What is Chartered Accountancy (CA)?

WHAT IS CHARTERED ACCOUNTANCY (CA)?

If you are looking for a business career that offers prestige, respect, great prospects and excellent financial rewards, becoming a CA is the perfect place to start. Chartered Accountants are an extraordinary group of people. Wherever they work, they make a difference. They’re ambitious. They’re talented. They’re in demand.

A CA is a person who manages and handles the accounts and finances of individuals or organizations. CAs have to boldly venture into areas of auditing, investments, budgeting, financial planning, banking and risk management, and they are always credited with either their passion for or their excellence in Chartered Accountancy.

Chartered Accountancy is a financially rewarding and challenging career. However, regular colleges do not offer a Chartered Accountancy course. ICAI—Institute of Chartered Accountants of India—is a regulatory body which maintains the quality of Chartered Accountancy education in India. If you plan to become a CA, then you have to get yourself registered with ICAI.

Over the years, Chartered Accountancy, as a profession, has achieved rapid growth—and has come to occupy a prominent role in the Indian economy and society—by virtue of the quality professional services rendered by Chartered Accountants. Statutory recognition is given to their role; and their audit/certification is insisted upon for various purposes in different statutes. As against a meager membership of 1700 in 1949, today the membership of the ICAI is over 2,70,000. The ICAI is also playing a prominent role in the international accounting bodies by virtue of its membership and active involvement in the activities of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA), and South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA).

Who should pursue CA as a career?

Anyone who is interested in Accounting, Finance, Taxation, or Auditing. A CA aspirant could be a:

• Commerce student
• Undergraduate
• Graduate
• Postgraduate
• MBA
• CMA
• CS

Top 10 CA Firms in India:

1. KPMG
2. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC)
3. Ernst & Young (E&Y)
4. Deloitte
5. Grant Thornton
6. RSM International
7. S S Kothari
8. Lodha & Co
9. Luthra & Luthra
10. RSM Tenon

The newly-introduced GST regime is expected to open up over 1 lakh new employment opportunities, including those in taxation and accounting.

Career options available

The vast changes occurring in the Indian economy have been placing great responsibilities on Chartered Accountants as well as providing more opportunities in this dynamic career. The changes are also a challenge to the profession, in bringing in their knowledge and skill to the specialized fields of activity. Chartered Accountants perform varied roles and functions. The more important ones of these are discussed below:

• Financial Reporting
• Tax Advisor
• Cost Accountant
• Company Liquidator
• Management Accounting
• Management & Corporate Consultancy
• Corporate Financing
• Auditor
• Share Valuer
• GST Expert

Famous Indian personalities who are CAs

1. Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla (Chairman, Aditya Birla Group)
2. Mr. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (Indian stock market expert; known as the Warren Buffett of India)
3. Mr. Deepak Parekh (Padma Bhushan awardee; Chairman of HDFC Ltd)
4. Mr. Aditya Puri (Managing Director of HDFC Bank)
5. Mr. TV Mohandas Pai (Former CFO of Infosys Limited, 1994-2006)
6. Mr. Swaminathan Gurumurthy (Renowned financial journalist of India)
7. Mr. Prannoy Roy (Co-founder of NDTV)
8. Mr. Nirmal Jain (Chairman of India Infoline Ltd)
9. Mr. Radhey Shyam Agarwal (Co-founder of Emami)
10. Mr. Anil R Dave (Former Judge of Supreme Court of India)