Yogesh K Sharma talks about the highs and lows of studying for the CA course. In the end, the big bucks you earn, more than compensates the sweat you put in during the course...

Din mein chain nahi, Raat mein neend nahi,
Jee na lage kahi,
Ae khuda kya yeh pyaar ka jaal hai?
Khuda ne kaha, "Yeh pyaar ka jaal nahin,
CA karne waalon ka haal hai!"

The motto of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) - the maai baap of all the CA students and members - is "Ya esha supteshu jagrati", meaning, "that person who is awake in those that sleep!" So ICAI has given a clear cut warning - attempt CA only if you want to remain awake when the others are sleeping peacefully.

Top 3 Reasons why you should do CA:
Terrific ROI (Return on Investment): The entire course would cost you not more than 30,000 bucks if you study on your own. Even if you enrol in a coaching class, expect to spend a maximum of Rs. 1 lakh. In return, you can easily earn in the range of Rs. 2-6 lakhs p.a. (depending on your abilities and pass record) as soon as you become a C A. You are also paid during the training period (you have to work like bonded labour for 3 years under the esteemed title ‘articled clerk’.)

Pay varies from firm to firm - ICAI has some minimum norms, but those so called "norms" are abnormally low -...

Rs. 1000 per month. However a decent firm might pay you upto Rs. 5000 per month.

Learning the hard ways of life : "There is no free lunch in life" and CA teaches you exactly that. You have to work full time during your training period, and find the time to study as well. You will inevitably end up studying most of the things on your own.

Get corporate ready : The training requirement is the biggest boon and bane of CA course. You get awesome work-experience at the end of which you are much more confident and prepared for your first corporate job. If you join a b school, you would have an edge over freshers.

Top 3 (0000….) Reasons why you should not do CA:
No girlfriends: Where’s the time? Or energy??!!

Lack of street smartness: You will never have the time to attend college (other than to pay fees, give exams and take results), so you will never learn how to play the ‘fool’.

No celebration of Jeans Day, Cap Day, Sex Day (oops - I wish they had that in colleges) or V-Day (in fact every day in office its like ur D-Day.)
No late night parties and the list just goes on…..
(basically you will be forced to stay away from all the fun things in life.)

Changes in C A course
Yes, the course is going to be revamped. But, the profession is regulated by an Institute which has been setup under an act...

of Parliament. Hence any major change has to pass through a bureaucratic process. Hence the new scheme is likely to be implemented by the end of 2006.

Roadmap to CA
First you have to register with ICAI for the Common Proficiency Test (CPT) (this is Level 1) after passing Class X or anytime thereafter (ICAI wants to catch people when they are choosing their streams for future) However you can take the CP only after your 12th so you have the next two years to prepare for the exam. Until now one could bypass Level 1 by joining CA after graduation. (In that case one directly entered the Level 2.) However once the new scheme is in place, Level 1 will become compulsory for everybody. It's more like a universal entrance test now.

If God really wants you to suffer, then you will clear the CPT. Thereafter, you will have to register with ICAI for Professional Competence Course (PCC) - a fancy name... you can call it Level 2. You start off with practical training to be done under a CA firm - 3½ under new regulations. You also have a compulsory Information Technology Training (ITT) of 100 hours. This can be done any time after you appear for CPT.

After 1½ years of practical training you are eligible for appearing in the Level 2 exam. If you are lucky enough to pass the Level 2 exam then you can appear in Final Exam (Level 3) either during the last...

six months of the practical training or any time thereafter. As if all this was not enough, you also have to undergo a General Management and Communication Skills (GMCS) training of around 100 hours. Actually GMCS is not that bad - you will have 15 days of college type masti.

Exams : for all the 3 levels are held twice a year in the months of May & November. The results for the same are declared in July & January respectively.

