Accountancy

Introduction:

Looking for a Career Option in the Field of Accountancy ? This section features Accountancy as a career option, elaborated with reference to the job profile, personality traits required, the courses and training involved, premier institutions and future prospects.

Accountancy tends to be a very stable profession, as financial reports must be generated whether the business situation is good or bad. As demand for financial information increases with the emergence of a global economy, the field grows larger. Accountants plan, budget for, analyse, verify and interpret financial transactions. They are also responsible for ensuring that the records of these transactions are kept so that the information can at any time be extracted from them.

Chartered Accountants generally work either as employees in a firm or they indulge in their private practice. Some of the areas suited to the services of Chartered Accounts are as follows:

Financial Accounting: Maintaining financial records of an organization is of utmost importance. Financial accounting is a branch of accounting which deals maintaining the financial records. It involves operating accounts, interpreting, supervising, controlling and organizing income and expenditure, doing internal audits, dealing with wages and salaries, paying accounts and sending out invoices, and coping with taxes etc.

Auditing: One of the important tasks performed by Chartered Accountants is auditing. It is the methodical examination and review of the accounts. Chartered Accountants examine and verify the books of accounts and other necessary documents of their employers or clients. On satisfaction, they issue a certificate about the company's financial state. Auditing can be further classified into sub-categories.

  • Statutory audit
  • Internal audit
  • Compulsory tax audit
  • Certification and audit

Cost Accounting: Cost accounting deals with working out the cost of a particular operation or job, taking into account relevant overheads. It is quite a complex task usually undertaken for monitoring expenditure, preventing it from over-shooting, minimizing costs, forecasting future needs and providing reports for management accounting etc. It also helps in drawing comparisons, analyzing costs and explaining financial information.

Tax Management: Sometimes Chartered Accountants specialize in tax management. Their job is to legally ensure minimum incidence of tax. In doing so they have to cope with taxation laws and policies on national as well as international scale depending on the kind of company they work for. Tax management relates not only to direct taxes e.g. income tax but to indirect taxes like sales tax, excise tax, agricultural income tax etc.

Consultancy: The changing scenario in the business world has opened promising and challenging career opportunities for the aspiring young. Consulting services is one such opportunity which has drawn a lot of attention these days. Chartered Accounts often indulge in providing these services in the fields related to finance and accounts. They can efficiently provide services in areas like corporate law advice, project planning and finance, investigations relating to share valuation for takeovers, amalgamation, business advice, secretarial work etc.

Personality Traits:

Accountants should have academic and numerical ability, imagination, willingness to take decisions, powers of logical reasoning, an analytical mind, good judgement, tact in dealing with clients and employers, the ability to write and speak concisely, resourcefulness and a confident manner.

Placements & Prospects:

Chartered accountants and Cost And Works accountants find work in government service, industry and private consultancy. The government, industry and business are increasingly drawing upon these professionals for planning and executing their financial programmes.

The present day complex tax systems, improved methods of computing costs and controlling budgets, the new fields of management accounting and the innovations in accounting methodology have increased the importance of the accountancy profession. The field is competitive, challenging and remunerations are approx. above Rs. 10000 to start with (although this varies with location and employing organisation and individual capability).

The fast moving world of finance requires more and more accountancy professionals with the increasing numbers of financial institutions both Indian and Multinational.

Courses/Training:

The two major streams in Accountancy are : Chartered Accountancy and Cost And Works Accountancy (Management Accountancy). Those interested can register for the Foundation course with the Institute Of Chartered Accountancy Of India (ICAI) or Institute of Costs And Works Accountancy (ICWAI) respectively. After clearing the Foundation of ICAI or ICWAI, he/she can start off with the Integrated Professional Competence Course (IPCC) or Intermediate Course of ICAI or Intermediate Course of ICWAI.

CA programme is of 5 years inclusive of the training period. It has three sections:

  • Foundation
  • Intermediate Course (new)/ IPCC (old)
  • Final examination

Foundation Course : Enrol for Foundation Course after appearing in Class 12th Examination conducted by an examining body constituted by law in India or an examination recognised by the Central Government as equivalent thereto. Complete four months Study Period. Register till 30th June/ 31st December for being eligible to appear in November/ May Foundation Course Examination. Appear in Foundation Examination after passing in the Senior Secondary Examination (10+2 examination) conducted by an examining body constituted by law in India or an examination recognised by the Central Government as equivalent thereto and on complying with above.

Intermediate Course : Join Intermediate Course after passing Foundation Examination. Undergo Four Weeks Integrated Course on IT and Soft skills (ICITSS) consisting of Courses on Information Technology and Orientation Course at the earliest but these are to be completed compulsorily before commencement of their articleship. Appear in Intermediate Examination on completion of 8 months of study course as on first day of the month in which the examination is to be held. Join articled training after passing either of the Group or Both Groups of Intermediate Course and after successfully undergoing ICITSS. Clear the balance Group (if any) of Intermediate Examination.

Final Course: Register for Final Course. Successfully undergo Four Weeks Advanced Integrated Course on Information Technology and Soft skills (AICITSS) consisting of Courses on Advanced Information Technology and Management Communication Skills during the last two years of practical training but before appearing in the Final Examination. 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 after successful completion of AICITSS. Complete articled training of 3 years. Pass Final Examination. Enrol as a member of the ICAI and be designated as “Chartered Accountant”.

General FAQs of students regarding CA: https://resource.cdn.icai.org/45555bos35643faq.pdf

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India is the only institute in the country conducting the chartered accountancy course through its Regional Councils located at Mumbai (Western), New Delhi (Northern), Kanpur (Central), Kolkata (Eastern), and Chennai (Southern).

Colleges offering Accounting courses (Not for Chartered Accountancy):

  • School of Management Sciences, Varanasi
  • Indian Institute of Business Management and Studies, Mumbai
  • Birla Global University, Orissa
  • School of Management Sciences, Lucknow
  • The TIPS Global Institute, Tamil Nadu
  • Alliance School of Business, Bangalore
  • Amity College of Commerce and Finance, Noida

Challenges:

  • Monotonous work
  • Moderate salary (not if a chartered accountant-they earn a lucrative salary)
  • Long working hours at certain times of the year like the financial month end

Remuneration:

With prosperity in the Indian job market in the recent years, each business house or company, however small or big, requires an accountant for maintenance of annual financial report and daily book of accounts.So, accountant salary in India is nowadays is much lucrative. Chartered accountants or CAs can get handsome pay package, along with other perquisites, in both government and private sectors.

The average salary for an Accountant is Rs 234,080 per year.

Bibliography:

ICAI. (2018). ICAI - The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. [online]

"Education In India - Schools And Colleges In India." Indicareer.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 16 Aug. 2017

"Salary Trends In India - Find Salaries By Industry, Skills Or Experience." Naukrihub.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 16 Aug. 2017.

Top MBA Colleges Best MBA Colleges, Best Faculty in MBA Colleges. "CAREERFUNDA.IN - Online Career Counseling, Look Out For Colleges, Courses, Institutes, Universities, Schools, Degrees, Career Options, Study Abroad." Careerfunda.in. N.p., 2017. Web. 16 Sept. 2017.