Chartered Accountant

Chartered Accountancy: The course can be pursued from Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, which regulates the CA profession, which is the only institute which offers course of chartered accountancy and gives CA certification.

Under the existing chartered accountancy scheme of education, training and examination, the requirements for becoming a chartered accountant are as follows: (as per ICAI)

• Enroll with the Institute for Common Proficiency Test (CPT) after passing class 10th examination conducted by an examining body constituted by law in India or an examination recognized by the Central Government as equivalent thereto.
• Appear in CPT after appearing in the senior secondary examination (10+2 examination) conducted by an examining body constituted by law in India or an examination recognized by the Central Government as equivalent thereto and after completion of specified period (60 days) from the date of registration for CPT with the Board of Studies as on the first day of the month in which examination is to be held, viz., students registered on or before 1st April/1st October will be eligible to appear in June/December examination, as the case may be. However, candidate should pass both CPT and 10+2 before registering for Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC).
• Enroll for Group I or Group II or for both Group I and Group II of Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC) to become “Chartered Accountant”.
• Successfully complete 9 months of study course from the date of IPCC registration.
• Successfully complete Orientation Course of one week spanning 35 hours and covering topics, such as personality development, communication skills, office procedure, business environment, general commercial knowledge, etc., before commencement of articled training.
• Successfully complete 100 hours Information Technology Training (ITT) before commencement of articled training.
• Appear and pass Group I as well as Group II of Integrated Professional Competence Examination (IPCE). Group I is composed of four papers and Group II is composed of three papers.
• Register as Articled Assistant for a period of 3 years, on passing either Group I or both the Groups of IPCE.
• Register for CA Final Course and prepare for CA Final Examination.
• Undergo General Management and Communication Skills (GMCS) (15 days) course while undergoing Final Course and serving the last 12 months of articled training.
• Complete 3 years period of articled training.
• Appear in the Final Examination on completion of the practical training or while serving last 6 months of articled training on or before the last day of the month preceding the month in which the examination is to be held.
• Pass final examination and complete GMCS, if not completed earlier.
• Enroll as a member of ICAI and designate as “Chartered Accountant”.

CA after class 12th (CPT ) Common Proficiency Test (CPT) is an entry level test for Chartered Accountancy Course. It is an objective type test of 200 marks of 4 subjects namely, Fundamentals of Accounting, Mercantile Laws, General Economics and Quantitative Aptitude with an objective to test the basic knowledge in these subjects. CPT is divided into two sessions of two hours each. In the first session there are two sections: Section A – Fundamentals of Accounting carrying 60 marks and Section B – Mercantile laws carrying 40 marks. In the second session there are two sections: Section C – General Economics carrying 50 marks and Section D – Quantitative Aptitude also carrying 50 marks. These two sessions are of two hours each

CA after GraduationStudents who have graduated in Commerce with 50% marks, non- commerce graduates with subjects other than Mathematics and an aggregate of 55% and non-commerce students with Maths and an aggregate of 60% do not have to appear for the CPT test and can directly register themselves for Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC).

 During the course in various groups one has to study Fundamentals of Accounting, Mathematics and Statistics, Economics, Mercantile Law, Accounting, Law, and Auditing, Cost accounting, Income-Tax & Central Sales Tax, and Organisation & Management and Fundamentals of Electronic Data Processing.

 For the final examination one has to study: Advanced Accounting, Management Accounting, Auditing and Company Law, Direct Tax Laws, Corporate Management, Secretarial Practice, Managerial Economics and National Accounting, Operational Research and Statistical Analysis, System Analysis and Data Processing, Costs Systems and Cost Control, Management Information and Control Systems, Tax Planning and Tax Management, Management and Operational Audit.

Unlike other professional courses, the fee for becoming a CA is very less, which is often inclusive of the cost of study material. The fee for CPT is approximately Rs.6700/- while that of IPCC is Rs.9000/-.

• Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.