Chartered accountant (India)

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In India, a Chartered Accountant is a qualified accountant of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. Chartered Accountants have knowledge of various subjects like accounting, auditing, corporate laws, costing and various aspects of direct and indirect taxation.^[1]

A Chartered Accountant can work independently as a professional or they can easily get any job in Audit, Taxation, Advisory, Consulting etc.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) was formed as a body of registered accountants in 1949.^[2]

To become a Chartered Accountant one needs to clear all three levels of Chartered Accountancy course and the Articleship (Practical Training).

Enrolment in Chartered Accountancy course can be done anytime after 12th class, graduation or post graduation. It has three Levels of Examination. All needs to be cleared in order to get the membership and title of CA.

The Three Levels are-

CA Foundation

CA Intermediate

CA Final

To successfully qualify as a CA, 2 Years Articleship (Practical Training) is also mandate after the CA Intermediate. To ensure personality development and technical trainings, there are four short courses, two happening before joining Articleship and other two advanced courses before giving CA Final.

Eligibility for the Foundation course is clearance of the 12th board exam conducted by an examining body constituted by law in India or outside India or an examination recognized by the central government or the state government.

The aspirant should enroll in the CA Foundation with ICAI, and after 4-month study period, he will be eligible for writing the exam.

After clearing the CA Foundation Exam, he can register for CA Intermediate Course and should complete the Orientation Program and Information Technology Training (ITT).

The aspirant is required to pass both groups of CA Intermediate to Join the Articleship, a 2-year practical training program with a registered Chartered Accountant or a Chartered Accountancy Firm.

He can register for the final course of the Chartered Accountancy course after clearing both groups at the Intermediate level.

The aspirant can appear for the CA Final exam after 6 months from the date of completion of Articleship and get qualified after passing both groups with the requisite percentage,

The aspirant is eligible to become a member of ICAI on successful completion of all the necessary courses, required exams and mandatory training specified above.

The aspirant becomes an eligible person to be called a chartered accountant only after he registers with ICAI and obtains membership.

An aspirant can appear for the CA Intermediate exams directly after the completion of an 8-month study period from the date of registration and is also exempt from appearing for the CA Foundation exam if he is a graduate and has cleared the examination with a mandatory percentage. He will have eligibility registration for the Final Course of CA and clear the same after passing the CA Intermediate examination.

He will be eligible for ICAI membership after the completion of the required examination, training, and Articleship period.

He can start practicing as a chartered accountant only after getting membership post registering with ICAI.

A Commerce graduate can apply directly for the CA Intermediate Course in case:

Clears graduation with a minimum 55 percentage marks by studying at least any 3 subjects out of Accountancy, Auditing, Direct and Indirect Taxation, Mercantile or Corporate Law, Economics, Management (including Financial Management), Costing, Business Administration, or Management Accounting, or similar to the title of these papers with different nomenclatures.

A person who is a non-commerce graduate can aspire to be a chartered Accountant, if he has completed his graduation from an approved UGC-recognized educational institution with a pass percentage of 60 or more.

He can appear directly for the CA Intermediate exams after the completion of an 8-month study period from the date of registration and is also exempt from the CA Foundation exam. He can register and clear the CA Final exam after completing of CA Intermediate exam.

He will be eligible for ICAI membership after the completion of the required examinations, trainings, and Articleship period.

He can start practicing as a chartered accountant only after getting membership post registering with ICAI.

• Cleared Intermediate level examination from Institute of Company Secretaries of India or The Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI).

A Chartered Accountant in India performs following activities:^[3]

• Offers advice in financial planning.
• Planning budget and other financial system.
• Treasury and tax related advises.
• Performance of Annual financial audits.
• Assessing companies financial risk.
• Preparation of financial statements.
• Financial planning and forecasting.
• In case of any discrepancy, liaison with internal and external auditors.

Following is the curriculum and eligibility for clearance of each of the stages:^[4][5]

Includes four subjects of 100 marks each.

Paper Numbers 1 & 2 will be subjective type while paper numbers 3 & 4 will be objective type with negative marking.

Paper 1: Accounting

Paper 2: Business Laws

Paper 3: Quantitative Aptitude

Part 1: Business Mathematics (40 Marks)

Part 2: Logical reasoning (20 Marks)

Part 3: Statistics (40 Marks)

Paper 4: Business Economics

Qualifying Marks- Minimum of 40 marks in each individual subjects and aggregate of 50% is must to pass the examination. Failure in a single subject also leads to repetition of all subjects.

The Intermediate Exam consists of two groups- Group 1 and Group 2. Both the groups consist of 3 papers each. Each subject exam is of 100 marks.^[6]

GROUP 1

Paper 1: Advanced Accounting

Paper 2: Corporate and Other Laws

Part 1: Company Law and Limited Liability Partnership Law (70 marks)

Part 2: Other Laws (30 marks)

Paper 3: Taxation

Section A: Income Tax Law (50 marks)

Section B: Goods and Services Tax (50 marks)

GROUP 2

Paper 4: Cost and Management Accounting

Paper 5: Auditing and Ethics

Paper 6: Financial Management and Strategic Management

Section A: Financial Management (50 marks)

Section B: Strategic Management (50 marks)

Marks needed to Qualify Charted Accountant (CA)

There is a 30 marks MCQ for all Papers with no Negative marking.

Examination for Chartered Accountancy Intermediate Level are conducted each year in January, May and September.

Here, the students have option to either opt of single group or both groups. However, for All India Ranks (Top 50), giving both groups is a must.

Qualifying Marks- Minimum of 40 marks in each individual subjects and aggregate of 50% is must to pass the examination. Failure in a single subject of a Group also leads to repetition of all subjects of that group. The benefit of set off is available when both groups exam is given but aggregate of one group does not make up 50%.

The Final exam in Chartered Accountancy has 6 papers of 100 marks each, which are divided into three subjects in two groups. The exam duration for each subject is 3 hours. Duration of paper 6 is 4 hours.^[7]

GROUP 1

Paper 1: Financial Reporting

Paper 2: Advanced Financial Management

Paper 3: Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics

GROUP 2

Paper 4: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation

Paper 5: Indirect Tax Laws

Part 1: Goods and Services Tax (80 marks)

Part 2: Customs & FTP (30 marks)

Paper 6: Integrated Business Solutions

All papers have 30 marks of MCQ while Paper 6 has MCQ for 40 Marks.

The students have option to either opt of single group or both groups. However, for All India Ranks (Top 50), giving both groups is a must.

Qualifying Marks- Minimum of 40 marks in each individual subjects and aggregate of 50% is must to pass the examination. Failure in a single subject of a Group also leads to repetition of all subjects of that group. The benefit of set off is available when both groups exam is given but aggregate of one group does not make up 50%.

The Examination by ICAI at Foundation, Intermediate and Final levels used to happen twice a year.^[8] While the Final level exam remains twice a year only, the Foundation and Intermediate exams will be happening thrice a year.^[9]

Fee structure of CA for Self-studying students is listed below.

The examination fee for foundation course is Rs 1500. For both groups of Intermediate course the fee is Rs 2700, and for one group it is Rs 1500. For applying for Final group, exam fee is Rs 3300 for both groups and Rs 1800 for single group.^[10]

Chartered Accountants are eligible for courses to do Ph.D. in universities based in India, National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by UGC and the award of Fellowship in Junior Research or Assistant Professor as the degree holders of Chartered Accountancy (CA) course are considered equivalent to Post Graduates by the UGC.^[11] The placement rate of CA is only 30-35%. Avg.Career in CA has gained much prevalence in India due to a lot opportunities available for them.^[12]

• Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

• Official Website