how to become Chartered accountants.
You will become a certified Chartered accountant only when you are a member of a body called ICAI or Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
ICAI is the regulatory body that regulates the auditing and financial accounting profession in the country.
What Does a Chartered Accountant do and how they are Different than a Regular Accountant?
Anyone can call themselves as an accountant however everybody cant be a certified CA.
If you have to be certified CA then you have to acquire Membership of ICAI otherwise you will be just a regular accountant.
You might be asking what would be your work as a Chartered Accountant.
As a certified CA you have to do many things like management of financial systems and budgets, undertaking financial audits and also giving financial advice.
You have to do independent auditing of a companys financial position.
A Complete Guide for Becoming a Certified CA
Here we will talk about chartered accountant course in details, how you can join the course and when you have to join.
To become a certified chartered accountant you have to follow right step.
You can join after 10th or after 12th or even after graduation.
Then we will also debate the course details and exams you need to appear, course fees etc.
Finally we conclude the article by telling you about the salary and how difficult it is to become a certified chartered accountant in India.
Chartered Accountant Qualification
A student who has passed CPT or Common Proficiency Test and Senior Secondary Examination (10+2).
A candidate who is graduate or post graduate in commerce with an aggregate of 55% by studying three papers Accounting, Auditing, Mercantile Laws etc.
Non Commerce Graduates need to have an aggregate of 60% or above.
Chartered Accountant Course
You can start Chartered Accountant Course through CPT route.
In order to do that first you have to enroll with ICAI for CPC (Common proficiency Course) after passing class 10th Examination.
You can also appear in CPT examination after completing your Senior Secondary Examination or 10+2.
Now you have to make a decision when you want to join for CA course. There are three choices.
You want to join after 10 or after 10+2 or if after graduation. You have to make a call whether you want to start early or too late..
Chartered Accountant Courses after 10th
You can join for a CA course as early as possible. If you are serious then you can start right after 10th.
You can register with the Board of Studies for CPT or Common Proficiency Test. You can also continue with your 10+2.
Both can be done simultaneously. There will be a lot of pressure on the aspirant.
If you find after class 10th it is too early to join then you can join after 10+2.
You have to appear and qualify for CPT or Common Proficiency Test.
Then you can join IPCC or Integrated professional Competence Course. It is the second level of Chartered Accountancy examinations in India.
Chartered Accountant Courses after Graduation
If you are late then you can join after you have completed your graduation. Most of the candidates choose to join after graduation.
If you have B.Com degree then you can join CA course. There is direct entry for graduate students.
If you are a commerce graduate then you need 55% aggregate for direct entry to IPCC or Integrated professional Competence Course, for other graduates it is 60%.
The syllabus is as follows--
Well you can divide the Chartered Accountant Course Syllabus into four steps.
Step 1: CPT or Common Proficiency Test
It has one paper with two sessions.
Session 1:
Section A: Fundamentals of Accounting for 60 Marks
Section B: Mercantile Laws for 40 Marks
Session 2:
Section C: General Economics for 50 Marks
Section D: Quantitative Aptitude for 50 Marks
Step 2: IPCC or Intermediate Integrated Professional Competence Course
Group 1
Paper 1: Accounting (100 marks)
Paper 2: Business Laws, Ethics and Communication (100 marks)
Paper 3: Cost Accounting and Financial management (100 marks)
Paper 4: Taxation (100 marks)
Group 2
Paper 5: Advanced accounting (100 marks)
Paper 6: Auditing and Assurance (100 marks)
Paper 7: IT and Strategic Management (100 marks)
Step 3: ATC or Accounting Technician Course
Paper 1: Accounting (100 marks)
Paper 2: Business Laws, Ethics and Communication (100 marks)
Paper 3: Cost Accounting and Financial management (100 marks)
Paper 4: Taxation (100 marks)
Step 4: Final Course
Paper 1: Financial Reporting (100 marks)
Paper 2: Strategic Financial Management (100 marks)
Paper 3: Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics (100 marks)
Paper 4: Corporate Allied Laws and Ethics (100 marks)
Paper 5: Advanced Management Accounting (100 marks)IT (100 marks)
Paper 6: Information Systems Control and Audit (100 marks)
Paper 7: Direct Tax Laws (100 marks)
Paper 8: Indirect Tax laws (100 marks)
Chartered Accountant Course Duration
According to the latest news the course duration for Chartered Accountant is now just three and half years.
Earlier it was 5 years and 3 months but now ICAI has decided to reduce the duration of the course.
dear aspirant,
To become a certifide Chartered accountant you need to pass the C.A exam conducted by Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
The Characted accountant course consists of three phases.
1)Foundation course or CPT (Common Proficiency Test)
2)Intermediate or IPCC (Integrated Professional Competence Course)
3)Final Examination
You can take admission to foundation course directly after 12. It is a short term course of 4-5 month.
After successful completion of foundation course you can register for intermediate course. If you are a graduate then you can directly register to intermediate course even without passing foundation course.
On successfully passing the above two courses and training you can register for final exam.
After you have successfully qualified final exam you are given the C.A certificate.
Hope you like this information.
Dear Aspirant,
Chartered accountancy is career which requires a lot of hard work and determination to pursue. This is a really good option for commerce students but it is not easy. This is not to scare you off, but just to inform you that you need to be ready for a lot of hard work as you will have to carry an endless amount of dedication for the same. The syllabus is vast but most importantly, the person needs to be headstrong and must not lose hope.
There are four steps to becoming a CA in India:
- CA Foundation Exam
- CA Intermediate Exam
- Articleship Training
- CA Final Exam
Let's see what each of these exams consist and how to prepare for them.
CA Foundation
This exam takes place in November, so say you are taking the exam just after your 12th and the results are announced in June, you have a period of 5 months to prepare for this exam. This the entry-level test and the first step towards becoming a Chartered Accountant. The course and syllabus is the same as +2 level commerce.
The exam is divided into 4 paper:
- Principles and Practices of Accounting
- Mercantile Law and General English
- Business Mathematics, Logical Reasoning, and Statistics
- Business Economics & Business and Commercial Knowledge
The first two papers are subjective in nature and the other two are objective in nature. The first two papers are scoring but the concepts should be clear. The presentation is an important factor. For the third paper, Maths becomes a little important so practice shirt tricks on calculator. The last subject is scoring for you if you have taken economics as your subject in 12th. Start practicing the modules given by ICAI and also set a time because speed is one of the key factors in clearing CA Exams.
CA Intermediate
After clearing the foundation exam, this will be your next step. If you are a graduate or a postgraduate, you can apply for CA Intermediate through Direct entry scheme at this level. This is a challenging level as the syllabus is pretty huge. Mostly, this is the level where the students generally are not able get attempts. For this level coaching become necessary. This happens 9 months after the declaration of CA Foundation results. So take some guidance and at the end, rely on self-practice. Practice is very important, practice mock test papers and do not neglect ICAI modules.
Articleship Training
You must have undergone ITT or OT program before starting your articleship once you have cleared your intermediate. This is a tough period of 3 years where you have to constantly work, work and work. Choose the firms wisely after weighing their pros and cons.
CA Final
After you have cleared both the groups of CA Intermediate, you can register for CA Final. You have to become an expert on each subject to clear this level. You wouldn't be able to crack the exam without a proper knowledge of the each subject. Revision at this stage becomes really important.
If you clear this exam, you are a Chartered Accountant.
Hope this helps. All the best!
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