Have you cleared your 12th exams just now? Are you looking on the web that how to become a chartered accountant after 12th? Then hello, you are welcome to your future as this article is going to clear all your doubts along with guiding you through the total CA course in full details. So sit back, relax and enjoy reading.
How to kickstart your CA career just after your 12th
So, hoping that your 12th exams went well and you got a nice period of rest, then its time to walk towards the first step of your CA career. But wait the first step means that there should be more steps? Yes, definitely. There are a total of four steps that are going to tell you how to become a chartered accountant? The four steps of your vast CA syllabus are:
- CA Foundation
- CA Intermediate
- Articleship training (3 years)
- CA Final
Each of these steps are mentioned below in full details.
CA Foundation
After the 12th exams, you have a period of 5 months to prepare for your CA Foundation course. This CA Foundation is an entry test that is similar to the 11th and 12th standard tests and is categorized in four subjects:
- Principles and practices of accounting
- Mercantile law and General English
- Mercantile law
- General English
- Business mathematics, logical reasoning, and statistics
- Business mathematics and logical reasoning
- Business statistics
- Business economics and business and commercial knowledge
- Business economics
- Business and commercial knowledge
These above-mentioned papers are divided into subparts which are the subjects to be covered. The above two papers are generally subjective and the last two are objective in nature. The accounting you must have already learned in your previous classes.
Mercantile law is a new subject indeed but this is also a scoring one. You need nothing to learn in this just make sure your concepts are clear in this regard.
The third paper business mathematics, logical reasoning, and statistics might seem to be a bit tougher as mathematics are not so easy for commerce students but you have two more options to attempt. The marks division is:
- Business mathematics (40 marks)
- Logical reasoning (20 marks)
- Business statistics ( 40 marks)
Logical reasoning is always scoring but statistics may seem to be trouble as critical calculations are there but don’t worry you are allowed to carry a 12 digit calculator for your purpose to be easier. But you need to learn some short tricks in calculator in order to excel in speed.
The last paper is the business economics and business and commercial knowledge which is easier if you studied from a CBSE school with subject combination of commerce and economics. Others will have to practice a bit more than required.
Both the papers are objective type but the more you practice the faster you are. So keep practicing the modules provided by ICAI as time is the main factor in clearing all the exams successfully.
CA Intermediate
The next step towards becoming the future CA in India is the CA Intermediate and this step is a bit challenging that as the syllabus of this is very vast. But if you have a query on how to become a Chartered Accountant after graduation then its the step that you can attempt just after your graduation through the direct entry scheme in Intermediate level. If you are perfectly devoted towards it and if you keep learning and revising in a properly planned manner then you will be able to clear this step not only in the first attempt but also you can get a rank in the exam. So keep practicing the mock test papers and follow the syllabus according to the ICAI to be on track.
Remember that you need to revise every topic thrice to be able to answer the questions to the point with perfect justification. After the declaration of the CA foundation results, you will be getting a time of 9 months to practice get prepared for this intermediate step. So start joining the CA Intermediate coaching classes immediately after you get your CA Foundation results in hand. Get your classes completed within 5-6 months and then start revising the syllabus. Good luck.
Articleship training
Just after the CA Intermediate exam, you can start preparing for the articleship training provided that you have gone through the ITT and OT program before. Students who appeared for both the groups of the intermediate exam must complete their 100 hours of IT training and if possible complete your OT training as well as this is going to save time for the CA Intermediate exam results declaration.
The students who appeared only in a single group must complete their second group as well or you will face a lot of problem in completing the second group along with office. So complete both the groups and then opt for the articleship training.
The biggest mistake that students commit is taking dummy articleship training. Remember articleship training is the direct ticket of entry to the corporate world. So shortcuts are not going to help as you will need a lot of experience in practical level.
Now the question is whether to joining medium size firms or big size firms like the Big 4, Kalani, PC Modi, etc for articleship training. Look if you will complete your training from big firms like the Big 4 then you are going to gain a lot of experience and your value will be much more than those who opted for the middle-sized firms. Your chance of getting a job will be much higher after your course completion but you have to deal with a lot of pressure. Many times you may have to miss your classes and go for audit with your firm.
So here the middle-sized firms form a sweet spot where will not have to miss your classes and also gain some experience income tax calculation, audit, GST, etc. You will not have to work under pressure in it and you also get enough time to prepare for your exams as well. But you will have to struggle getting a job. So choose wisely.
CA Final
The last step and the biggest challenge in the life of a chartered accountant is the CA final exams. But before this you should have cleared your CA Intermediate exam along with GMCS and Advanced ITT. If all these are completed then one can register for CA Final.
You must expertise yourself in the subjects of Company Law and Allied Law. If you plan to complete one of these and leave the other one then its going to be very difficult as ICAI requires you to expertise in every field. The company law consists of 70 marks and the allied law comprises of 30 marks and both of these subjects must be clear as water to you or you will not be able to crack this exam.
The most difficult task in a CA student’s life is that managing the office and his studies simultaneously. Often students try to complete all their classes during the training period and then opt for self-study. But this is the wrong path as studies shown that we can remember a thing only for 2 weeks. So keep revising with your classes and get your doubts cleared whenever you discover them.
A small suggestion for the students going to prepare for the CA journey
A small tip for the students is that you must complete your practical courses at first and then opt for the theoretical part. This is because the practical knowledge is going to stay longer in your memory and then the theoretical part is going to help because you are going to practice it at last and its going to stay with you during the exam as well. Remember that you must complete all your coaching classes and first reading six months before the exam so that you can get enough time for revision and mock tests only.
What salary you are going to get after such hard work
The average chartered accountant salary ranges from 6-7 lakhs to 30 lakhs per annum. This is the average salary for a chartered accountant after 5 years. In the beginning, you are going to get a salary of 2.4 lakhs to 22 lakhs per annum.
Chartered Accountant qualifications
The following are the eligibility criteria for chartered accountant:
- One must pass their 10th and 12th exam from a recognized board or equivalent examination.
- Candidates must register with ICAI for CPC to be eligible for appearing.
- Candidates who have completed their bachelor’s or master’s degree with 55% marks in commerce stream can appear in CA CPT exam.
- A candidate who has completed their bachelor’s or master’s degree with 60% marks aggregate in all subjects can also appear.
Chartered Accountant jobs
The jobs that you can opt for after the CA journey are various in numbers ranging from different sorts of managing department to being the vice president of a company depending on your experience. After gaining much experience you can also opt for setting up your own CA firm and earn from there.
CA Course fees
The fees that you will have to pay to ICAI for foundation exam is 9800 Rs/- and the application form costs 1500 Rs/-. Fees required to be paid to ICAI for intermediate exam is 18000 INR along with ICITSS will charge 6500 INR. The form costs 2700 INR for both groups. Fees to be paid to ICAI for CA Final is 22000 INR and for advanced ICITSS 7500 INR. The exam form costs 3500 INR. All these fees are exclusive of traveling, living, food and coaching classes expenses.
CA Course duration
The total CA course duration is about 4.5 years inclusive of all the exams and training periods and coaching.