Passing Criteria: You need at least 40 in every paper. Though it looks very low you will hafta drop shit to score every single mark. But that's not enough; the average score i.e. the % secured when all the subjects are combined should be minimum of 50. If you don't fulfill either of the criteria, you will fail. Another simple rule of the game is "One Down = All Out." Strange but true, if you fail in one subject, you have to give all the subjects again. However there is an exception, if you score 60 above in any subject (you have to be a Superman to do that) then you need not give that paper again (not valid for CPT)

Professional Opportunities:
CAs have always been in demand. However now they have far more global opportunities. For example, the firm from where I did my training (Deloitte & Touche) has opened up Global Sourcing office in Hyderabad, from where they depute professionals on various international projects. Some of...

the other new opportunities that have emerged: Finance & Accounting BPO, SOX (Sarbanes Oxley - a law applicable to US based companies) compliance, Information Systems Assurance (a technology & systems audit rather than the traditional finance audit).

Despite all my warnings, if you still decide to pursue CA, then remember the following tips:
Don't be afraid of the 4 lettered "F" word (it's Fail u dirty mind.) - It's a very normal feature; even the brightest of students do flunk once or twice.

Don't imagine of scoring 70s & 80s in your papers. Scoring in 50s & 60s is a realistic aim.

Last but not the least, remember the CA Anthem
"Fight fight, never surrender, After May,
there is November... Where there is a will, there is a way... After November there is May."

For more info on CA course, please visit www.icai.org

FAAQs - Frequently Asked Annoying Questions - on CA:

From which college/university are you doing CA?
CA is based on the model of distance learning. You just have to register yourself with the ICAI (regulating body) and then study on your own (of course, you can take classes, but please don't go to one of the accredited centers of ICAI. They are really sub-standard). Then appear for the exams at various centers authorized by the ICAI (there are more than 100 centers all over India) After passing all the exams you don't get any degree, you become a member of ICAI.

Which year of CA are you studying in?
CA is not like college degrees - FY, SY, TY & then Bye Bye. It is more like computer games, you have to cross various levels (three levels) and everyone takes their own sweet time in finishing those levels. If you are really good at it then you will finish off in 5 years (this is presently the minimum time possible). Once the new scheme is implemented this will come down to 4 years. Average students generally complete CA in 6 years - of course some take up to a decade!

Subjects - Given as per the proposed new scheme:

Level 1 -
CPT (Common Proficiency Test) (Previous avatars of this level were known as PE1 and Foundation)100% Objective type exam - results based on computer assessment
Subjects
1. Accounts & Mercantile (commercial) Law (2 subjects merged in one paper)
2. General Economics (will bore u to death) & Quantitative Aptitude
(Bad news - earlier there were 4 papers covering almost the same subjects. So u have to study more for less weight age now)(Good news-100% objective type exam so u don't ave to cram)

Level 2 -
PCE (Professional Competence Exam) (I am sure they have hired some hi-fi MBA to come up with these great TLA's - three letter acronyms) (Previous avatars of this level were known as PE2 and Inter)
Subjects
This level consists of 2 groups. A combo of 3 papers makes one group. You have the option to appear for one group at a time or to give both the groups together.
Group 1: Advanced Accounts, Auditing & Assurance, Business & Corporate Laws
Group 2: Cost Accounting, Income tax law & VAT, Financial Management & Strategic Management.
(Good news - cost accounting has been made a full 100 marks paper - earlier it was clubbed with Financial Management.)

Level 3 -
Final (thank god - no TLA for final) (all the previous avatars were also called Final)(The major change at Final level will be in the pattern of questions - around 70% wtg. would be given to descriptive case study type questions - each question is likely to run over 2-3 pages - may the lord save u)
Subjects
This level consists of 2 groups. A combo of 4 papers makes one group. You have the option to appear for one group at a time or to give both the groups together.
Group 1: Financial Reporting, Strategic Financial Management , Advanced Auditing & Professional Ethics, Corporate & Other Laws
Group 2: Advanced Management Accounting, Information Technology & Systems Control, Direct Tax Laws, Indirect Tax Laws.
(content wise there is no major change, subject names have been revamped so they can sound more sexy)