The Chartered Accountants-Overview

Under several legislation, the Chartered Accountants are entrusted like for compulsory audit in several companies including banks, stock brokers, companies, big income tax assesses large bank borrowers and lots more. It highly depicts the confidence and trust laid by the government and society in this profession. In fact, the society has been increasingly reckoning the services of Chartered Accountants in the whole wide range of management consulting services, involving management information, control system, management accounting, financial services sector and international finance information technology. The kinds of functions played by Chartered Accountants are quite varied; some of them includes Auditing, Accounting, taxation, Cost accountancy, Special company work, Investigation, Directorship, Companies secretarial work, Trustees and Executors, Management accounting, Share valuation work and other activities. To become a good and successful Chartered Accountant, you just not require numerical liability and business insightfulness, but good communication skills, independence of thought, objectivity and integrity paired with the ability to work under loads of pressure and time deadlines.

Know about CPT (Common Proficiency Test):

First of all, what exactly is CPT? It is an entry level test required for Chartered Accountancy Course. Basically, it is a test comprised with four subjects i.e. Mercantile laws, Accounting, Quantitative Aptitude and General Economics. The test score is of 200 marks. The test has been divided into 2 segments of two hours each:

• Simplified Entry to the Chartered Accountancy Course.
• CPT will replace existing Professional Education (Course-I) which requires 10-month study period followed by an exhaustive theoretical exam.
• CPT is an objective type test to be conducted in every February, May, August and November. This will reduce stretched waiting for entry to the chartered accountancy education and training.

Besides this, Common Proficiency test is an objective type multiple choice based examination. Also, candidates will be permitted to opt for Hindi medium Question paper booklet for answering the questions. The test will be open only to those candidates, who have already registered with ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants) in India for the specified course and meet the requisite eligibility criteria’s.

Chartered Accountant Course Details :

Basically, in India, there are three levels of Chartered Accountancy courses. Common Proficiency Test is an entry-level programme. A student can appear (CPT) after appearing in the Senior Secondary Examination. The second stage is Professional Competence Course (PCC), articled training, and 100 hours of Information Technology Training (ITT). The third level is the Final Course in which students can register after clearing PCC. Students can also go through General Management and Communication Skills Course (GMSC) while undergoing Final course or after that. After passing, the final examination students are eligible to enroll with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India to become Chartered Accountants.

Requirements for CA:

Apart from successfully completing the Graduation diploma of Chartered Accounting, candidates interested in CA must clear the enlisted practical experience requirements to be acknowledged as a member of the institute.

Chartered Accountant Requirements

• 3 years full time experience in an organization accredited by the Institute – Falling for 3 years of membership, candidates must be in recognized employment, along with finishing their graduate diploma studies.
• Mentored by a Chartered Accountant – A mentor must belongs from one of the reckoned overseas bodies or just be a member of the institute.
• Manifested required levels of technical and non technical competency figured out in the candidate practical experience activity log – Via a logbook :
• Taxation
• Financial accounting and reporting
• Business and commercial law
• Management accounting and control
• Finance and financial management
• Audit and assurance

Along with technical areas, candidates must also depict evidence that they have acknowledged 100% competence in all of the following non-technical areas:

• Information Technology
• Organizational and business areas
• Professional skills
• Professional values, attitude and ethics

In the last to be admitted to membership, interested person’s must subject a Final Mentor’s report, completed and signed affirming they have acquired the required level of workplace competence.

How to become Chartered Accountant ?

To become a good Chartered Accountant, you just no require numerical liabilities and business intelligence, but also need objectivity, good communication skills, independence of integrity and work under thorough pressure and time deadlines. Now switching towards course details requirements, in order to become a Chartered Accountant, one has to follow the following courses of study:

Professional Education Course (Chartered Accountancy Course)

By joining the professional education PE course, one can join Chartered Accountancy course. The course has been available in 2 sections i.e. PE Course I and PE Course II. PE Course I is mandatory for students joining after 10+2 and graduates with less than intended marks. In fact, candidates who are graduates with more marks and have already cleared the I.C.W.A.I (Final Examination of the Institute of Cost and Work Accounts of India) and Institute of Company Secretaries of India (I.C.S.I) are freed from PE Course I. On the other hand, PE Course II is mandatory for all disregarding the truth whether one is coming from PE Course I or get freed from that course.  

