How to become Chartered Accountant
Introduction
Hello Friends, In this Post we will discuss How to become Chartered Accountant but before that , we should know who is Chartered Accountant ? Chartered Accountant is popularly called CA in short form.
Chartered Accountant is a Profession who works or manages all sphere of Finance like Accountancy, Auditing, Taxation And financial analysis of an Individual or Company. A CA is an expert in auditing financial statements, taxation like filing tax returns, analyzing financial reports and offer advisory services to the clients.
In India, CA course is managed through the Legal Body ICAI who take exams and will qualify the students (who have secured 50% aggregate) to become Chartered Accountant.
What is ICAI ?
The full form of ICAI is Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. AICPA is the world’s largest professional accounting body whereas ICAI is the second largest professional accounting body in the world.
ICAI was confirmed on July 01 1949, as a legal body under the Chartered Accountant Act 1949.The Headquarters of ICAI is in New Delhi. It has five major Regional Offices all over in India.
You can get more details through website www.icai.org
| Regional Offices | Main Office Location | Branches/ Region It covered |
| Eastern India Regional Office | Kolkata | Guwahati, Jharsuguda, Asansol, Bhubaneshwar, Cuttack, Dibrugarh, Siliguri, Tinsukia, Durgapur, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Berhampur, Raniganj |
| Western India Regional Office | Mumbai | Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Baroda, Bharuch, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Ahmednagar, Akola, Amravati, Anand, Aurangabad, , Bhuj, Dhule, Goa, Icchalkaranji, Jalgaon , Kolhapur, Latur, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Navsari, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Gandhi Dham, Jamnagar, Kalyan-Dombivli, Pune, Rajkot, , Solapur, Surat, Thane, Vapi, Vasai |
| Central India Regional Office | Kanpur | Haldwani, Haridwar, Indore, Agra, Ajmer, Aligarh, Allahabad, Alwar, Bareilly, Sriganganagar, Udaipur, Ujjain, Varanasi, Beawar, Gorakhpur, Gwalior, Bhopal, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Bikaner, Bilaspur, Bulandshahar, , Ghaziabad, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Jhansi, Jodhpur, Mathura, Bharatpur, Bhilai, Bhilwara , Gautam Budh Nagar, Pali, Patna, Raipur, Ranchi, Ratlam, Saharanpur, Sikar, Chittorgarh, Dehradun, Dhanbad, Kishangarh, Kota, Lucknow |
| Southern India Regional Office | Chennai | Kurnool, Madurai, Mangalore, Alleppey, Anantapur, Bangalore, Warangal, West Godavari, Belgaum, Mysore, Nellore, Ongole, Palghat, Trivandrum, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Bellary, Thoothukudi, Udupi, Vellore, Coimbatore, Ernakulam, Erode, Kalaburagi (Gulbarga), Kozhikode, Guntur, Hubballi, Kancheepuram, Kannur, Karimnagar, Kottayam, Kumbakonam, Pondicherry, Quilon, Rajamahendravaram, Salem, Sivakasi, Tiruchirapalli, Tirunelveli, Tirupati, Tirupur, Trichur, Hyderabad, Kadapa, Kakinada |
| Northern India Regional Office | New Delhi | Rohtak, Sangrur, Sirsa, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra , Ambala, Amritsar, Bathinda, Bahadur Garh, Patiala, Rewari, Bhiwani, Chandigarh, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Himachal Pradesh, Hisar, Jalandhar, Sonepat, Yamunanagar, Jammu & Kashmir, Ludhiana, Panipat |
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| Chartered Accountant |
Eligibility Criteria
The Eligibility criteria for registration to Chartered Accountancy is as follows:
Foundation Route
- Students who have passed or appeared his/her 12th/ Intermediate from a recognized State or Central Curriculum or University can enroll for foundation course
- Any Student with any stream like Science, Arts, Commerce can apply for CA foundation course
- There is no minimum percentage required, you just have to pass your 12thor Intermediate in any stream to register in your Foundation course but the student have to complete 04 months of study period to give Foundation course Examination
Direct Entry Route
For Direct Entry route to CA Intermediate course, you must fulfill the criteria given below:
- For Commerce Background, A Student must secure at least 55% in his/her Graduation or Postgraduate from a recognized university
- For Non-Commerce Background (Science, Arts) , A Student must secure at least 60% in his/her Graduation/Postgraduate from a recognized or Open university
- The student/Candidate who has passed Intermediate level of exam conducted by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India or by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India can directly register to Intermediate Course.
