assets, Contingencies, Foreign Exchange Transactions, Investments and Government Grants, Cash Flow Statement; Accounting for Share Capital Transactions including Bonus Shares, Right Shares; Employees Stock Option and Buy-Back of Securities; Preparation and Presentation of Company Final Accounts; Amalgamations, Absorption and Reconstruction of Companies

• Cost Accounting: Nature and functions of cost accounting; Installation of Cost Accounting System; Cost Concepts related to Income Measurement, Profit Planning, Cost Control and Decision Making; Methods of Costing - Job Costing, Contract Costing, Process Costing, Activity Based Costing; Volume-cost-Profit Relationship; Incremental Analysis/Differential Costing; Techniques of Cost Control and Cost Reduction - Budgeting, Standard Costing and Variance Analysis; Responsibility Accounting and Divisional Performance Measurement
• Taxation: Income Tax - basis of charge; incomes not forming part of total income; computation of total income and tax liability (individuals only) under Salaries, Income from House Property, Profits and Gains from Business or Profession, Capital Gains, Income from other sources, Income of other Persons included in Assessee’s Total Income; Set-off and Carry forward of Loss; Deductions from Gross Total Income; salient features/provisions related to VAT and Goods and Services Tax
• Auditing: Internal check and control; Company Audit - audit related to Divisible Profits, Dividends, Special investigations, Tax audit; Audit of Banking, Insurance, Non-Profit Organization and Charitable Societies/Trusts/Organizations

(B) Paper I - Financial Management, Financial Institutions and Markets

• Financial Management: Finance function - nature, scope and objectives; risk and return relationship; tools of financial analysis - ratio analysis, funds-flow and cash-flow statement; capital budgeting decisions - process, procedures and appraisal methods, risk and uncertainty analysis; cost of capital - concept, computation of specific costs and weighted average cost of capital, CAPM; financing decisions - theories of capital structure (NI approach, NOI approach, MM approach, Traditional approach); designing of capital structure - types of leverages, EBIT-EPS analysis; dividend decisions and valuation of firm - Walter’s Model, MM Thesis, Gordon’s Model, Lintner’s Model; factors affecting dividend policy; working capital management - planning, determinants and components of working capital (cash, inventory and receivables)

• Financial Markets and Institutions: Indian Financial System - an overview; Money Markets - participants, structure and instruments, commercial banks, reforms in banking sector, monetary and credit policy of RBI, RBI as a regulator; Capital Market - primary and secondary market, financial market instruments and innovative debt instruments, SEBI as a regulator; Financial Services - mutual funds, venture capital, credit rating agencies, SEBI, insurance and IRDA

(C) Paper II - Organisation Theory and Behaviour, Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations

• Organisation Theory: Nature and concept of organisation; external environment - technological, social, political, economical and legal; organisational goals; evolution of organisation theory - classical, neo-classical and system approach; modern concepts - organisational design, structure and culture; designing organisational structures - authority and control, line and staff functions, types of organisation structure (functional, matrix, project); sources and structure of power; impact of information technology on organisational design and structure

• Organisation Behaviour: Meaning and concept; individual in organisation - personality, theories and determinants; perception; motivation - concepts, theories and applications; leadership - theories and styles; Quality of Work Life (QWL); Quality Circles (QC); management of conflicts in organisations; transactional analysis; organisational effectiveness; management of change
• Human Resources Management (HRM): Meaning, nature and scope; human resource planning; job analysis, job description, job specification; recruitment and selection process; orientation and placement; training and development; performance appraisal and 360° feedback; salary and wage administration; job evaluation; employee welfare; promotions, transfers and separations
• Industrial Relations (IR): Meaning, nature, importance and scope; formation of trade unions; trade union legislation; trade union movement in India; recognition of trade unions and their problems; impact of liberalization on trade union movement; nature of industrial disputes - strikes and lockouts, causes, prevention and settlement; worker’s participation in management; adjudication, reconciliation and collective bargaining; industrial relations in public enterprises; absenteeism and labour turnover; ILO and its functions

3. Optional Paper - Economics (Annexure-III)

(A) Paper I

• Advanced Micro-Economics: Marshallian and Walrasian approaches to price determination; alternative distribution theories (Ricardo, Kaldor, Kaleeki); market structure - monopolistic competition, duopoly, oligopoly; modern welfare criteria - Pareto, Hicks and Scitovsky; Arrow’s Impossibility Theorem; A. K. Sen’s Social Welfare Function

