Best Chartered Accountancy (CA) Colleges | Careers, Scope & Job Opportuinites
Chartered Accountancy is perhaps one of the most respected and well-paying jobs in India. With the Institute of Chartered Accountancy of India (ICAI) being nearly universally recognized, Indian Chartered Accountants fare well across the globe. Chartered Accountants handle a company’s financial reports in order to tabulate their spending and ensure proper flow of finances.
This includes recording assets, liabilities, profit and liability, taxation and any other financial activity. This can enable companies to maximize profits as they will know how money is being spent within an organization and can thus optimize production and revenue.
In larger organizations, Chartered Accountants work as a team to tabulate finances and also to handle taxes. Small to medium organizations may hire Chartered Accountancy firms to handle their finances.
Additional to assessing and recording internal finances, Chartered Accountants also prepare reports for external bodies. One of the most important tasks to be completed by a Chartered Accountant is to conduct independent audits to abide by the legal requirements as set forth by the Indian government.
Duration:
There are two routes of accomplishing the Chartered Accountancy course and examinations as prescribed by the ICAI. The duration for this course varies depending on the route.
- For candidates who opt for entry into this course after completing 10+2, this course spans over 13 months of study, during which a few examinations have to be taken. Upon successful completion of this period, candidates must register for 3 years of articleship with a member of the ICAI. During these 3 years, candidates must also periodically take examinations. At the end of this period, candidates must give the final examination after which one can register as a Chartered Accountant at the ICAI.
- For candidates who have completed an undergraduate or postgraduate course, there is a 1-month period of study after which there is a 3-year period of article-ship that follows the same pattern as above.
Specializations:
Chartered Accountancy does not follow the same pattern as a standard undergraduate course. As the majority of the course is based on articleship, i.e. practical work, there is no scope for specialization during this stage.
However, once a candidate has completed their articleship, passed the final examination and registered as a member of the ICAI, members can undergo specialized certificate courses offered by the ICAI. These are similar to a postgraduate diploma, some of the courses offered by the ICAI for members are mentioned below:
- Certificate Course on GST
- Certificate Course on ADR (Arbitration, Mediation & Conciliation)
- Certificate Course on Anti Money laundering Laws (Anti- Money Laundering Specialist)
- Certificate Course on Cooperatives
- Certificate Course on Not-for-Profit Organizations (NPOs)
- Certificate Course on Wealth Management and Financial Planning
- Certificate Course on Enterprise Risk Management
- Certificate Course on Concurrent Audit of Banks
- Certificate Course on Internal Audit
- Certificate Course on Master in Business Finance
- Certificate Course on International Taxation
- Certificate Course on Forensic Accounting and Fraud Detection
- Certificate Course on Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS)
- Certificate Course on Forex and Treasury Management
- Certificate Course on Derivatives
- Certificate Course on Valuation
Post Qualification Courses
- Information Systems Audit (ISA)
- Post Qualification Diploma in International Taxation
- Diploma in Insurance and Risk Management (DIRM)
- Management Accountancy Course (MAC)/ Corporate Management Course (CMC)/ Tax Management Course (TMC)
- International Trade Laws & World Trade Organization (ITL & WTO)
General Eligibility Criteria:
As mentioned above, there are two routes of entry into the Chartered Accountancy course as prescribed by ICAI. The eligibility criteria for these vary.
- Candidates who opt to pursue this course after higher secondary must complete 10+2 from any recognized state, national or international board. There is no percentage requirement, however, candidates must have passed their boards as per the norms of the particular board that they have appeared for. Candidates who have satisfied this requirement may apply for Common Proficiency Test (replaced by CA Foundation Examination as of 2019).
- Candidates who opt to pursue this course after completing an undergraduate or postgraduate course must have secured minimum 55% for students coming from commerce field and 60% for students from other streams in aggregate in order to be eligible. Candidates who have satisfied above requirements are exempt from CPT/CA foundation examination and may apply directly for Intermediate Professional Competence Course.
