Are you the one who aspires to become a CA? Are you searching for someone to assist you foresee the whole CA journey? Then you’ve landed on the right page as we are here with the four-step journey to become a CA professional and for you to conclude – Is this the right profession for which you’re a perfect candidate to finish this course successfully.

An accountant is a worldwide designation which is employed for those professional accountants who are authorised to hold on an array of accountancy related tasks like financial advising, financial statements auditing, tax returns filing and so on. The four areas where accountant professionals can serve include financial accounting and reporting, applied finance, taxation, and management accounting.

Chartered Accountant Course

For proper understanding let’s follow the step by step procedure towards this program. With effect from September 2017, ICAI has revised the format of CA course. They have introduced a Foundation course against CPT, Intermediate course against IPCC and new final course against the old final course. The entire CA course duration is around 4.5 years, if a student clears every exam in the first attempt.

Steps to Become A Chartered Accountant

One can start his journey to become a certified chartered accountant just after passing 10th or 12th or even after graduation. The eligibility for the same is:

• Qualification in Senior Secondary Examination (10+2) and Entrance test for CA.
• Graduation or Post-graduation in commerce with an aggregate of 55% by appearing for three papers- Auditing, Accounting, Mercantile Laws etc.
• Graduation in another stream with an aggregate of 60% or more.

Four Steps To become CA in India:

Step 1. Registration for CA Foundation Course

Eligibility – You need to clear your 12th standard in any stream (arts, science, commerce) with a minimum of 33% of marks.

Foundation Registration – CA Foundation registration process includes filling up basic details online at ICAI official website and attaining a registration number, user id, and password.

Study Period and Exam Form – You have a study period for 4 months after your registration to appear for your exams. You have to fill the CA Foundation exam form to get the CA Foundation admit card so as to enter the examination centre.

Foundation Exams – They are held twice a year in the month of May and November and for this exam, you have to register in the month of December and June respectively.

Fees – You have to pay a total fee of Rs 11300 which include registration fees, examination fees, online form fee and journal for member and students.

Paper’s Pattern – There are four subjects related to basic accounting and auditing principles of 100 marks each. Where 2 papers are subjective types and the other 2 are objective type paper.

CA Foundation subjects which are as follows:

Paper 1: Principle and Practice of Accounting

Paper 2: Business Laws and Business Correspondence and Reporting

Paper 3: Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning & Statistics

Paper 4: Business Economics and Business and Commercial Knowledge

Result – The CA Foundation result 2020 is declared in the month of January & July.

Validity – This course is valid for 3 years and you can have 6 attempts under your registration once your registration expires you can re-evaluate it again with nominal fees.

Passing Marks – There are four subjects related to basic accounting and auditing principles of 100 marks each. You are eligible for intermediate level when you clear the CA foundation exams with 40 % mark in each subject or 50% aggregate.

Step 2. Registration for The Intermediate Course 2020

You can register in the CA intermediate course under two-approach:

1. How to become a Chartered Accountant after 12th?

Foundation route where you clear your foundation exams

2. How to Become a Chartered Accountant after Graduation?

Direct entry route where you clear your graduation and post-graduation and directly enter to intermediate level, skipping the first level.

Inter Registration and Exams – Registration for Intermediate is made in the month of March and September for which exams are held in the month of November and May.

Validity – The validity for registration is for 4 years and therefore 8 attempts can be exercised during this validation.

Study Period – There should be a gap of 9 months of study period between your registration and examination.

Exam Form and Admit Card – You register for the Intermediate exam by filling CA Intermediate exam form or Application form online and download the CA Intermediate Admit card 2020.

Exam Pattern – Intermediate Course is broadly divided into two groups. Where group 1 included 4 subjects of 100 marks each and group 2 also include 4 subjects of 100 each.

CA Course Subjects – There are 4 subjects in each group

Group 1

Paper-1: Accounting (100 Marks)
Paper-2: Corporate Laws & Other Laws (100 Marks)

Part I: Company Law (60 Marks)

Part II: Other Laws (40 Marks)

Paper-3: Cost and Management Accounting (100 Marks)
Paper-4: Taxation (100 Marks)

Section A: Income-tax Law (60 Marks)

Section B: Indirect Taxes (40 Marks)

Group 2

Paper-5: Advanced Accounting (100 Marks)
Paper-6: Auditing and Assurance (100 Marks)
Paper-7: Enterprise Information Systems & Strategic Management (100 Marks)

Part I: Enterprise Information System (50 Marks)

Part II: Strategic Management (50 Marks)

Paper-8: Financial Management and Economics for Finance (100)

Part I: Financial Management (60 marks)

Part II: Economics of Finance (40 marks)

Total Fees – The total fees paid during the intermediate course is Rs. 27200 for both groups and Rs. 23200 for a single group (Registration fees is Rs. 11000 for a single group, rest all remains the same) which include registration fees, student activities fees, registration for article assistant, ICITSS fees and examination fees respectively.