• Advanced Macro-Economics: Approaches to employment, income and interest rate determination - Classical, Keynes’ (IS-LM) curve, neo-classical synthesis and new classical; theories of interest rate determination and interest rate structure
• Money-Banking and Finance: Demand for and supply of money - money multiplier, quantity theory of money (Fisher, Pigou and Friedman), Keynes’s theory on demand for money; goals and instruments of monetary management in closed and open economies; relation between the Central Bank and the Treasury; proposal for ceiling on growth rate of money; public finance and its role in market economy - stabilisation, allocation and distribution; sources of government revenue, forms of taxes and subsidies; limits to taxation, loans and borrowing; public expenditure and its effects
• International Economics: Old and new theories of international trade - comparative advantage, terms of trade and offer curve, product cycle and strategic trade theories, trade as an engine of growth; empirical models - gravity model of trade, outsourcing, time zone differences, inter-industry trade (Lloyd-Grubel Index); forms of protection - tariff and quota; balance of payments adjustment - price versus income adjustments, theories of policy mix, exchange rate adjustments under capital mobility, floating rates, trade policy and developing countries, BOP adjustments and policy coordination, speculative attacks, trade blocks and monetary unions, WTO (TRIMS, TRIPS, rounds of talks)
• Growth and Development: Theories of growth - Harrod’s model, Lewis model of development with surplus labour, balanced-unbalanced growth, human capital and economic growth, R&D and economic growth; process of economic development of less developed countries - Myrdal and Kuznets, role of agriculture; economic development and international trade and investment, role of multinationals; planning and economic development; welfare indicators - Human Development Indices, basic needs approach; development and environmental sustainability - renewable and non-renewable resources, environmental degradation, intergenerational equity

(B) Paper II

• Indian Economy in Post-Independence Era: Land system and its changes; commercialization of agriculture; drain theory; laissez faire theory and its critique; manufacture and transport - jute, cotton, railways, money and credit

• The Pre-Liberalization Era: Contribution of Mahalanobis, Vakil, Gadgil and V.K.R.V. Rao; agriculture - land reforms, land tenure system, Green Revolution and capital formation; industry trends in composition and growth, role of public and private sector, small scale and cottage industries; national and per capita income patterns and trends; broad factors determining national income and distribution, measures of poverty, trends in poverty and inequality
• The Post-Liberalization Era: New economic reform and agriculture - agriculture and WTO, food processing, subsidies, agricultural prices and public distribution system; new economic policy and industry - industrialization strategy, privatization, disinvestments, role of FDI and multinationals; new economic policy and trade - IPR implications of TRIPS, TRIMS, GATS and new EXIM policy; new exchange rate regime - partial and full convertibility, capital account convertibility; new economic policy and public finance - FRBM Act, Twelfth Finance Commission, fiscal federalism and fiscal consolidation; new economic policy and monetary system, role of RBI under the new regime; planning - from central planning to indicative planning, 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments; new economic policy and employment - employment and poverty, rural wages, employment generation, poverty alleviation schemes, New Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

4. Optional Paper - Mathematics (Annexure-IV)

(A) Paper I

• Linear Algebra: Vector spaces over R and C, linear dependence and independence, subspaces, bases, dimensions; linear transformations, rank and nullity, matrix of a linear transformation; algebra of matrices, row and column reduction, echelon form, congruence and similarity, rank of a matrix, inverse of a matrix, solution of system of linear equations, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, characteristic polynomial, Cayley-Hamilton theorem; symmetric, skew-symmetric, Hermitian, skew-Hermitian, orthogonal and unitary matrices and their eigenvalues
• Calculus: Real numbers, functions of a real variable, limits, continuity, differentiability, mean-value theorem, Taylor’s theorem with remainders, indeterminate forms, maxima and minima, asymptotes, curve tracing; functions of two or three variables - limits, continuity, partial derivatives, maxima and minima, Lagrange’s method of multipliers, Jacobian; Riemann’s definition of definite integrals, indefinite integrals, infinite and improper integrals, double and triple integrals (evaluation techniques only), areas, surface and volumes
• Analytic Geometry: Cartesian and polar coordinates in three dimensions; second degree equations in three variables, reduction to canonical forms; straight lines, shortest distance between two skew lines; plane, sphere, cone, cylinder, paraboloid, ellipsoid, hyperboloid of one and two sheets and their properties
• Ordinary Differential Equations: Formulation of differential equations; equations of first order and first degree, integrating factor; orthogonal trajectory; equations of first order but not of first degree, Clairaut’s equation, singular solution; second and higher order linear equations with constant coefficients, complementary function, particular integral and general solution; second order linear equations with variable coefficients, Euler-Cauchy equation; complete solution when one solution is known using variation of parameters; Laplace and Inverse Laplace transforms and their properties; application to initial value problems for 2nd order linear equations with constant coefficients
• Dynamics and Statics: Rectilinear motion, simple harmonic motion, motion in a plane, projectiles; constrained motion; work and energy, conservation of energy; Kepler’s laws, orbits under central forces; equilibrium of a system of particles; work and potential energy, friction, common catenary; principle of virtual work; stability of equilibrium, equilibrium of forces in three dimensions
• Vector Analysis: Scalar and vector fields, differentiation of vector field of a scalar variable; gradient, divergence and curl in Cartesian and cylindrical coordinates; higher order derivatives; vector identities and vector equations; application to geometry - curves in space, curvature and torsion, Serret-Frenet’s formulae; Gauss and Stokes’ theorems, Green’s identities