PE (Professional Education) Course I

The minimal duration of the course is 10 months and registration is open all throughout the year. In the month of May and November, the exams were held twice in a year. At least 10 months before the examinations, student gets registered. The study material or the professional course –I includes Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Fundamentals of Accounting, Business communication, Organization and management. For passing the examination, one must obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper, minimum of 50% of the total papers of all the papers should be there and 5 successive efforts are provided for passing the examination.

PE (Professional Education)Course II (Accounting, Auditing, Business and Corporate Laws)

After completing PE Course I, one has to join PE Course II and the minimum duration of this course is 10 months. The subjects of study included for the professional course II are divided into 2 groups i.e. Group I and Group II. Group I comprises Accounting, Auditing, Business and corporate laws. Whereas Group II included financial management, Cost accounting, Income tax, Central Sales tax and Information Technology. Group I comprises Accounting, Auditing, Business and corporate laws. Whereas Group II included Financial management, Cost accounting, Income tax, Central Sales tax and Information Technology, a student can appear either in one group in one exam or in both groups at the same time and also in the other group at any following examination but he/she need to pass in the two groups. The group will be declared to have cleared in one group if in the first attempt it secures minimal of 40% in each paper and 50% as an aggregate in all the papers. Likewise, declared to have passed in both groups simultaneously if he secures at one sitting, a minimum 40% marks in each paper of each of the group and an aggregate of 50% of all the papers of each of the groups or a minimum of 40% in each paper of both the groups and 50% in the aggregate of all the papers of both groups taken together.

CA Certification:

Forming a professional body, Chartered Accountants were the first accountants, primarily found in Britain in year 1854. After that, the Edinburgh Society of Accountants (formed 1854), the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries (1854) and the Aberdeen Society of Accountants (1867) were each granted a royal charter from their inception. The title is an internationally reckoned and recognized professional designation. Usually, Chartered Accountants work in all areas of business and finance. Chartered Accountants Institutes need members to acquire in charge a minimum level of long-lasting professional development to stay ahead of their peers. Facilitating special interest groups like lead academic and professional thinking in accountancy, they used to support members by proffering advisory services, technical help lines and technical libraries. In addition, they provide opportunities for professional networking, career and business development. In US, the approximate equivalent is the certified public accountant. 

Accounting Certificates

Certificates are basically designed to allow you to accomplish a coherent grouping of degree credit courses at university level as either part of or independent from a full degree program. Depending upon the subject area and specialization, the number of courses differs for any given certificate.  

Chartered Accountant Certification in different countries

• United Kingdom – There is no as such license requirement for individuals to depict themselves or practice as accountants, though to render services as Chartered Accountant, he/she must be members of the following organizations: ICAEW (Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales), ICAS (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland), and ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland). CA who is involved with public practice must possess a practicing certificate by meeting further requirements like undergoing regular inspections and buying adequate insurance.
• Ireland – In this country, CA are generally members of Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland, though can also be the members of ICAS or Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
• EU accountants – Under this, Swiss and EEA nationals holding a professional qualification can develop into members of the equivalent bodies in another member state. However, they must pass an aptitude test in understanding local conditions, including local tax and company law variations complied for accountants.
• Australia – Using the designator letters as CA, in Australia CAs belong to Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia.
• New Zealand – Here CAs belong to New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants, whereas some of them might be elected from fellows.
• Canada – Here CA must be members of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) and its membership must be held along with membership of as a minimum one CA institute belonging to any Canadian province or territory. The Business Corporations Act provides CAs that certifications, which can be used as provincial regulatory body and auditing public companies.
• South Africa – Here, SAICA (South African Institute of Chartered Accountants) adheres the CAs designation and certifications.
• India – ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants) is responsible for examinations, licensing and certifications of its members. Registered with 16,000 members, it is the second biggest body of professional accountants in the world.
• Pakistan – The profession of Chartered accountancy has been regulated by the ICAP (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan).
• Sri Lanka – Using designator letters as ACA, Chartered Accountants belong to Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka.

