At the end of high school, in grade 12 most students are faced with the momentous decision of choosing a career path for themselves. While some go after their passions in science, liberal arts and physics, others try to find careers that fit within their skill set.
The career of being a chartered accountant is thrown around for many students. The job comes with prestige and the pride of cracking one of the toughest exams in India.
Ever wondered How to become a chartered accountant after 12th science? Well the path is the same as it would be for any commerce or humanities student. The career is seen as a highly reputed, prestigious and rich one.
Also Read: How to Become Lawyer After 12th ?
Who is CA and Responsibilities?
A chartered accountant focuses in the areas of audit, assurance, financial accounting, taxation, managing accounting and applied finance etc. chartered accountants work either directly as an employee of a company or as a part of a chartered accountancy firm or even as individuals.
Chartered accountancy has been viewed as a profession with vast opportunities for progression, job development and high earning opportunities.
Chartered accountants manage the finances, taxation and auditing of an entity such as a company, industry, firm etc. Under their role as the managers of finance of an entity they carry out the following tasks.
- Managing financial accounts
- Budgeting
- Auditing
- Taxation
- Business strategy
- Studying profit margins
Chartered accountants play a crucial role in the financial management of companies- which is essential to the smooth running and success/development of the said companies.
Also Read: How to Become a Veterinary Doctor After 12th?
Here are some responsibilities of a chartered accountant:
- Managing the finances and budget
- Undertaking financial audits
- Providing financial advice
- Analysing company’s financial systems and risks
- Detect and prevent fraud
- Give advice on tax and treasury issues
- Provide advice on business transactions
- Provide advice on company’s financial health
- Advice clients on tax issues and tax planning
- Prepare monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, half yearly and yearly financial reports
How to Become a Chartered Accountant After 12th?
As discussed above, the job of a CA is a responsible one with the requirement of passion and interest. If you are truly interested and piqued by this job, I’ll let you know that there are a few ways of becoming a chartered accountant.
The first way of achieving this dream job is right after 12th. The Institute of Chartered Accountants, a statutory body looking over chartered accountants and CA Education has recently revised its curriculum, replacing the old CPC (common proficiency course) with the new CA foundation.
After passing 12th standard students from any of the three streams can enroll in the foundation course of the ICIA and then give the exam four months later. Students who pass this exam can enroll in the intermediate course and then give a test again.
The students who pass the intermediate course enroll the final course and then give an exam eight months later. If they successfully clear this exam they can register themselves with the Institute of chartered accountants and become a licensed CA.
The students need to give three exams and also take up two mandatory courses in order to become a CA. There is no requirement of being from the commerce stream.
Also Read: How to Become an Indian Forest Service Officer After 12th?
Eligibility and Qualification to Join CA
The qualifications required to Pursue the CA course by the Institute of chartered accountant is to successfully pass out of class 12 from a registered state or national school.
Subject combination-Students from the streams of commerce, science and arts that have finished class 12th can enroll in the foundation course.
Eligibility for Foundation Course
- Candidate must have completed 12th standard
- Enroll in the foundation course
- Complete a four month study period to appear for the foundation course exam
Eligibility for Direct Entry Route
To directly enter the intermediate course:
- Students must be from the commerce stream
- Minimum of 55% marks for commerce graduates
- Minimum 60% marks for commerce post-graduates
Skills needed to be a chartered accountant:
- Commercial awareness
- General business interest and awareness
- Analytical skills
- Communication skills
- Business Ethics
- Professionalism
- Teamwork
- Communication skills
- IT Proficiency
- Numeracy
Also Read: Career in Fashion Designing Courses After 12th?
Procedure to Become Chartered Accountant
As per the new curriculum, students can pursue the course of a CA right away finishing high school i.e. after passing 12th standard from a recognized school body. The interested students are supposed to enroll in a foundation course that is four months long.
At the completion of four months, the enrolled students appear for an exam. Those who successfully clear the exam, then move on to the Intermediate course, which is eight months long.
At the end of eight months students again appear for another exam, passing which leads them to enter the final course. While studying the intermediate course, students also have to take 4 week Integrated Course of Information and Technology and Soft Skills.
Final course students undertake a Four Weeks Advanced Integrated Course on Information and Technology and Soft Skills, during the last two years of practical training and before taking the final exam.
The articled training is of three years and a final course student can appear for the CA final exam either after the completion of three years or during the last six months of the article training.
Those students who successfully cleared the CA final exams enroll as a member of the ICIA is designated as a licensed chartered accountant.
The other way of becoming CA is specifically for commerce graduates and post graduates with a minimum of 55% marks and 60% respectively. They can directly enroll themselves in the intermediate course, skipping the foundation course.
Can a Science Student DO CA?
Yes, a science student can do CA. According to the qualification and eligibility criteria set by the ICAI- Institute of Chartered Accountants, students who have passed 12th standard from any of the three streams can enroll themselves in the foundation course.
Thus, students from all the three streams- commerce, science and arts canbecome a ca by entering the foundation course, intermediate and subsequently the final course.
Job Responsibilities
The job of Chartered Accountant is a dream job for many students. This career is riddled with ethics, professionalism, good job opportunities and high-income salaries.
The position of a chartered accountant is an important and integral one. They ensure the health of financial institutions, financial stability of companies and also carry out budget and taxation functions.
The job responsibilities of a CA are:
- Supervise the duties of the accounting team
- Review accounting systems in Professor
- Create income statement
- Create budget
- Taxation role
- Ensure compliance with state revenue services
- Provide ongoing accounting support
- Provide ongoing reporting support among others
Pros and Cons of Being a CA
While the job of a chartered accountant is seen as a high esteem won it isn’t completely free from the faults. Like every career path, this one also has its own merits and demerits.
PROS
- Prestigious and honorable
- Respect and dignity won
- High income
- Knowledge about accounts, finance, taxation, commercial laws etc given
- Multiple Career options post getting the degree
- Can work for a firm, company, teach or start their own practice
CONS
- Needs a lot of hard work and determination
- Tough course
- A lot of time must be devoted
- One doesn’t get the college exposure
- One must continue to work hard in terms of staying up to date in the market
- Most Good job opportunities available only. After experience
Salary of a CA Fresher
The salary of a chartered accountant fresher is an average of INR 7 lakhs per annum which comes up to be around INR 58,000 per month.
Salary of fresher is generally lower as they do not have a lot of experience. However with experience, the income multiplies at exponential rates. The average salary of a 10 yrs experienced person is approximately Rs.20 lakh per Annum.
Conclusion
The job of a chartered accountant is a very prestigious one, especially in Indian subcontinent. It is considered synonymous to high income, society status, honor and pride. However the road to become a CA is a difficult one that requires a lot of determination and hard work.
Students from any of the three streams namely science, commerce and arts can enroll themselves in the foundation course of the ICIA after 12th standard. Once the foundation course exam is cleared they can move on to the intermediate course and subsequently to the final course.
Those who successfully cleared the final course register themselves with the ICAI and become chartered accountants. Another way is for commerce graduate and postgraduate having 55% and 60% marks respectively to take the direct entry route and enroll them in the intermediate course.
License to chartered accountants can work with chartered accountancy firms, companies and can even start their own practice. Some with an inclination towards academia also take up teaching.
The salary of a chartered accountant is about INR 58,000 per month and for a person having 10 years of experience the salary is about INR 20,00,00 per annum.
The job like most other words has its own pros and cons like high income, prestige, many career options, pride et cetera falling in the former category and cons include the difficulty level, the time needed, low starting salaries et cetera.
Leave a Reply