Chartered Accountant (CA) is a professional course of usually 4 to 5 years, depending on the time taken to clear all the CA examinations. The Chartered Accountant course consists of clearing three CA examinations that are CA Foundation, CA Intermediate, and CA Final. The practical training during two years of articleship is required before appearing for the CA final exam. The Chartered Account examinations are conducted by ICAI Institute of Chartered Accountants India. A Chartered Accountant becomes an expert in Auditing, Accounting, Taxation, Finance, and Corporate Laws.
The eligibility criteria for initiating the CA course are having cleared 10+2 with a minimum 50% aggregate marks for appearing in CA foundation examination, while for direct entry to CA foundation and appear for CA intermediate, you have to possess a Bachelor's degree with subjects like Accounting, Auditing, Mercantile Laws, Corporate Laws, Economics, Management (including Financial Management), Taxation (including Direct Tax Laws and Indirect Tax Laws), Costing, Business Administration, Management Accounting scoring a minimum of 60% aggregate marks.
The course fee for the CA Foundation exam is INR 9800, while for the CA Intermediate exam is INR 18,000, and for the CA Final is INR 22,000. Thus, the total course fee for a Chartered Accountant is nearly INR 50,000. Few institutes offer coaching and study materials for these Chartered Accountant exams, such as Navkar Institute, ICAI Delhi, Finplan, Indian Institute of Finance and Accounts, etc.
On Completion of the CA course, one can get jobs as Junior Associate, Senior Associate, Auditor, Tax Consultant, Financial Reporter, and many more with salaries ranging from INR 6 LPA to INR 12 LPA for freshers, which increase with experience.
Table of Contents
- Chartered Accountant Highlights
- What is a Chartered Accountant?
- Why should one study Chartered Accountant?
- Who should pursue Chartered Accountant?
- Chartered Accountant Eligibility Criteria
- Chartered Accountant Colleges/Coaching Institutes
- Chartered Accountant Admission Process
- Steps to become Chartered Accountant
- Chartered Accountant Exam Details
- Chartered Accountant Syllabus
- Chartered Accountant Jobs and Salary
- Chartered Accountant FAQs
Chartered Accountant Highlights
The highlights of the Chartered Accountant Course are summarised in the table below
What is a Chartered Accountant?
Chartered Accountant is a professional 4-5 year course that provides expertise in areas such as Financial Reporting, Advanced Financial Management, Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics, Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation, Indirect Tax Laws, and an Integrated Business Solutions case study.
There are three examinations for CA, i.e, CA Foundation, CA Intermediate, and CA Final. An articleship involving practical training and exposure has to be completed before the CA final.
Why should one study Chartered Accountant?
The benefits and reasons of studying a Chartered Accountant course are given below:
- Chartered Accountant is a well respected and high earning profession.
- As a Chartered Accountant you get to work in auditing, taxation, finance, consulting, investment banking, and more.
- As Finance management is required in every kind of business, a Chartered Accountant is required in MNCs, Government and Private Businesses.
- The Chartered Accountant is a recession proof career.
- The Chartered Accountant profession opens up opportunities to leadership roles.
Who should pursue Chartered Accountant?
The people with following qualities should pursue Chartered Accountant:
- If someone is interested in accounting, business, finance, or economics, they should pursue Chartered Accountant.
- If an individual is focused, motivated and can study for longer hours and has perseverance to clear all the examinations should pursue Chartered Accountant.
- If an individual wants to start their own CA firm, consultancy, or finance-related business will benefit from pursuing a Chartered Accountant course.
- People who have B.Com , M.Com or such similar degrees with accounting basics should pursue Chartered Accountant course.
- Individuals who need an affordable course but wish a high ROI should pursue this course.
Chartered Accountant Eligibility Criteria
The eligibility criteria for pursuing Chartered Accountant includes:
- Having cleared 10+2 with a minimum 50% aggregate marks for appearing in CA foundation examination.