(B) Paper II

• Algebra: Groups, subgroups, cyclic groups, cosets, Lagrange’s Theorem, normal subgroups, quotient groups, homomorphism of groups, basic isomorphism theorems, permutation groups, Cayley’s theorem; rings, subrings and ideals, homomorphisms of rings; integral domains, principal ideal domains, Euclidean domains and unique factorization domains; fields, quotient fields
• Real Analysis: Real number system as an ordered field with least upper bound property; sequences, limit of a sequence, Cauchy sequence, completeness of real line; series and its convergence, absolute and conditional convergence, rearrangement of series; continuity and uniform continuity of functions, properties of continuous functions on compact sets; Riemann integral, improper integrals, fundamental theorems of integral calculus; partial derivatives of functions of several (two or three) variables, maxima and minima
• Complex Analysis: Analytic function, Cauchy-Riemann equations, Cauchy’s theorem, Cauchy’s integral formula, power series, representation of an analytic function, Taylor’s series; singularities, Laurent’s series, Cauchy’s residue theorem, contour integration
• Linear Programming: Linear programming problems, basic solution, basic feasible solution and optimal solution; graphical method and simplex method of solutions; duality
• Partial Differential Equations: Family of surfaces in three dimensions and formulation of partial differential equations; solution of quasilinear partial differential equations of the first order, Cauchy’s method of characteristics; linear partial differential equations of the second order with constant coefficients, canonical form; equation of a vibrating string, heat equation, Laplace equation and their solutions
• Numerical Analysis and Computer Programming: Numerical methods - solution of algebraic and transcendental equations by bisection, Regula-Falsi and Newton-Raphson methods; solution of system of linear equations by Gaussian Elimination, Gauss-Jorden (direct) and Gauss-Seidel (iterative) methods; Newton’s (forward and backward) and Lagrange’s interpolation; numerical integration - Trapezoidal rule, Simpson’s rule, Gaussian quadrature formula; numerical solution of ordinary differential equations - Euler and Runge Kutta methods; computer programming - binary system, arithmetic and logical operations, octal and hexadecimal systems, conversion to and from decimal systems, algebra of binary numbers; elements of computer systems and concept of memory, basic logic gates and truth tables, Boolean algebra, normal forms; representation of unsigned integers, signed integers and reals, double precision reals and long integers; algorithms and flow charts for solving numerical analysis problems
• Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics: Generalised coordinates; D’Alembert’s principle and Lagrange’s equations; Hamilton equations; moment of inertia; motion of rigid bodies in two dimensions; equation of continuity; Euler’s equation of motion for inviscid flow; stream-lines, path of a particle; potential flow; two-dimensional and axisymmetric motion; sources and sinks, vortex motion; Navier-Stokes equation for a viscous fluid

5. Optional Paper - Statistics (Annexure-V)

(A) Paper I

• Probability: Sample space and events, probability measure and probability space, random variable as a measurable function, distribution function, discrete and continuous-type random variable, probability mass function, probability density function, vector-valued random variable, marginal and conditional distributions, stochastic independence; expectation and moments, conditional expectation; convergence of a sequence of random variables (in distribution, in probability, in mean, almost everywhere), their criteria and inter-relations; Chebyshev’s inequality, Khintchine’s weak law of large numbers, strong law of large numbers, Kolmogoroff’s theorems; probability generating function, moment generating function, characteristic function, inversion theorem; Lindeberg and Levy forms of central limit theorem; standard discrete and continuous probability distributions
• Statistical Inference: Consistency, unbiasedness, efficiency, sufficiency, completeness, ancillary statistics, factorization theorem, exponential family of distributions; UMVU estimation, Rao-Blackwell and Lehmann-Scheffe theorems, Cramer-Rao inequality for single parameter; estimation by methods of moments, maximum likelihood, least squares, minimum chi-square and modified minimum chi-square; properties of ML and other estimators, asymptotic efficiency; prior and posterior distributions, loss function, risk function, minimax and Bayes estimators; non-randomised and randomised tests, critical function, MP tests, Neyman-Pearson lemma, UMP tests, monotone likelihood ratio, similar and unbiased tests, UMPU tests for single parameter, likelihood ratio test and its asymptotic distribution, confidence bounds and their relation with tests; Kolmogorov’s test for goodness of fit, sign test, Wilcoxon signed-ranks test, Kolmogorov-Smirnov two sample test, run test, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test and median test; Wald’s SPRT and its properties, OC and ASN functions for Bernoulli, Poisson, normal and exponential distributions, Wald’s fundamental identity
• Linear Inference and Multivariate Analysis: Linear statistical models, theory of least squares and analysis of variance, Gauss-Markoff theory, normal equations, least squares estimates and their precision, tests of significance and interval estimates in one-way, two-way and three-way classified data; regression analysis, linear regression, curvilinear regression and orthogonal polynomials, multiple regression, multiple and partial correlations; estimation of variance and covariance components; multivariate normal distribution, Mahalanobis D² and Hotelling’s T² statistics
• Sampling Theory and Design of Experiments: Fixed-population and super-population approaches, finite population sampling, probability sampling designs, simple random sampling with and without replacement, stratified random sampling, systematic sampling, cluster sampling, two-stage and multi-stage sampling, ratio and regression methods of estimation, two-phase sampling; fixed effects, random and mixed effects models; CRD, RBD, LSD and their analyses; incomplete block designs, orthogonality and balance, BIBD, missing plot technique; factorial experiments 2&sup4; and 3², confounding, split-plot and simple lattice designs, transformation of data, Duncan’s multiple range test

