Chartered Accountant/CA Course: A Comprehensive Guide 2023

One of the critical decisions a student needs to take is deciding their career. After passing the 10th grade, students decide to choose their streams. Following the completion of class 12th, the next part is choosing the right career path. So students considering establishing their career in taxation, auditing, and accounting can enrol in the CA Course.

Moreover, the Chartered Accountant salary in India is also a major reason many students are considering this course. Upon clearing the exams, the average salary of a CA is around 9 to 10 lakhs per annum.

Every year, numerous students enrol in the CA course, but only a few can pass it. However, the difficulty of the course should not discourage you from enrolling. It should be no surprise that the CA qualification is among the most regarded in India. So if you’re pondering a profession in Chartered Accountancy, then check this comprehensive CA Course guide by VSI Jaipur.

So let’s start with the basic and essential CA Course details.

What Is The Chartered Accountancy Course?

The Chartered Accountancy course covers auditing, taxation, and accounting and helps you gain a much deeper grasp of the financial industry. Furthermore, it equips you to manage business finances and is a worldwide renowned certificate program for accountants.

So in India, ICAI administers the CA exams. Additionally, a CA aspirant must cover all three levels of the CA course to get identification as a Chartered Accountant. Apart from the name and fame the course brings, the CA Salary in India is also worth noting, which we will mention later in this post.

About the CA Course Details

As mentioned above, you must clear three levels and complete the articleship training to earn the CA designation. So these levels are CA Foundation, CA Intermediate, and CA Final. Furthermore, the CA course subjects focus on working capital management, market analysis, auditing, budgeting, etc. The course is vast and will cover everything about finance, law, business, accounting, and taxation throughout the three levels.

Additionally, the curriculum for each level of the course is specifically designed to ensure that the students thoroughly comprehend the subject matter. Let’s analyze each one of the three levels in more detail.

CA Foundation

The CA Foundation Course is the introductory level for the ICAI’s CA course. Previously, it was called the Common Proficiency Test, CPT. CA Foundation comprises four papers. The ICAI administers the CA Foundation examinations annually, in May and November.

Based on the qualifying requirements, a student desiring to become a Chartered Accountant may enrol in the ICAI Foundation course during or after 12th grade. Your registration will remain valid for three years, giving you six attempts.

CA Intermediate Course

CA Intermediate, commonly known as CA Inter, is the second stage of the Chartered Accountancy examinations. Furthermore, a CA aspirant is eligible to register for the CA intermediate if they clear the CA Foundation. Or else, any student, after completing their graduation, is eligible for CA Intermediate registration.

So this level of CA Course provides students with an in-depth understanding of the many topics of Finance and Accounting. Furthermore, this is a complete written test consisting of eight papers, divided into two categories, each having four subjects.

CA Final

So CA Final is the last step in the journey of the CA course. Further, students who have cleared the CA Intermediate are eligible for registering for the CA Final exams. Additionally, one must also complete at least 2.5 years of articleship under the supervision of a registered CA or a CA firm. Moreover, during this period, the student will be receiving a stipend.

So during the last six months of the articleship, the students become eligible for CA Final exam registration.

Like CA Intermediate, CA Finals has two groups, each having four subjects.

To pass the final exams, you must get 40 per cent in each topic or a 50 per cent overall average. Furthermore, ICAI will announce the CA Final Result two months following the final exam.

Students must apply for ICAI membership after passing both CA final test groups.

How To Become CA In India?

There are usually two methods:

• Foundation Route
• Direct Entry Route

The entire steps mentioned above are for the CA Foundation route. Yet, to summarize:

• Register for the CA Foundation Course
• Pass the Foundation CA examinations.
• Enrol in the CA Inter Course.
• Pass either one CA Intermediate group.
• Once you have passed any one set of CA Intermediate, head for Articleship training.
• Passing the CA Intermediate Course in both groups.
• Completion of CA Articleship Training for three years
• Registration for CA Final Course.
• Clear the CA Final Exams for both groups.
• Register as an ICAI Member.

Now, let us have a look at the Direct entry route.

Graduate or post-graduate students may enrol directly in the CA Course thanks to ICAI’s provision. Graduate students may enrol in the Intermediate course under the direct entry option without taking the CA Foundation examinations.

For the direct entry process, the students must meet the following conditions:

• A minimum of 55% for commerce graduates, including PG.
• A minimum of 60% for Art/Sciences graduates, including PG.

CA Course Eligibility

The Foundation course eligibility is as follows:

• Students must clear their 10th and 12th examinations from a recognized institute.
• Additionally, students must get a minimum of 50% overall in 12th grade.

The Intermediate eligibility is as follows:

• One must clear the foundation for students opting for the CA Intermediate route.
• Or, graduate students from their bachelor’s or master’s program with scores of at least 55 to 60 per cent.

The CA Final eligibility is as follows:

• Candidates must pass the intermediate course examination in both categories.
• Complete at least 2.5 years of articleship to get eligible for CA Final exam registration.

CA Course Duration

It takes 5 years to complete the CA Course. Yet, depending on your preparation level and the number of attempts you take, the duration will increase by 6 months in every additional attempt.

For graduate students, the duration of the Chartered Accountant course is 4.5 years.

CA Course Fees

The total CA Course fee is Rs. 87,300. Now, let’s break it down into the three levels of the CA exams.

• The CA Foundation course is around Rs 10,900, of which you must pay Rs 1,500 when enrolling for the test and Rs 9,000 as CA Foundation registration fees during course registration.
• For CA Intermediate, the cost for a single group is Rs 13,000. Yet, for both groups, the fees are Rs 18,000. Direct Entry Route students must enrol in both groups by paying Rs 18,000.
• So for CA Final, the registration fee for both groups is Rs 22,000.

CA Salary In India

In India, the average CA remuneration is between 7 and 8 lakhs per year. Further, chartered accountants having 4-5 years of professional experience may make up to 20 lakhs.

Conclusion

So this is all about the CA Course details. Hope this may assist a CA aspirant in planning their CA Career path. For the best guidance on CA or any queries about the CA course, contact VSI Jaipur and get your concerns resolved by the experts.