- For direct entry through bypassing CA foundation and appear for CA intermediate, you have to clear a Bachelor's degree with subjects like Accounting, Auditing, Mercantile Laws, Corporate Laws, Economics, Management (including Financial Management), Taxation (including Direct Tax Laws and Indirect Tax Laws), Costing, Business Administration, Management Accounting scoring a minimum of 60% aggregate marks.
Chartered Accountant Colleges/Coaching Institutes
Chartered Accountant courses are not pursued in or offered in colleges. However few institutes offer coaching or study materials to prepare for the CA exams. Few of the well known coaching institutes are mentioned below:
Many students also pursue Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
Chartered Accountant Admission Process
The steps to enrollment process for Chartered Accountant at ICAI is given below:
Step 1: Go to the ICAI official website www.icai.org and locate the "Self Service Portal (SSP)" link.
Step 2: Click on “ First time User” and proceed with creating your login credentials by entering all the accurate personal details.
Step 3: Log in to the portal and locate the Student Cycle section, choose the relevant course : start with foundation, if you have cleared 10+2 or start with intermediate in case of having a bachelors degree.
Step 4: The pre-filled form will be available, make sure all the personal and academic details filled are accurate and modify if required.
Step 5: Pay the registration fees through ( Debit Card, Credit Card, Net Banking, UPI). Upon successful payment you will receive the acknowledgement through mail and receive a Student Serial Number.
Step 6: ICAI will send the study materials to your registered Address and will provide online study materials as well.
Documents required:
- Class 10th mark sheet/certificate.
- Class 12th mark sheet/admit card (if awaiting results).
- Recent passport-size color photograph.
- Scanned signature.
- Proof of Nationality (if applicable).
- Special category certificate (if applicable).
- Bachelor;s degree marksheet (if needed)
Steps to become Chartered Accountant
Here are the steps to become Chartered Accountant according to ICAI:
Step1: Decide whether to enter via CA foundation or Direct Entry through CA intermediate according to your Eligibility. If you have cleared 10+2 opt for CA foundation examination and in case of a Bachelors degree with accounting subjects opt for direct entry to CA intermediate exam.
Step 2: In case of 10+2 , Register for CA foundation exam in ICAI 4 months before the examination. The ICAI will provide study materials for the exam once registered successfully.
Step 3: After clearing CA foundation exam opt for CA intermediate or through direct entry after bachelors. In case of Direct entry,4 weeks of Integrated Course on Information Technology and Soft Skills (ICITSS) has to be completed before commencing articleship.
Step 4: After 2 years of articleship containing exposure to practical skills in accounting and finance, and Complete 4 weeks of Advanced Integrated Course on Information Technology and Soft Skills (AICITSS) before registering for CA final exam.
Step 5: Clear all the SPOMS self paced Online modules and before clearing the 6 CA Final papers. The CA final can be given during the last six months of articleship as well.
Step 6: After clearing all exams, completing articleship, and mandatory training, apply to ICAI for membership to become a Chartered Accountant.
Chartered Accountant Exam Details
The details and fees for CA foundation, CA intermediate and CA final exam are given in the below table:
Chartered Accountant Syllabus
The syllabus for Chartered Accountant course according to ICAI given below:
Chartered Accountant Jobs and Salary
The Details about high paying jobs after Chartered Accountant course are given in the below table:
Chartered Accountant FAQs
When are the Chartered Accountant Exams conducted?
The Chartered Accountant Examinations are conducted thrice a year, i.e in the month of January, May/June and September. Registration for all the examinations should be completed 4 to 6 months before the CA Foundation, CA intermediate and CA Final Exams.
What can I do after becoming a Chartered Accountant?
After becoming a Chartered Accountant, one can work in auditing (statutory, internal, forensic), taxation , financial reporting, corporate finance, financial analysis, risk management, business consulting, and even becoming Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) or starting their own practice.
What are the mandatory courses ICITSS and AICITSS required for being a Chartered Accountant?
ICITSS : Integrated Course on Information Technology and Soft Skills is a four week program that involves Orientation and Information Technology before starting articleship while AICITSS is Advanced Integrated Course on Information Technology and Soft Skills, a four week programme including Management and Soft skills that should be completed before CA final.
