All About CA

Also, note that paper 6 in group II is an elective paper. You can choose to appear for one paper from among the list of electives as we have indicated.

By the way, an important thing to know is that the elective papers are all open book and case study based. Open book means that you can bring any notes, study material, books and reference material with you when you attempt the exam. And of course, you all know what a case study is!

The CA Final Exam: Requirements for Passing

The requirements for passing the CA Final Exam, is, in essence, similar to the requirements for CA Intermediate!

So, we reproduce what we’ve written in that section here. With one important addition.

The CA Final exam consists of two groups of papers. Group I and Group II.

You can appear for either one or both groups of papers. Appearing for a group means that you’ll have to appear for all papers in that group. Note that you’ll have to pass both groups of papers to move on to the next step.

If you appear for only one group, the minimum requirement to pass the group is that:

1.        you obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper of the group and

2.        you obtain a minimum of 50% marks in the aggregate of all papers of the group taken together.

If you appear for both groups simultaneously, then you clear both groups if:

1.        you meet the minimum requirements to clear a group individually or

2.        you obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper of both the groups, and a minimum of 50% marks in the aggregate of all papers of both groups taken together.

Now, you can appear for the groups as many times as you want. And your next attempt can be made the next time ICAI holds the exam. That is, suppose you’ve failed a group in your May attempt. You can appear for the same group in November! Similarly, if you choose to appear for only one group and pass it, you can appear for the next group the next time ICAI conducts the exam.

You can also get certain exemptions depending on marks obtained from previous attempts.

It works like this.

Suppose you’ve failed a group. But you’ve secured a minimum of 60% marks in one or more papers of that group. Then, you are eligible for exemption in those paper(s) for the next THREE attempts.

That is, on your next attempt(s), you will pass this group if you meet the minimum requirements of passing a group as defined above. However, you’ll not have to appear for this/these paper(s) where you scored a minimum of 60%; the marks obtained will be carry forwarded!

And as we said before, this exemption will last for the next three attempts. Note that you will not be eligible for further exemptions in the remaining paper(s) until you’ve exhausted all exemptions granted.

Here’s the important addition that you were waiting for.

Remember that you had a choice of electives? Well, you can change your elective choice if you so wish!

Confused on how this works?

Don’t be.

It’s simple.

At the time of registration, you’ll choose an elective. Any time after that, you can change your choice. But once you fill in an option in the examination form, you cannot change that option for that exam.

And if you are not able to clear the exam in your chosen elective, you can opt for another one on filling the exam form for the next attempt.

That’s all there’s to it.

The CA Final Exam: General Tips

We are now not going to copy paste from the CA Intermediate section. We suggest you go to that section on general tips and refresh your memory. It’s better that way. You don’t want us to reproduce all that content again here, do you?

Go on. Brush up on it and come back here after you are done.

We’ll wait.

Back?

Good. Let’s continue.

Of course, you must realize that you’ll have to modify some of the tips we outlined to suit the CA Final. But the general thrust of the tips hold even here.

The only thing we want to add is tips about choosing the elective.

When registering for group II, you’ll have to make the choice, correct? We think that you should mull over the choice carefully. Go over each of the topics in all the elective papers in detail. 

Now, depending on your strengths and interests, make that choice. Make sure that you’ve chosen a subject that you already have some strong partial knowledge. And that it is a topic that you are comfortable with.

But, you don’t have to be married to your choice, you see.

If, during your preparation, you realise that you’d be better of choosing some other elective, then you might want to have a rethink. Perhaps during your mock practices, you are starting to realise that you are not all that comfortable with the topic you’ve chosen.

Or perhaps you realise that you know more about another topic. Or perhaps more interested. Whatever the case may be.

In this case, why don’t you try studying for another elective paper and compare your results on a few practice exams?

If you are consistently scoring better on this other elective, then make the choice to switch. Consistently would mean perhaps over 5 practice mocks or something. Pick a sufficiently large number so that you know it’s not luck. And if you conclude with this evidence in front of you that you do, indeed, understand the material better in the other elective paper … well, the choice to switch is easy!

Also, if you fail in several real exam attempts on an elective paper, perhaps it’s time to switch. It’s up to you at this point. We can’t speak for specific cases. Only general ones.

