Chartered Accountants (CA) is considered as a bright career opportunity. Demand for CA has increased across the country after the implementation of the Goods and Services (GST) Act, giving rise to the number of taxpayers. There is no shortage of employment opportunities for CA. It is noteworthy that there is a demand for more than 10 lakh CAs in India alone. You can pursue a job in the corporate/private sector as well as government institutes after clearing the exam. Nowadays, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) also provides for campus placement services in various cities.

ICAI was established through an act of the Parliament passed in 1949. CA is a certificate course conducted by this institute. Students pursuing CA have to get themselves registered in the institute. CA is a course that enables you to earn more if a CA starts his / her own firm rather than doing a job. While it is generally considered that to pursue CA as a career, an individual needs to pass 10 + 2 from commerce subject, however, students who have passed class XII from any stream can appear for CA.

CA course is divided into three phases –

i. Foundation Course

ii. Intermediate Course iii. Final course

A candidate can register for CA Foundation Course after completing class 10th. After preparing for four months, a candidate is eligible to apply for the CA Foundation course examination, however, one can only appear for the exam after passing class 12th.

CA Foundation course has 4 papers –

i. Principles and Practice of Accounting

ii. Business Laws and Business Correspondence and Reporting

iii. Business Mathematics, Logical Reasoning and Statistics

iv. Business Economics, Business, and Commercial Knowledge

Candidates who have completed Bachelors’s and masters with a minimum of 55 percent in commerce and with a minimum of 60 percent in other subjects can directly apply for the CA Intermediate Course. They need not appear for the CA Foundation course.

After clearing the Foundation course, a candidate needs to register for the Intermediate course. After registration, an applicant needs to complete the study course of 8 months and then clear the Intermediate Course.

Group I

Group II

Accounting

Advance Accounting

Corporate and Other Laws

Auditing and Assurance

Cost and Management Accounting

Enterprise Information System and Strategic

Taxation

Financial Management and Economics for Finance

Intermediate Course includes four weeks of information technology and soft skills training.

After clearing either one or both groups of the CA Intermediate Course, an applicant needs to register for three years of articleship. Once done with clearing both groups, a candidate has to register for the Final Course. After which an Advanced Integrated Course on Information Technology and Soft Skills for four weeks need to be completed. This course and the articleship needs to be completed before the CA Final exam.

CA is a bright career opportunity. If you prepare well with a good strategy you can easily crack CA. Students who have a set goal to pursue CA as a career from class 11th onwards should learn about the syllabus and the basis of questions asked. You can take help from the previous year question papers.

While preparing for class 11th and 12th, dedicate 2-3 hours every day to prepare for the CA Foundation Course.

Make notes – When you prepare for the CA exam, make notes of each topic you study, so that you will remember things well and it would be easy to revise. While making notes, keep writing topics pointwise.

Take help from Career Disha notes – For the preparation of the CA exam, regularly study the Career Disha publication notes.

Use good reference material as a source of study.