CA (Chartered Accountant) - as a Career
Chartered Accountancy (CA) is a professional course in accounting that equips you to deal with areas of:
Accountancy: Preparing accounts, supervising, controlling and organizing income and expenditure and making financial statements for all kind of companies and government organizations.
Auditing: Making sure that Financial Statements represents the true picture of companies financial position and it had followed the correct accounting procedures.
Cost Consultancy: Includes working out cost of a particular operation as well as minimizing costs and future forecasting.
Taxation: Preparing the returns for tax purposes, rendering advice on tax matters and minimization of incidence of direct and indirect taxes using legal means. Government also hire CAs.
Legal Matters: Handling legal aspects of contracts, estate planning and playing a crucial role during insolvency and liquidation of a company.
Management Consultancy: Collecting, Organising and analyzing information and covering statements from various financial departments to make analysis of past and present financial performance.
Planning and Management: Compiling various reports and suggesting clients in improving the management of their company.
Company Secretarial work: Ensuring that the organisation complies with relevant legislation and regulation, and keeps board members informed of their legal responsibilities.
CA The Profession
Chartered accountants (CAs) are authorized by law to check, verify, audit and certify the authenticity of financial statements of various organisations. Unless certified by a CA, a financial statement (like Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account) is not accepted by government authorities like the Department of Company Affairs (DCA) and Income Tax (IT).
The CA profession is an integral part of the financial regulatory system of a country. As a CA, you will go through the various documents of a company to verify the correctness of facts and figures and a fair representation of the financial status of the organisations. This function is called auditing.
Apart from auditing, CAs are also involved in other financial activities. They prepare budgets, help raise capital from various sources, manage costs and supervise accounting functions. They are also involved in the financial administration of banks and financial services organisations. CAs sometimes act as internal auditors and financial controllers. They are also experts in corporate laws and taxation.
The profession of a CA is almost free from the vagaries of the economy-a CA's services are needed in good times as well as bad times. A professionally competent CA is always in great demand. While career growth may vary depending on the job content and the nature of the organisation, consistently good performance will fetch good returns and steady growth.
CA - in India
• High recognition in the Society.
• Chartered Accountants are required by every commercial enterprise.
• No post qualification gestation period.
• C. A. Course backed by theoretical and practical knowledge.
• During Article ship practical exposure is available.
• High remuneration prospects & Job Satisfaction.
• Course has constitutional support.
• C.A. course offered by ICAI has been ranked No. 2, worldwide.
And as per world estimates and research in India one qualified CA cater to about 4000 persons as compared to world average of 50 persons per CA .
So huge scope for CA as a career in India
Courses Offered By ICAI:
• Chartered Accountancy Course
• Certificate Courses for Members:
1. Certificate Course on Enterprise Risk Management
2. Certificate Course on Master in Business Finance
3. Certificate Course on Corporate Governance
4. Certificate Course on International Taxation
5. Certificate Course on Forensic Accounting & Fraud Detection using IT & CAATs
6. Certificate Course on International Financial Reporting Standards
7. Certificate Course on Forex and Treasury Management
8. Certificate Course on Derivatives
9. Certificate Course on Valuation
10. Certificate Course on Arbitration
• Post Qualification Courses:
1. Information Systems Audit (ISA)
2. CPE Course on Computer Accounting and Auditing Techniques (CAAT)
3. Diploma in Insurance and Risk Management (DIRM)
4. Management Accountancy Course (MAC)/ Corporate Management Course (CMC)/ Tax Management Course (TMC)
5. International Trade Laws & World Trade Organisation (ITL & WTO)
6. ERP Courses on SAP FA & MA Module, Microsoft Dynamics NAV
Fields of work for CA
Accountancy: Preparing accounts, supervising, controlling and organizing income and expenditure and making financial statements for all kind of companies and government organizations.
Auditing: Making sure that Financial Statements represents the true picture of companies financial position and it had followed the correct accounting procedures.
Cost Consultancy: Includes working out cost of a particular operation as well as minimizing costs and future forecasting.
Taxation: Preparing the returns for tax purposes, rendering advice on tax matters and minimization of incidence of direct and indirect taxes using legal means. Government also hire CAs.
Legal Matters: Handling legal aspects of contracts, estate planning and playing a crucial role during insolvency and liquidation of a company.
Management Consultancy: Collecting, Organising and analyzing information and covering statements from various financial departments to make analysis of past and present financial performance.
Planning and Management: Compiling various reports and suggesting clients in improving the management of their company.
Company Secretarial work: Ensuring that the organisation complies with relevant legislation and regulation, and keeps board members informed of their legal responsibilities.
Jobs after CA
Where Would You Find Job?
• Auditing firms
• Management and financial consulting organisations
• Various private commercial organisations
• Government departments and regulatory agencies
• Banks and financial services organisations
• Law firms practicing corporate law
• Tax consultants
• Academic institutions
• Set up your own CA firm
How Much Would You Earn?
Entry-level salaries vary widely from Rs 20,000 to Rs 80,000 a month depending on the size and requirements of the organisation. As you gain experience, your earnings will increase substantially. There is no limit to what a competent senior CA can earn. Your income can be even more, if you set up your own practice and build up good reputation.
Job Requirement:
• Excellent numerical and analytical abilities
• An eye for detail
• A critical outlook-a nose for errors and misrepresentations
• Good communication skills
• Excellent organising abilities
• Good interpersonal abilities-you will be part of a team
• Patience and perseverance
Nature of CA's Job
• Scrutinizing a large number of documents, data and financial statements.
• Crosscheck veracity of various documents with the employees of the organisation.
• Prepare an Auditor's Report to certify the veracity of the financial statements of the organisation.
• Supervise all accounting functions and financial administration including cost management.
• Preparing all financial statements of the organisation in accordance with the law.
• Run an internal audit.
• Advise clients and organisations on various financial matters including taxation.
• Financial research and analysis, if working for a financial services company.
• Set up your own practice and offer auditing and financial consultation to clients