The takeaway is that if you are consistently performing poorly on your elective choice, be it practice exams or even real attempts, then perhaps a switch of electives is on the cards.

Not only that, as we said before, all these electives are open book and case study based. A common mistake that many students make when faced with open book exams is that they tend to take them lightly. Don’t do that. You’ll have to prepare just as hard for these open book exams as you would in any normal paper!

By the way, just as in the case of CA Foundation and CA Intermediate, you know that you can attempt the CA Final Exam many times. There’s no limit to the number of attempts as you have guessed. And you can even attempt the exam even after your Articleship is over. 

But do try to clear the CA Final in as few tries as possible. You’ll save time and money. Also, future employers will look at the number of attempts during the hiring process. So, don’t go in with a chalta hai attitude of, oh if I don’t pass this time, I will pass next time. And ruin your chances that way!

The CA Final Exam: Statistics and Final Thoughts

Now, we come to the exam stats of the CA Final. And the pass percentage is quite less around 15%. So, you will have to quite well prepared in your study.

All About Articleship

Articleship: Introduction

Now, let’s focus on the nature of articleship. As you may recall, practical training or articleship is a requirement that is unique to the Chartered Accountancy Course. The idea behind this training is to make you a well-rounded professional. And to give you an on the job work experience that is so necessary for a good chartered accountant. The training you receive will also instil in you a sense of discipline and teaches you about time management. You’ll also end up inculcating ethical values.

This training runs concurrently with the theoretical exams that form a part of the Chartered Accountancy Course. And, as always, you’ll need to meet some eligibility criteria before starting your articled training.

Let’s see what these are.

Articleship: Eligibility Criteria

If you have registered and appeared for CA Foundation, you should start this training after completing the Integrated Course on Information Technology (ICITSS) and passing one or both groups of the CA Intermediate Exam. The same requirement holds if you have entered the Chartered Accountancy course directly through CA Intermediate by meeting the requirement of you passing the CS Executive/CMA Intermediate Exam.

But suppose that you are a graduate/post-graduate and have entered the Chartered Accountancy Course directly through CA Intermediate. In this case, you’ll have to begin your articleship after registering for the CA Intermediate Exam, and after completion of the four weeks ICITSS.

Articleship: Registration Procedure

If you have met the eligibility criteria as described above, you’ll need to register for training. 

You’ll have to fill in form 102 and 103. Form 102 deals with the formal agreement between the Principal (we’ll define this term later) and yourself. Form 103 deals with various particulars including documentary evidence of compliance with certain regulations outlined by ICAI that deal with articleship training.

Now, you can do your training under a Principal. This principal is a practicing member of ICAI and has to be eligible for accepting articled students. The principal’s eligibility requirements are not important for us at this point. As we said, you can find all that information by going through the links we indicated.

For now, just understand that you can do your training under such a person. You can choose to do your training either:

1.        completely under this person (or)

2.        partly under this person and partly under an approved industrial establishment as an Industrial Trainee.

Note two things:

1.        The period of industrial training ranges from 9-12 months. And it’s to be done only during the last year of your articleship

2.        You can only choose option (b) above if you have registered for the CA Final Exam

That’s it. Note that, as the training handbook released by the ICAI says, the relationship between you and the principal is sort of like a guru-shishya relationship. Or if you know people in academia (or even been an academic!), it’s like the relationship between a thesis advisor and a student.

It’s a close relationship is what we are trying to say!

Before registering however, you’ll have to choose wisely where to train. It’s going to be the most important decision of your career probably! 

Let’s look at what you need to think about.

Choosing Where to Train

Choosing where to train is a very important decision that you’ll have to make. And it has far reaching consequences. Mainly in terms of job prospects. People looking to hire you will focus their attention on “From where did you do your articleship?”, you see.

It all depends on your future plans.

It also helps to know what sort of training CA articleship gives you so that you can make an informed decision.

For now, as a general rule of thumb, keep the following in mind.

Suppose you want to join private practice after completing your CA. (We’ll talk more about career prospects later). Then, we suggest that you should join your articleship in a mid-size firm. Here you’ll learn practical aspects of “something about everything.” Nothing too in depth of any one particular topic. But broad strokes of all topics.

