How to become a Chartered Accountant in India after 12th Commerce? : Here is the answer. Chartered Accountant (or CA as it is commonly known) is the most sought after course by commerce students in India. It is one of the most traditional profession that has been opted for by students belonging to Commerce background. “Oh! So you opted for commerce. Must be wanting to become a CA.” is a widely popular remark made by friends and relatives after hearing that you chose commerce stream. Students who take up commerce stream in class 11th are primarily made to study 5 subjects (as per CBSE board guidelines)- English Communicative, Mathematics, Accountancy, Economics and Business Studies.
A career in Chartered Accountancy is indeed very promising, however it requires you to possess dedication, hard work, commitment and passion towards the course. These are a few essential ingredients that you need to become an accomplished Chartered Accountant (ofcourse in addition to strong mental ability skills).
The profession of Chartered Accountancy in India is regulated by ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India). Many students are afraid of pursuing a career in Chartered Accountancy due to the long duration of the course (that is approximately 5 years if you start after class 12th straightaway). However, a major challenge here is to clear all the exams at every stage in a single attempt. This is because giving multiple attempts simply increases the duration of this course and often leads to frustration and anger among students. Hence it is often advisable that students give it a thought and then take a well informed decision regarding pursuing CA.
Demand of Chartered Accountancy Course
This is a very demanding course that requires you to put in a lot of efforts and give your 100%, because less than 100% is simply not acceptable. You will have to give it all you have if you desire to be successful. If you have an inclination towards various activities within the spectrum of Accountancy (ranging from auditing financial statements to filing corporate tax returns and financial advising) and you decide to put in your best efforts, then there is no looking back. You are most welcome to a profession that is highly respected and valued worldwide.
How to become a Chartered Accountant in India after 12th Commerce?
Listed below are 7 vital steps you need to undertake if you have nerves of steel and you have sincerely decided to build a career in Chartered Accountancy. So read below points to know “How to become a Chartered Accountant in India after 12th Commerce?”.
1. Register yourself for CA Foundation Examination
It is an entrance examination that you need to clear before pursuing Chartered Accountancy. First step involves getting yourself registered for the CA foundation exam after you pass your class 12th . In order to register, you first need to visit ICAI’s official website. On its homepage, you will find a ‘Login/Register’ tab. Go to that tab and then select ‘New User Register Here’ option. You need to provide some essential details like date of birth, e-mail ID, valid mobile number. Then hit the ‘Register’ button below. You will then automatically receive your registration ID via SMS and e-mail.
After that, once you complete your profile, you will be moved to the dashboard where you can apply and track your application. In your application, you are mandated to upload documents like a recent passport size photograph and signature. Once you are assured your application form is free of errors, you can proceed fir payment using a debit/credit card. For Indian states, the applicable fee amount is Rs.1000.
Nextly, you need to take a print-out of the application form, attach attested Class 10th mark-sheet (or whatever is asked) and then dispatch these documents at ICAI’s office address. You will then have the required study material delivered at your residential address. Students who have registered for this exam in April/October will be eligible for appearing in June/December examinations.
2. Preparing and Appearing for CA Foundation
At this stage, you will have to go through the CA Foundation syllabus and start preparing for it accordingly (since not much time is left for preparation after your board exams that end in April only) before you appear for the examination at the allotted examination centre. For CA Foundation, a student is required to prepare 4 subjects mentioned as follows:
- First Paper – Principles and Practices of Accounting
- Second Paper – Mercantile Law and General English (Part 1- Mercantile Law and Part 2- General English)
- Third Paper – Business Maths, Logical Reasoning and Statistics (Part 1- Business Maths and Logical Reasoning and Part 2- Business Statistics)
- Fourth Paper – Business Economics & Business and Commercial Knowledge (Part 1- Business Economics and Part 2- Business and Commercial Knowledge)
First two papers are subjective while papers 3 and 4 are objective type. Students are allowed to carry a 12-digit calculator with themselves for this examination. It is important to note that this exam carries negative marking. So, in case you do not know a particular question, it is better to leave it unattempted rather than losing marks. You are required to secure at-least 49% marks in each paper and at-least 50% marks (aggregate) of all the papers to get through this exam.
3. Clearing CA Foundation and Registering for Intermediate Examination
Once you pass the entrance examination, you are eligible for appearing in CA Intermediate Examinations.
You must get yourself registered for CA Intermediate Examinations 9 months before the first day of the month in which exams will be held. Intermediate Examinations have 8 papers in total which are further divided into 2 groups (Group 1 and Group 2).
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4. Preparing and Appearing for CA Intermediate Examinations
Next challenge in front of you is clearing the Intermediate Examinations, which has extensive syllabus and requires timely planning. Getting yourselves enrolled for coaching becomes necessary at this stage. You must make sure that you are left with enough time for revision and self study.
The 8 papers in this course you need to focus upon are Accounting, Corporate Laws & Other Laws, Cost and Management Accounting, Taxation, Advanced Accounting, Auditing and Assurance, Enterprise Information System and Strategic Management, Financial Management and Economics for Finance. Do not forget to pay attention to the modules provided by ICAI. Try to get enough practice by solving Mock test papers as well as past years.
5. Articleship Training
It is mandatory to pass at-least one group of CA Intermediate before you begin with your articleship. However, you can register for articleship only after successfully completing 100 hours of Information Technology Training (ITT). Do not make the mistake of going for Dummy Articleship. As it will devoid you of the practical exposure in the corporate world.
6. GMCS and Advanced ITT
Before registering for CA Final and after successful completion of both the groups of CA Intermediate, you need to take the course on General Management and Communication Skills (it’s a 15 days course) and complete advanced ITT as well.
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7. CA Final
This is like your final epic battle. You are just one step away from accomplishing your dreams. At this stage, it is very much important to ensure that each and every concept is clear to you. This is because this level wants you to have an expertise in in each and every subject. CA Final exams also consists of 8 papers divided into 2 groups that you need to master.
In order to victoriously get through these examinations, you must secure at-least 40% in each subject and 50% (aggregate) of all CA Final subjects.
CONCLUSION
When you are finally able to sail through this ultimate challenge, you are ready to get enrolled as a member of “ICAI“. You are now ready to be awarded with the designation of CA and off you go to start your practice as a professional.
I hope you were able to get an intelligent insight into what all you need to do to become a Chartered Accountant in India. I wish best of luck to all those who aspire to pursue Chartered Accountancy as a career. Believe in yourself because only you have the strength to convert your dreams into reality!
Author: Manasvi Nagpal
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