Chartered Accountancy : Introduction
With the rapid growth in economy, careers in finance and accounts have
gained tremendous popularity and the most prestigious career option in
this filed is that of Chartered Accountant. Chartered Accountancy is a
dynamic, challenging and rewarding profession. All the countries have
their own Accountancy Association which regulates the quality and quantity
of the professionals in this field. Chartered Accountancy Course is a
professional course in Accounting introduced in our country in 1949, with
the enactment of the Chartered Accountants Act. The Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India (ICAI) was formed the same year . This Institute
is both an examining and a licensing body. It is the responsibility of
the institute to conduct the Chartered accountancy (CA) Course. The course
involves a blend of theoretical education and practical training which
run concurrently for a period of three years and equips a student with
knowledge, ability, skills and other qualities required of a professional
accountant.
A Chartered accountant is one who is specialised in
accounting, auditing and taxation. He also serves as a management and
corporate caretaker. In recent times, accountancy has become popular
as a profession. The services of a CA is required in money matters even
in a small business . Moreover according to the Company Act only
CA's in professional practice are allowed to be appointed as auditors
of companies in India. A chartered accountant is a person who is accepted
as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)
after having passed the Final examination of the Chartered accountancy
course conducted by the institute.
Many multinational companies have come forward in the Chartered Accountancy
field. ICICI Prudential, Om Kotak Mahindra, Birla Sun-Life, Tata AIF Life,
Reliance, HDFC Standard Life-Chartered Accountancy Co., Max New York Life,
SBI Life Chartered Accountancy, ING Vysya Life etc. are the top companies
in the private sector. In non-life Chartered Accountancy segment, major
private players are ICICI Lombard, Royal Sundaram, Cholamandalam, IFFCO
Tokyo, Tata AIG etc. All Chartered Accountancy companies come under the
Chartered Accountancy Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) which
is established to regulate, promote and ensure orderly growth of Life
and General Chartered Accountancy industry in India.
CA programme is a professional course which has three
sections namely, Common Proficiency Test (CPT); Integrated Professional
Competence Course (IPCC) and Final Course. The registration for CPT and
IPCC is open throughout the year. A student may register at any time during
the year. However, as the examinations will be held twice a year in May
and November, it is necessary that a student must register at least ten
months before the examinations. After passing the Integrated Professional
Competence Course (IPCC) candidates are eligible for registration as articled
clerks/ audit clerks for practical training. Computer Training Programme,
ie 100 hours Information Technology is compulsory for the candidates who
wish to register themselves as auditor clerk. Students can undergo this
programme while pursuing CPT or IPCC.
Articled clerk is a trainee attached to a practicing chartered
accountant under a Deed of Articles for the duration three years. During
this period the articled clerk will also need to continue studies for
the CA exam. An audit clerk is a person who has served as a salaried employee
for a minimum period of one year under a practicing chartered accountant.
During the training period, candidates would be required to work in different
areas learning the basics of auditing and taxation . This training enables
them to learn the technical details of the job as well as to get an idea
of the working environment of the profession.
The scope for this lucrative career is bright in an economically developing
nation like ours and as such the career can be termed as challenging and
rewarding for competent professionals in the field.
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