- Student who is in the 3rdyear of its Graduation can also get direct entry into Intermediate course on a temporary basis, but they must submit the passing certificate within 06 months of the Graduation exam they appear and successful completion of Oriental Course and Information Technology (ICITSS) to regularize.
Examination conducted by ICAI
The students must pass all levels of Examination to become a Chartered Accountant.
Below are the details
- Foundation Exam (Earlier known as CPT or Common Proficiency Test)
- Intermediate (Integrated Professional Competence or IPC) Examination
- Final Examination
After the Intermediate, the candidate has to go for Articleship for 3 years to give Final Examination
Syllabus for Each Level of CA
The students must study subjects in each level to become a Chartered Accountant.
Syllabus for CA foundation
There are 4 papers in CA Foundation Course. Below is the Syllabus
| Foundation Paper | Syllabus |
| Paper I | Principles and Practice of Accounting (100 Marks) |
| Paper II | Business Laws & Business Correspondence and Reporting (100 Marks) — Section A: Business Laws (60 Marks) ; Section B:- Business Correspondence and Reporting (40 Marks) |
| Paper III | Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning & Statistics (100 Marks)— Part I : Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning (60 Marks) ; Part II:- Statistics (40 Marks) |
| Paper IV | Business Economics & Business and Commercial Knowledge (100 Marks)
Part I: Business Economics (60 Marks) ; Part II:- Business and Commercial Knowledge (40 Marks) |
Notes
- Out of 4 papers, 2 (Paper I & II) Papers are descriptive, and 2 (Paper III & IV) papers are Objectives
- The candidate must secure at least 40% marks in each paper, and 50% marks in aggregate to pass in the exam. For e.g. : Out of 400 in total, the candidate must fetch at least 40 marks in each paper and 200 marks at least in aggregate to pass in this exam.
- There is a negative marking in an objective paper, that is 0.25 marks deducted for every wrong answer.
- The ICAI conduct Foundation exam twice in an year, the first is in May and second in November. You can appear in both the exam.
Syllabus for CA Intermediate course
The CA Intermediate Course is divided into two Group and both the group have 4 papers.
Syllabus of both the Groups are given below:
| Paper Group | Syllabus |
| Group I | Paper I : Accounting
Paper II: Corporate and Other Laws — Part I:- Corporate Law & Part II: Other Laws Paper III: Cost and Management Accounting Paper IV: Taxation —- Section A: Income Tax Law & Section B: Indirect Taxes |
| Group II | Paper V: Advanced Accounting
Paper VI: Auditing and Assurance Paper VII: Enterprise Information Systems & Strategic Management —— Section A: Enterprise Information Systems & Section B: Strategic Management Paper VIII: Financial Management and Economics for Finance——— Section A: Financial Management & Section B: Economics for Finance |
Note:
- After Registering to the CA Intermediate, you must complete 08 months of study period to appear in the exam
- The candidate must secure at least 40% marks in each paper, and 50% marks in aggregate to pass in the exam. For e.g. : Out of 400 in total, the candidate must fetch at least 40 marks in each paper and 200 marks at least in aggregate to pass in this exam..
- When you pass either Group I or both Group I &II as well as attended 4 weeks of Integrated IT and Soft Skills Program , you are eligible for 3 years of Articleship.
- Articleship is the most Important phase for becoming a CA. It is a kind of practical training where you are encountered with real time situation to face . The Articleship can be done from any CA firm.
- When you complete 2.5 years of Articleship, then you are eligible for CA final .
Syllabus for CA Final
There are 08 papers in CA Final which is divided into two groups . Each groups have 04 papers.
