CBSE and other state educational boards have declared the result for class 12th exam. After the declaration of the results now the qualified students have started to look for advanced study options. For students from commerce stream, CA is an attractive career choice. CA is considered as the supremacy of the accounting field. This is one most preferred career choice among the commerce students as it is a very lucrative career.
If you are among those who want to pursue their career in CA then here you will get all the essential information about ICAI, the institute that conducts CA exam.
Overview of ICAI
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a judicial body for the Chartered Accountants of India. It was established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Act No. XXXVIII of 1949) to standardize the Chartered Accountant’s profession in India. Since its existence, ICAI has become one of the leading accounting bodies not only in India but all over the world for professional development and maintaining the highest integrity in accounting. ICAI is the only government agency responsible for exercising financial audit and accountancy profession in India.
The members of ICAI are known as the Chartered Accountants. Only the members of ICAI are authorized for the auditing of a company within India.
How to Get ICAI Membership
To get the membership of ICAI a person has to apply for a Provisional Membership. Then the candidate is required to complete three levels of examinations and three years of compulsory training which is also known as articleship and also meeting other requirements under Act and Regulations.
Candidates with less than five years of membership, also known as Associate Chartered Accountant has to use letters A.C.A after their name. If an associate chooses to practice, then it is mandatory for them to apply to be a fellow member of ICAI.
If an associate has been practicing in India for a minimum period of five years and meets all the criteria as required can apply and can be designated as a “Fellow”. Then they have to add the letters FCA after their name.
Another way to get ICAI membership is through MRA i.e., Mutual Recognition Agreements. ICAI has merged with several institutes globally, with equal standing. Through MRA, members of other institutes can apply for ICAI membership and members of ICAI can also apply for membership of other institutes.
Currently, ICAI has MRAs with the following bodies:
- Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales
- CPA Australia
Examination
The ICAI has recently updated its program of education and training. This updated program has been effective from 1 July 2017.
A CA course has certain levels to be passed. Here are the details of the same:
- Common Proficiency Test (CPT)
- IPCC/IPCE (Integrated Professional Competence Course)
- Articleship of three years under any practicing CA
- CA final exams.
In general, any 12th appearing student has to register and pass the CPT to get enrolled for the IPCC. But the intermediate passed students of Institute of Cost Accountant and Institute of Companies Secretaries of India or the students who are graduated can directly register for IPCC. Normally it takes 4.5 years for a student to complete a CA course for those students who are firstly applying for CPT. But it takes three years for those who are eligible to apply for IPCC directly.
Eligibility to Apply for ICAI
- The student must clear their 10th and 12th from one of the recognized Board.
- For commerce graduates or Post graduated, eligibility is a minimum of 55% marks are required.
- For other graduates or postgraduates, the eligibility is a minimum of 60% marks are required.
- Students who have passed Intermediate levels of exams from the Institute of companies secretaries of India and Institutes of cost accountants of India can directly enter into Intermediate course.
- Students who have graduated/post graduated from an open university are not eligible to appear for the entrance exams.
Career Scope for an ICAI Member
- There are various career scopes for a Chartered Accountant all over the world.
- A CA can choose to practice on his/her own. They can have their private practice and can increase the number of clients depending on their quality of work.
- They can also apply at any existing Chartered Accountant firm.
- An ICAI member can also choose to join any Government sector, Public sector or Private sector.
- A member of ICAI can also choose to work in other countries like England, Australia, and Wales.
- A CA can also join the manufacturing and financial services sector, due to a large demand for them.
- There is also a lot of scope for women to build their career in CA. Here are a few points on how it is a career opportunity for women:
- A lot of flexibility and a great opportunity for self-employment.
- CA’s have great demand in the educational field
- A lot of scope for female candidates to find a job in good companies in taxation and auditing profiles.
- A female candidate who is a qualified CA has higher chances of getting selected at board level positions then a non-CA candidate.
Winding it Up
CA is a reputed course and it offers a plethora of opportunities. Though ICAI has divided the CA course only in 4 stages all these stages are equally difficult and want all your focus to clear them. ICAI also offer campus selection to its qualifies students and usually, companies also welcome the ICAI pass outs. So this course is lucrative if you could complete it.
We hope that now you know everything about ICAI. If still, you have any question in mind then share it with us in the comment box below, we shall revert you.
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