List of Institutes of CA Certifications

The following is the list of institutes, which takes care of certifications required in the field of Chartered Accountant:

• Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants
• Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland
• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ghana
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Namibia
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sierra Leone
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe
• Institute of Chartered Accountants of Trinidad and Tobago
• South African Institute of Chartered Accountants
• New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants

List of college for C.A Institute in India

S.No	Chartered Accountant College Name and Address	State
1	A.V.S. College of Arts & Science	Tamil Nadu
2	Aggarwal P.G. College	Haryana
3	Ahmednagar Jilha Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj’s New Arts, Commerce & Science College	Maharashtra
4	Asansol Branch of Eastern India Regional Council of the I.C.A.I.	West Bengal
5	Aurora’s Degree College	Andhra Pradesh
6	B.N. Saha D.A.V. Public School	Jharkhand
7	Bal Bhavan Public Senior Secondary School	Delhi
8	Bhanuvijayji Universal Foundation’s Divine Child School	Gujarat
9	Bharata Mata College	Kerala
10	Bhavan’s Vivekananda College of Science	Andhra Pradesh
11	C.B. Bhandari Jain College	Karnataka
12	Canara College	Karnataka
13	Chikitsak Samuha’s S.S. & L.S. Patkar College of Arts &Science and V.P. Varde College of Commerce & Economics	Maharashtra
14	Chinmaya Vidyalaya	Kerala
15	Coimbatore Branch of S.I.R.C. of I.C.A.I.	Tamil Nadu
16	College of Professional Education	Uttar Pradesh
17	Cuttack Branch of EIRC of ICAI	Orissa
18	D.A.V. College	Chandigarh
19	Deccan Education Society’s	Maharashtra
20	Delhi Branch of NIRC of ICAI	Delhi
21	Deshbhakt Ratnappa Kumbhar College of Commerce	Maharashtra
22	Eastern India Regional Council of ICAI	West Bengal
23	Farook College	Kerala
24	G.S. College of Commerce & Economics	Madhya Pradesh
25	Gargi College	Delhi
26	Goswami Ganesh Dutta Sanatan Dharam College	Chandigarh
27	H.A. College of Commerce	Gujarat
28	H.L. College of Commerce	Gujarat
29	Howrah Akshaya Sikshayatan	West Bengal
30	Hyderabad Branch of the SIRC of I.C.A.I.	Andhra Pradesh
31	Institute of Professional Studies & Research	Orissa
32	Jagannath International Management School	Delhi
33	Jaipur Branch of C.I.R.C of the I.C.A.I	Rajasthan
34	Jamshedpur Branch of C.I.R.C. of the ICAI	Jharkhand
35	K.S. Rangasamy College of Arts & Science	Tamil Nadu
36	Karnataka Pre-University College	Karnataka
37	Kottayam Brnch of the S.I.R.C. of I.CA.I.	Kerala
38	Kumararani Meena Muthiah College of Arts & Science	Tamil Nadu
39	Laxman Public School	Delhi
40	Loyola College	Tamil Nadu
41	Lucknow Branch of C.IR.C. of theICAI	Uttar Pradesh
42	Mahavir Institute of Educational Training and Management	Delhi
43	Mangalore Branch of SIRC of ICAI	Karnataka
44	Mar Ivanious College	Kerala
45	Mercy College Palakkad	Kerala
46	Modern Education Society’s College of Commerce	Karnataka
47	Mount Abu Sr.Sec.School	Delhi
48	Mumbai Branch of W.I.R.C of I.C.A.I	Maharashtra
49	Mysore Branch of SIRC of I.C.A.I.	Karnataka
50	Oshwal Education Trust’s Shri G.H. Gosrani & Shri D.D. Nagda BBA College	Gujarat