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Only
a qualified accountant is entitled to audit a
firm’s account books and give it the ‘true and
fair’ certification (so much power in your
hands!). Public sector organisations must have
their accounts checked by an appointed firm of
accountants.
So,
you’ve made up your mind - a Chartered
Accountant is what you want to be! Good news
awaits you as your CA studies can be pursued after
+2 or graduation! (Yes! you have a choice!)
You’ve
heard of the CA Foundation, haven’t you??
If not, here’s your chance -
The
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India have
been very generous to start the Foundation Course
(1 year correspondence) a few years back. You are
eligible if you have passed Class 12.
Graduates
with 55% marks,
Graduates
with 60% marks (those who have not studied
mathematics as one of the subjects!), and
Graduates
from the commerce stream with 50% marks in
Accountancy, Auditing, Mercantile/Commercial law,
are also eligible.
You
register and the course material is sent to you.
If you attend contact classes organised by
accredited institutions, you are exempted from
taking tests under the postal tuition scheme
(smart choice!)
Complete
the 12 months course after registration and you
are ready for the Foundation exam with 4 papers -
- Fundamentals
of Accounting
- Mathematics
and Statistics
- Economics
- Mercantile
Law
Foundation
exams are generally held every year in June and
December. Make sure you register 12 months before
you wish to take the exam (no on the spot
decisions!)
Pass this
exam and register for articleship with a
practising CA (sounds easy?? You’ll soon find
out - the hard way, of course!)
You must be
wondering what this articleship is all
about. Time for some enlightenment!
You will be
the ‘article’ (apprentice of sorts!) training
under an experienced CA. Be smart and choose a
reputed CA or CA firm for your articleship. This
is your time to learn all the technical details of
the job and mainly conduct audits in the area of
taxation. Large assignments will come your way
only with the passage of time. The Intermediate
Exams of the Board of Studies can be taken after 9
months of training. Articleship is inclusive of a
year’s industrial training and this can be done
in the last year of articleship and after clearing
the intermediate exam. Final year of articleship
means the dreaded Final exams! All you can do is
give it your best shot and wait...
So much for
+2. It’s time now to pay attention to the
graduates -
An entrance
test awaits the graduates who wish to enter the CA
professional course. Be ready to be tested in 4
subjects - Elements of Accounting, English,
Elementary maths and General commercial knowledge
and Economics. However, if you have passed with
Accountancy, auditing and mercantile or commercial
law with 50%marks, you are exempted (cool?). Now
if you are not a commerce graduate and you wish to
be exempted from the exams - make it a point to
score 55% marks in your graduation (if not, even
the Lord will fail to help you!). As for the rest
of the training - it is just the same as it is for
those who take the Foundation Course and yes! the
dreaded Final Exams have to be given in this case
too!
Even when,
you finally clear the exams (hats off to you
pal!), all is not done. You will have to take
membership of the Institute of Chartered
Accountants in order to practice. Plus, 5 years of
articleship enables you to take fellowship of the
Institute.
Now you
will have to take the decision whether you want to
either practice privately or work as an employee
in a firm. If you choose private practice, your
range of work will vary according to the size and
place of practice.
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