If, however, you want to get recruited at an accounting firm, we suggest you try for an articleship in one of the Big Four Firms. (KPMG, Deloitte, PWC, EY.) There, you will learn “everything about something.” That is, you’ll specialise in a specific field of study. Like accounting, income tax, service tax, internal audits, external audits, information technology, management services, etc.

As you can see there’s no one size fits all “right” answer. It all depends on your preferences. The amount of exposure you want, the value addition to your resume, how hard can you work, and how good are your time management skills in balancing work and studying.

As for the choice between these options?

Option A: Undergo articleship under a principal for the entire 3 years’ duration

Option B: Undergo training under a principal for about 2 years, followed a year (or thereabouts) of Industrial Training

Again no one size fits all “right” answer.

If you press us for an answer for all of the above questions and doubts, we think you should go for a mid-sized firm. And undergo Industrial Training as well. It’ll make your resume stand out as compared to those who didn’t do any industrial training.

And why do we say this?

Because it’s the start of your career. You’ll not know where you’ll end up. You may decide that you want to start private practice. Or you may want to go the job route.  You don’t know, right?

So, pursuing articleship in a mid-sized firm followed by about a year as an Industrial Trainee gives you a that extra bit of flexibility, you see. Your industrial training is a bonus for job prospects. And your broad knowledge will help you if you want to start private practice.

Now, after articleship, and after becoming a CA, what should you do? What are your career prospects? And are there any other courses you should be taking?

There’s quite a bit of scope.

Let’s find out what it is.

Career Prospects

There are several options available to you after completion of the Chartered Accountancy Course.

There are two main ways to start. Either take up independent professional practice or work in the industry. There are also global opportunities. This is because many other countries recognise the Indian Chartered Accountancy qualification.

If you choose to take up independent professional practice, you can do so as a proprietor or join an existing firm as a partner or staff member.

Now, there are pros and cons attached to both.  We will not talk about them here. Because, at this point, we are just doing a survey of the opportunities available

[If you want a more in-depth survey, check out the prospectus by ICAI that outlines this in gory detail. Page 112 on.]

As an independent professional practitioner, you’ll provide several services. And may act as an advisor in several capacities. Business advisor, tax advisor, etc.

In your capacity as a business advisor, your responsibilities may include any or all of the following:

1.        Preparation of financial reports

2.        Helping to secure loans

3.        Preparing financial projections

4.        Determining the viability of the business

If you choose to act as a tax advisor, you’ll help businesses and individuals to comply with tax laws and help to get the best returns legally possible.

You may also have to perform audits of accounts. Mainly of companies, banks, co-operative societies, stock brokers and the like.

If you want to work in the industry, you can work in several different areas:

1.        Financial accounting

2.        Auditing (as we said before)

3.        Cost accounting

4.        Tax management

5.        Management accounting

6.        Financial management

And so on.

As you can see, your options are varied. And ever expanding.

Now, depending on your area(s) of specialisation, you might want to take up other professional qualifications. Especially if you intend to work abroad. Or globally.

ICAI recognises this need for specialisation. And as such, they offer other qualifications post the Chartered Accountancy Course. Let’s look at what those are.

Other Examinations and Certifications to Consider

ICAI provides the following post qualification exams:

·        Information Systems Audit (ISA)

·        Diploma in Insurance and Risk Management (DIRM)

·        Diploma in International Taxation (DIIT)

·        Management Accountancy Course (MAC)/Corporate Management Course (CMC)/Tax Management Course (TMC)

·        International Trade Laws & World Trade Organisation (ITL & WTO)

(By the way, we at LearnCab are developing a training module for an international post-qualification course. It’s CISA. It’s sort of like ISA. But it’s offered by ISACA. And it’s internationally recognized. So, if you want to work abroad, CISA might be better than ISA! Subscribe to the blog so that you can get updates on when we release this module and others.)

As for certificate courses, ICAI provides these:

·        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

For details of each course and how to register, you might want to look at the ICAI Website 

You may also choose to pursue a PhD. For the purposes of admission into the PhD programme, many Indian Universities, including IIT Madras and IIT Bombay, as well as six IIMs, recognise a CA qualification as equivalent to a post graduate degree.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Chartered Accountancy Course

To round off this article nicely, we’ve compiled a list of FAQs about the course. You can find the answers to these questions within the article itself. But for your convenience, there’s no harm in repeating them is there? And you might have missed some small details as you read.