(B) Paper II

• Industrial Statistics: Process and product control, general theory of control charts - X, R, s, p, np and c charts, cumulative sum chart; single, double, multiple and sequential sampling plans for attributes, OC, ASN, AOQ and ATI curves, producer’s and consumer’s risks, AQL, LTPD and AOQL, sampling plans for variables, use of Dodge-Romin tables; concept of reliability, failure rate and reliability functions, reliability of series and parallel systems, renewal density and renewal function, failure models - exponential, Weibull, normal, lognormal; problems in life testing, censored and truncated experiments for exponential models
• Optimization Techniques: Different types of models in Operations Research, simulation and Monte-Carlo methods, formulation of Linear Programming (LP) problem, simplex procedure, two-phase method and M-technique with artificial variables, duality theory of LP and its economic interpretation, sensitivity analysis, transportation and assignment problems, rectangular games, two-person zero-sum games; replacement of failing or deteriorating items, group and individual replacement policies, scientific inventory management, deterministic and stochastic demand models, storage models (dam type); homogeneous discrete-time and continuous-time Markov chains, transition probability matrix, classification of states, ergodic theorems, Poisson process, elements of queuing theory (M/M/1, M/M/K, G/M/1, M/G/1); solution of statistical problems on computers using software packages like SPSS
• Quantitative Economics and Official Statistics: Determination of trend, seasonal and cyclical components, Box-Jenkins method, tests for stationary series, ARIMA models, forecasting; commonly used index numbers - Laspeyre’s, Paasche’s and Fisher’s ideal index numbers, chain-base index number, uses and limitations of index numbers, index number of wholesale prices, consumer price, agricultural and industrial production, tests for index numbers (proportionality, time-reversal, factor-reversal, circular); general linear model, OLS and GLS methods of estimation, multicollinearity, autocorrelation and heteroscedasticity, test for independence of disturbances, simultaneous equations, problem of identification (rank and order conditions), two-stage least square method
• Demography and Psychometry: Demographic data from census, registration, NSS and other surveys, their limitations and uses; construction and uses of vital rates and ratios, measures of fertility, reproduction rates, morbidity rate, standardized death rate; complete and abridged life tables, construction and uses of life tables; logistic and other population growth curves, population projection, stable and quasi-stable population, estimation of demographic parameters; standard classification by cause of death, health surveys and use of hospital statistics; methods of standardisation of scales and tests, Z-scores, standard scores, T-scores, percentile scores, intelligence quotient and its measurement and uses, validity and reliability of test scores, methods of factor analysis and path analysis in psychometry

How to Prepare for APPSC FAO/TO and STO Exam 2026

• Start with the Commercial Mathematics syllabus first, since it is compulsory for every candidate regardless of the optional subject chosen - build speed on Percentage, SI/CI, Profit-Loss and Time-Work problems, as these topic areas cover the bulk of the 200-mark paper.
• Pick your optional subject (Commerce, Economics, Mathematics or Statistics) based on your academic background, since each has two full papers with postgraduate-level depth.
• Make a topic-wise timetable that maps each Annexure to weekly targets, rather than studying subjects randomly.
• Practice previous APPSC question papers and other state PSC finance-related papers to get familiar with the question style, since official past papers for this specific post are not yet available.
• Revise standard reference textbooks for your chosen optional subject at the postgraduate level, since the syllabus (e.g., Statistical Inference, Complex Analysis, Financial Management) matches university-level depth.
• Keep a separate revision file for formulas (Commercial Mathematics) and theorems (Mathematics/Statistics optional), and revise it in the last month before the exam.

Important Links

• APPSC Syllabus 2026 : Click Here
• official Website: appsc.gov.in