Students of intermediate have to undergo ICITSS training for 4 weeks. The training can only be done after clearing one group of both groups, after the completion of training and clearing both the group.

After the completion of training and clearing both groups, you are eligible for CA final level with step 3.

Step 3. Enrolment for Articleship

After completion of an intermediate level, we step down to the final level. The final stage consists of both practical and theoretical exams.

Articleship – You can register for Articleship after completing any one single group of intermediate and can commence the practical training after completing both groups of intermediate. You undergo 3 years of mandatory training or Articleship and start receiving a stipend during Articleship training. In the last 6 month of practical training, you can register for Final level and appear for the exam by filling the CA Final exam form or application form online. After completion of 3 years of Articleship students can register for Assessment tests and take the test in any subsequent quarter of registration.

You undergo 3 years of mandatory training (Articleship) during this time.

Step 4. Registration for CA Final

There is no last date for registering the CA final course but you need to register before you appear for your final exams.

Validity – Final exams are held in May and November. And the validity of the registration is for 5 years.

Total Fees – The total fees paid in CA final is Rs.32300 for both group (22000+3300+7000) which included registration fees, examination fees, and GMCS fees).

Passing Marks – The final course is divided into two groups with 4 subjects in each group. All subjects are for 100 marks and you need to acquire 40% marks in all subjects or 50% marks in aggregate to clear the exams.

Result – The CA Final result is declared within one month of the last date of examination.

The subjects for Final level are:

Paper-1: Financial Reporting

Paper-2: Strategic Financial Management

Paper-3: Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics

Paper-4: Corporate and Economic Laws

Paper-5: Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation

Paper-6A: Risk Management

Paper-6B: Financial Services and Capital Markets

Paper-6C: International Taxation

Paper-6D: Economic Laws

Paper-6E: Global Financial Reporting Standards

Paper-6F: Multidisciplinary Case Study

Paper-7: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation

Paper-8: Indirect Tax Laws

After clearing both the groups and undergoing 3 years of practical training (which includes 4 weeks of AICITSS), you will acquire membership of ICAI family.

Why build a career in Chartered Accountancy?

The simple reason to build a career in chartered accountancy is that it is a very well paid and secured profession. The whole world runs on money and every business needs someone to manage their finances, help in filing taxes and do audits. As a chartered accountant, the opportunities to work are endless. Regardless of the industry, every organisation needs finance management and chartered accountants are the solution.

Scope of Chartered Accountancy

As a chartered accountant, you can work in the following sectors:

• Businesses and industries
• Chartered accountant firms
• Consultancy firms
• Institutions
• Capital market services
• Financial institutions
• Independent practice

Chartered accountants are always in high demand in the sectors mentioned above. You can either work for a business or an organisation or help manage their accounts, finances, taxation or auditing. You can also work independently and offer your services to anybody who seeks it.

Financial institutions are always on the lookout for skilled chartered accountants, which is another opportunity of employment. Working for consultancy firms is another way to utilize your accounting skills. Consultancy firms assign chartered accountants to their various clients to help them with their short or long term financial goals. So, if you wish to work for multiple clients then a consultancy firm might be the right fit for you.

Demand for chartered accountants

According to Times of India, in the April of 2018, there were only 2.82 lakh CAs in India and out of which only 1.25 lakh were in full-time practice. This means only 44% of total CAs were actively working. Given the fact that there are 6.8 crores taxpayers in India and more businesses getting established each year, the demand for CAs is more than ever.

So, this is the perfect time to get on the CA bandwagon and pursue this highly fruitful career. The employment opportunities are immense and they are more likely to grow as more start-ups and businesses are being established.

Pros and cons of a career in chartered accountancy

The path to become a chartered accountant is very clear, there are no confusions. This profession offers a stable job with steady growth and a good pay scale. But on the other hand, you have to stay updated with the ins and outs of finance, which means constant learning and studying is required. Also, there are certain deadlines that need to be met at the end of each financial year and the work may become really stressful.

Like anything, chartered accountancy also has its own pros and cons. So, it is really important to deep-dive and figure out whether this profession fits your personality or not.

Chartered accountant jobs in India

Opportunities for chartered accountants are huge when it comes to vacancies in India. Here is a comprised list of jobs for chartered accountants in India as of September 2019:

Job roles in chartered accountancy

Chartered accountant salaries

The average salary of a chartered accountant in India is Rs 8 Lacs per annum (Approx.). The salary of a chartered accountant like any other profession varies depending upon the years of experience.

(Data source: Ambition Box)

Chartered Accountant Skills

Chartered accountant tools

Chartered accountants, back in the days, relied on manual logs and registers to keep a track of important data and accounts of a business. This has changed since automation and SaaS-based tools. There are multiple software’s out there that allow chartered accountants to maintain accounts and perform all sorts of tasks online.

Here is a comprehensive list of some of the popular accounting tools used worldwide:

• Sage Accounting
• Fresh Books
• QuickBooks Online
• Xero
• CA Office Automation

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