Admission Procedures:
The admission procedure for Chartered Accountancy Course varies depending on the route of entry. For Higher Secondary Graduates, the procedure is as follows:
- Register online for CPT/CA foundation Examination 5 months ahead of the examination (deadlines are updated on the ICAI website). Candidates are required to show proof of eligibility.
- Complete four months of the study period and appear for the examination in November/May as per chosen session
- Candidates who have passed this examination can go on to the next stage of CA course which is the Intermediate Course.
For Undergraduate or Postgraduate candidates who have satisfied the eligibility criteria, the procedure is as follows:
- Enroll online with ICAI for the Intermediate course directly. Candidates are required to show proof of eligibility.
- Complete four weeks of Integrated Course on Information Technology and Soft skills (ICITSS) training
- Appear for Intermediate examination after completing 9 months of articleship.
- Once they have cleared at least one group of examinations, they can continue with their articleship, however, they must clear all groups before appearing for final CA examination at the end of 3 years of articleship.
Top Institutes that offer Chartered Accountancy courses in India:
Chartered Accountancy in India is regulated by the ICAI, as such, there is no formal university or college that offers this course due to the pattern in which this course must be completed.
Candidates can appear for the CPT/CA Foundation examination and the IPCC by engaging in an independent study using offline and online course material or they can opt for coaching classes to train for these examinations. Once they have successfully passed these examinations they must find a CA firm with a vacancy for articleship. Without a doubt, the big four accounting firms are the best place to complete this phase of the course.
Completing articleship in any of the below-mentioned companies is considered highly favorable by recruiters. Additional to the reputation, these firm also offers a generous stipend to trainees in their articleship.
- Deloitte
- PwC (Pricewaterhouse Coopers)
- EY (Ernst & Young)
- KPMG (Klynveld Main Goerdeler)
A few other Indian firms for articleship are mentioned below:
- BDO International (Binder Dijker Otte)
- Vasudeva & Co.
- Desai Haribhakti
- Grant Thornton International
- Luthra & Luthra
- RSM International
- SR Dinodia & Co. LLP
- SS Kothari
Scope:
The number of ICAI registered Chartered Accountants in India, as compared to the total population is actually very less. Therefore, there is a huge demand for Chartered Accountants in India. Currently, in India, Chartered Accountants can find employment in one of the following fields:
- Banks
- Auditing Firms
- Finance Companies
- Mutual Funds
- Portfolio Management Companies
- Investment Houses
- Stock Broking Firms
- Legal firms
- Legal house
- Patent Firms
- Attorneys
- Trade Mark
- Copyright Registers
Career Opportunities:
Upon completing the Chartered Accountancy Course, obviously one will work as a Chartered Accountant. Within this field, there are two pathways one can take:
- Corporate CA: Chartered Accountants working for big corporations deal with Finance Accounting and Taxation, Actuarial Valuations or Investment Banking.
- Private CA: Chartered Accountants working for accountancy firms or those in private practice work with Audit and Taxation or Indirect Taxation.
- Additional to this, Chartered Accountants can also work in consultancy, finance advisory etc.
Salary:
Chartered Accountancy is known for being a high paying field. Just at the fresher level, CA can expect to earn at least 3-6 lakh per annum. Recently, ICAI has placed fresher in Singapore at a record pay of Rs 24.64 lakh per annum.
With experience, this pay increases exponentially with a national average of Rs 6.9 to 7.2 lakh. Candidates can easily earn Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 per month with this amount going in lakhs with just 5-10 years of experience. CA who have completed articleship in reputed companies can expect higher pay package.
Recruiting Companies:
There is high demand for ICAI registered Chartered Accountants in the Indian job market as there is a lack of Chartered Accountants compared to the scale of companies in India. Currently, the following companies are recruiting CA in India.
- Marico
- HUL
- P&G
- TCS
- Wipro
- Infosys
- E&Y
- PWC
- Deloitte
- KPMG
Chartered Accountancy is famously challenging but if one manages to complete this course, one can expect a highly respectable career that will stand the test of time.
