For those who dedicated their efforts to accounting, CA can be a fantastic career to pursue. A chartered accountant is one of the promising careers you can choose in accounting. There are plenty of options in the accounting and finance sectors.
Chartered accountants are fully qualified accountants. Chartered accountants analyse and provide information about financial records, focusing on financial reporting, taxation, corporate finance, business recovery, and insolvency.
Qualifications For Chartered Accountant Job
One of the significant advantages of chartered accountancy is that the essential qualification for a chartered accountant is a bachelor’s degree from any background. Candidates with graduate in accounting have a competitive edge over other candidates.
All chartered accountancy qualifications lead to the designation of Chartered Accountant.
Skills Required For Chartered Accountants
Numeracy Skill
Numeracy skill is the ability to apply complex mathematical principles to everyday life. A chartered accountant needs to work with numbers all the time. So chartered accountants need strong numeracy skills.
Strong Interpersonal Skills
As an accountant, you need to work as a team or independently; both need interaction with other people. Having strong interpersonal skills helps to communicate ideas and expectations of others effectively. Interpersonal skills include the ability to listen to others and the ability to communicate verbally or in written form.
Software Skills
Many businesses use software for tracking their financial records. The main advantage of using software is that they are less costly and take up less physical space. Spreadsheets, bookkeeping software, communication software etc. are the most common software used by accountants. Accountants use software to track and monitor company financials. Therefore every accounting professional needs to have good software skills.
Organisational Skills
Accountants deal with large amounts of data every day. They have to organise it very well. An accountant must need excellent organisational skills. Organisational skills involve organising financial information into a readable format, like a balance sheet.
Problem Solving and Analytical Skills
Accountants deal with complex and large data sets. They must have strong problem-solving and analytical skills to discover and correct errors. Accountants determine if there are any errors or problems with the financial reports and review them.
Legal Skills
Legal skills help chartered accountants keep their clients in compliance with the law. Legal skills can include familiarity with legal practices and requirements, the ability to complete and file legal paperwork, serving as an expert witness in court litigation, and offering compliance guidance and insight to company executives.
Responsibilities Of Chartered Accountant
- Monitoring duties of the accounting team
- Implementing accounting systems and processes
- Managing budgets
- Providing financial advice
- Risk analysis and management
- Maintaining accounting records and preparing accounts information
- Advising on tax planning
- Review and release online banking payments
- Reconcile income statements
- Advise clients on areas of financial improvement
Certifications
There are other certifications that you can do along with Chartered Accountants.
Some of them are :
- Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA): ACCA is a global body for accountants. Therefore it is a great way to build a career in accounting.
- Certified Public Accountant (CPA): A Chartered Accountant with a CPA degree can work in various areas like Assurance services, Forensic Accounting, Tax and Financial Planning, International Accounting, Internal and External auditing etc.
- Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA): The combination of CA and CFA is an excellent option if you are interested in investment banking and portfolio management.
- Financial Risk Management (FRM): Financial Risk Management is offered by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). FRM certification is mainly for those who work in risk management.
Job Opportunities For Chartered Accountants
Chartered accountancy is a dream course that opens the doors to a lot of career opportunities. Some of the career opportunities after CA are :
Internal Auditor
Chartered accountants are the only ones who are permitted to do auditing of an organisation. Therefore there is always demand for CA in the Audit industry.
Direct and Indirect Taxation
CAs are tax experts in the industry. Many chartered accountants participate in income tax (Direct tax), GST, and other laws (Indirect tax).
Banking and Insurance Sector
Chartered accountants are familiar with banking regulations, including compliance with them and other industry standards. CAS are competent in participating in the bank’s financial affairs and working on their economic strategies, control, funding, forecasting, and other related tasks.
Finance Management
As Chartered Accountants, individuals have a strong understanding of the financial sector. Organisations always need qualified chartered accountants to manage their financial affairs.
Work As A Teacher
As a chartered accountant, you can teach along with your job or your own practice time. Teaching positions are available in educational institutions for CAs, commerce graduation coaching programs, select post-graduate colleges, and the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Importance Of Practical Knowledge
Like every accounting profession, practical knowledge is essential for chartered accountants. Articleship is one of the most important in becoming a successful chartered accountant. The Articleship gives practical experience in every aspect of accounts, taxation and audit.
Articleship helps you to find better job opportunities. Also, it has a mandatory part of clearing your CA exams. Papers in CA final like Audit, FR, Direct and Indirect Taxes require your practical knowledge besides academic knowledge.
FAQ
1. Is the CA course challenging to crack?
Many students choose CA for their bright future. CA is a challenging course to crack. A candidate needs hard work, patience and persistence to become a chartered accountant.
2. Can students from any group join CA?
Of course, why not. If you love numbers and calculations, you can join CA. Every student who has completed their 10 and +2 is eligible to enrol for CA.
3. What is the duration to complete CA?
CA is not a degree program to complete in a particular time period. Some may pass all the papers on the first attempt. You can meet in 6/4/3 years after 10th, intermediate and degree, respectively.
4. What are the career opportunities for Chartered Accountants in India?
As a chartered accountant, you can work in the main streams in the industry. Accounting, auditing, corporate finance, corporate laws, and taxation are the main sectors you can work.
5. How to get more experience?
After getting the qualification, there are many ways you can get more experience as a chartered accountant. Many companies provide apprenticeship programs for chartered accountants. It is a great way to start your career.
If you are a Chartered Accountant or an accounting professional looking for CA jobs; whoever you are, landing your dream job is just a few clicks away. Register in SpotGiraffe, an exclusive job portal for accounting and finance jobs, and be part of an ever-growing industry.