How to become a Chartered Accountant: Two routes to follow after Class XII and UG

A Chartered Accountant (CA) is responsible for budgeting, auditing, preparing business strategies and providing taxation, assurance and financial advice to companies. As a CA, you can become the go-to person for a business, a government organisation or an individual on financial matters. In this role, you would be managing their finances, offering advice on how to grow their income and helping them out with money management.

Work of a Chartered Accountant

• Offering financial advice
• Managing financial systems and budgets
• Advising on tax and treasury issues
• Conducting financial audits annually
• Analysing financial risk of companies
• Preparing financial statements
• Forecasting and financial planning
• Liaising with internal and external auditors in case of discrepancies

Basic steps of Chartered Accountancy

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is the authoritative body that governs the quality and standard of CA education and training. It offers a set of courses like CA Foundation Course and CA Intermediate Course.

You can study Chartered Accountancy right after Class XII or even after graduation or postgraduation.

CA Foundation Course after Class XII:

If you have just cleared your Class XII board exams from any stream, you can apply for the CA Foundation Course. The exams for enrolling in this course are conducted twice a year. After clearing the CA Foundation exams, you need to register and undergo a study period of 8 months for CA Intermediate Course.

CA Intermediate Course after graduation:

If you come from a commerce background, you need at least 55% marks and a thorough grounding in Accounting, Corporate Law, Mercantile Law, Auditing and Economics, among other fields of commerce.

Non-commerce graduates can also access this course via direct entry, but they should get at least 60% aggregate from a UGC-recognised educational institution.

Graduates do not have to sit for the CA Foundation Course. They can directly apply for the CA Intermediate Course.

Steps to take after Class XII

• The first step is to enrol with ICAI for the Common Proficiency Test (CPT). You’ll be eligible to sit for CPT at least 60 days after the initial date of registration with ICAI.
• After clearing CPT, you’ll be able to join the 9-month Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC) to be eligible for the Orientation Programme and Information Technology Training (ITT). You need to complete 35 hours of the Orientation Programme and 100 hours of ITT during the course.
• After completion of the IPCC, you need to clear IPCC Group 1 and Group 2 exams. It is compulsory to clear the Group 1 exam to proceed to the 3-year practical training stage called Articleship. You can crack the Group 2 exam during Articleship.
• After clearing both group exams, you can register for the CA Final Course. While pursuing the last 6 months of this course, you may appear for and clear the CA Final Exam (Groups 1 and 2).
• If everything goes according to the plan, you will be able to complete Articleship after clearing the CA Final Exam.
• After successfully completing all the necessary courses, exams and training mentioned above, you are now eligible to become a member of ICAI. After registering with the ICAI and obtaining membership, you will be able to call yourself a Chartered Accountant!

Steps to take after graduation:

If you’re a graduate, you are exempted from CPT and can directly appear for the IPCC exams after 9 months of registering yourself. After clearing the IPCC exams, you can simply register for the CA Final Course and clear the CA Final Exam.

Successful completion of all these steps and Articleship will make you eligible for ICAI membership. After registering with ICAI and obtaining the membership, you can start your practice as a Chartered Accountant.

Career options after studying Chartered Accountancy

After completion of CA courses and training programmes, you can head into different areas in the public and private sectors. Your preferred areas will be commerce, financial services, banking, business analysis, public limited companies and law firms.

Account managers: Account managers manage daily accounting operations at public and private firms. They supervise, monitor and analyse accounting data and financial statements.

Taxation experts: Taxation experts look for ways to bring down their clients’ tax liabilities. Their responsibilities include preparing all tax compliance, assisting in audits and responding to tax correspondence. They also estimate taxes on different investment portfolios and ensure that tax returns are filed in accordance with the tax authorities.

Accountants: Accountants check financial statements ensuring accuracy and compliance with existing regulations and laws. They are also responsible for handling tax-related tasks.

Auditing experts: These professionals help auditors secure sufficient as well as appropriate audit evidence. They can be classified as internal auditors and external auditors. Internal auditors are employed by a firm, while external auditors work for outside audit firms.