So, without further ado, here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the course and answers to them.

Question: Should I pursue BCom. while doing CA?

Answer: Why not? It’s a nice fall-back option in case you can’t complete CA. At least you’ll have some sort of commerce degree, you see.

Question: Is it necessary to do BCom. while doing CA?

Answer: No. It’s not necessary per se. But we think you should do so. Either before or during. Just in case.

Question: Is the CA Course very difficult?

Answer: Look. Nothing in life comes easy. And what’s difficult for some may be easy for others and vice-versa. The CA Course is challenging no doubt. And it’s meant to be. ICAI wants the best from their members. To pass the course, you’ll need to work hard and with complete dedication. But, on the other hand, the CA Course is not meant only for geniuses. An ordinary person can clear it. Perseverance and a willingness to learn are the key factors for success!

Question: How does ICAI evaluate papers?

Oooh. That’s an interesting one. ICAI tries hard to be as transparent in their evaluation process as possible. The objective papers? Easy. You’ve either got it right or wrong. No worries there. For subjective evaluation, evaluators follow a series of guidelines outlined by ICAI. ICAI provides an answer key with suggested answers, and examiners look at your answer to see if you’ve followed the outline! Remember though that this is not school. You don’t get marks for lengthy answers. You’ll only get it if you have outlined all the steps required.

Question: I failed CA Foundation. Should I continue?

Yes! Especially if it’s your first attempt. Never give up easily. Understand the reasons for your failure and work on your weakness. Now, if you’ve failed like 20 times, then maybe you should start considering other options. But realistically, the average person would fail CA Foundation at least once. Since the exam pass rate is about 40%. It’s like a coin toss. The first attempt.

Question: Can I become a CA without coaching?

Yes. It’s certainly possible. But if we are being honest, you will need some guidance. Perhaps you are not the type to sit in a boring coaching class all day. Or you need some extra instruction. If you feel that you need this extra guidance or instruction, why don’t you try out online video lectures? It’ll help you understand all concepts better!

Question: Is it better to do CA Foundation first, or do a direct entry if I qualify?

It depends on how you’ve qualified for the direct entry route. If you’ve qualified because you’ve already finished CS Executive or CA Intermediate, do a direct entry. But if you qualify via being a graduate/post-graduate, then we think it’s best to do CA Foundation. To strengthen your fundamentals.

Question: Where do I do articleship?

Depends on your interest. As we talked about earlier, we feel that it’s best to do your articleship from a mid-size firm to keep your options flexible.

Question: Should I do dummy articleship?

No way! It defeats the entire purpose of your education. You can never become a good CA if you do a dummy articleship. Don’t even think about it.

Question: How much money can I make as a CA?

The sky is the limit! CAs have occupied top management positions in both public and private sectors. Even the starting package averages around 7 L.P.A. But don’t become a CA for the money. Money’s good and you don’t need to worry about it. Become a CA because of your passion for it. That’s more important.

Question: How many hours a day should I study?

We can’t answer this question because it’s entirely up to you. And it depends on many variables. Things like how fast do you grasp concepts? Is much of the material familiar to you? How many days left for the exam? Things like that. Keep in mind that efficient study is the best. Don’t get discouraged by your friends claiming they’ve studied 18 hours a day or something while you’ve only studied for 8. Is that 8 hours quality study time? If so, why are you worried? 

Question: What if I can’t finish CA? What should I do now?

Execute your backup plans. You should always do a bachelor’s degree along with the CA course. Try doing stuff like BBA, BBM, etc. rather than Bcom. If possible, choose law as a bachelor’s degree. Now, if you have concentrated solely on CA and have not pursued other degrees alongside, try grabbing some sort of job. Any sort. Reach out to contacts and work your way up from the bottom. Remember to pursue a degree alongside as degrees/qualifications are important in this day and age. 

Question: Is it possible to pursue a Phd. after completing the CA course?

Yes! For the purposes of entry into the Phd. programme, many reputed Indian universities including some IITs and IIMs accept a CA qualification as equivalent to a post graduate degree. Here is the complete list of all universities that accept the CA qualification for entry into their Phd. programme.