Syllabus for both the groups are given below:
| Paper Group | Syllabus |
| Group I | Paper I : Financial Reporting
Paper II: Strategic Financial Management Paper III: Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics Paper IV: Corporate and Economic Laws ——– Part I: Corporate Laws & Part II: Economic Laws |
| Group II | Paper V: Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation
Paper VI: Elective Paper —– List of Elective Papers: VI A: Risk Management VI B: Financial Services and Capital Markets VI C: International Taxation VI D: Economic Laws VI E: Global Financial Reporting Standards VI F: Multi-disciplinary Case Study Paper VII: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation ———– Part I: Direct Tax Laws and Part II: International Taxation Paper VIII: Indirect Tax Laws ———– Part I: Goods and Service Tax & Part II: Customs and FTP. |
Note:
- When you complete your 2.5 years of Articleship and Both Group of Intermediate and 04 weeks of Advance IT and Soft Skills Program then You are eligible for CA Final Exam.
- The candidate must secure at least 40% marks in each paper, and 50% marks in aggregate to pass in the exam. For e.g. : Out of 400 in total, the candidate must fetch at least 40 marks in each paper and 200 marks at least in aggregate to pass in this exam
Duration to complete Chartered Accountant
It took at least 5 years to complete all phases of CA Exam including Articleship to become a Chartered Accountant
Course Fees for All Phases
Let me give you a break-up for Course Fees in all phases of CA .
Course Fees for Foundation
| CA Foundation Course | Fees taken by ICAI | Coaching Fees |
| Prospectus | Rs. 200 | |
| Registration Fees | Rs. 9000 | Rs. 35000- 40,000 (Approximate) |
| Students Journal (Optional) | Rs. 200 | |
| Members Journal (Optional) | Rs. 400 | |
| Examination Fees | Rs. 1500 | |
| Total Course Fees | Rs. 10,700 (excluding optional) | Rs. 40,000 (taking Maximum) |
| Gross Fees | Rs. 50,700 ( Rs. 51,000) |
Course Fees for Intermediate
| CA Intermediate Course | Fees taken by ICAI | Coaching Fees |
| Single Both (Group) (Group) | ||
| Registration Fees | Rs. 11,000 Rs. 15,000 | |
| Student Activity Fees | Rs. 2,000 Rs. 2,000 | Rs. 65000 -70,000 (Approx.) |
| Registration Fees for Articleship | Rs. 1,000 | For Both Groups |
| Information Technology Program | Rs. 6,500 | |
| Management & Communication Skills | Rs. 7,000 | |
| Examination Fees | Rs 1,500 Rs. 2,700 | |
| Total Course Fees | 15,000+ 2000+1000+ 13,500+ 2700= Rs. 34, 200 | Rs. 70,000 (taking Maximum) |
| Gross Fees | Rs. 1,04,200 |
Course Fees for Final
| CA Final Course | Fees taken by ICAI | Coaching Fees |
| Registration Fees | Rs. 22,000 | |
| Advanced Technology Program | Rs. 7,500 | Rs. 80,000-Rs90,000 |
| Management & Communication Skills Program | Rs 7,000 | (for Both Group) |
| Examination Fees | Rs. 3300 (for Both Group) | |
| Total Course Fees | Rs. 39,800 | Rs. 90,000 (Taking Max) |
| Gross Fees | Rs 1,19,800/ |
So, Total Fees for All Levels is Rs (51,000+ 1,04,200+ 1,19,800) = Rs. 2,75,000/ (It can be few thousand more or less depending on the coaching expenses you take and favorable condition that you pass all exams in one attempt).
Placement after becoming Chartered Accountant
After Becoming a Chartered Accountant, Sky is the Limit. Every type of Organization, whether it is a Private, Commercial, Government, Semi-Government requires Chartered Accountant .
Some of the Top-Notch companies of India is waiting for you are as below
| Deloitte | KPMG | Ernst & Young |
| Price Waterhouse Coopers | BDO International | RSM International |
| SS Kothari Mehta & Co. | Grant Thornton International | BDO International |
| Lodha & Co. | Sahni Natarajan & Bahl (SNB) | Luthra & Luthra |
| TR Chadha & Co. | Diwan Chopra & Assoc. | Morgan Stanley |
Conclusion
This is the profession whose demand can never be decreased. Where there is Company or Individual , there is Money flows, where there is Money Involved, there is Taxation and Auditing, Financial Statement occur and when these things occur, there is only one profession who can settle these things is Chartered Accountant.