You can read the first part of this interview here, where Saurabh explains his career path.

What do you think potential recruiters will look for in a Chartered Accountant?

• Good marks & lesser number of attempts to clear CA exams. (Thorough theoretical knowledge)
• Good articleship experience (Thorough practical knowledge of our skills)
• Business & Industry knowledge (Practical knowledge of how business world works)
• English speaking and communication Skills
• Sound thinking and reasoning attitude

What are some career options for a CA in today’s world?

As I said earlier, CA course is one of the most versatile course.

1. The services of Chartered Accountants are required by all kind of organizations like Manufacturing companies, Service companies, Startups, Multinationals, Banks, NGOs, Government Departments, Public Sector Undertakings, Statutory organizations, Foreign Companies, etc. So you can work in any kind of industry.
2. That’s not the end, you also have the option to choose the mode of service to serve the above organizations. It can be as an employee (i.e. Job), as a consultant (i.e. outsourcing agency), as a professional (i.e. Practitioner).
3. And if you love to be a boss, one can also become a healthy entrepreneur (i.e. Self-employment) as well.

So as a CA you have the choice of both –

1. the industry you want to work in
2. the mode of service to serve them – this is a very rare scenario in any kind of career!

Therefore, getting a decent job is not at all difficult. A Chartered Accountant doing a job can earn a minimum of INR 10 lakhs per annum and if you practice, it is like a business. So turnover depends on your skills, but INR 10 lakhs per annum is for sure. The average pay may be lower when you are a fresher, but with experience your earnings are much higher. The rise in pay is solely dependent on your skills & experience i.e. “How beneficial you are to the organization/your client”

What is the future for CAs in India? How valued is CA  outside India?

Automation is a factor that is affecting the future of every jobs, and even Chartered Accountants may get slightly hit by the same. However, this is a closely held profession and there are only 2.5 lakh Chartered Accountants in India. Therefore, the demand may get affected, but it won’t make us redundant (unwanted). Simultaneously, the developments in the business world are making this profession stronger owing to the increasing need.

On the global platform – Chartered Accountants are known for their contributions and the fact that they come from Indian Economy, make them more competitive with their counterparts. CPAs (Certified Public Accountants, USA) are the only ones who are ahead of Chartered Accountants in Accountancy Profession, in terms of recognition. This is more, because they belong to US, the global superpower, rather than their skill sets.

CA course can also be coupled with other courses like CS, CFA, CPA or CMA. However, the choice and the usage of the combined knowledge, solely depends on the candidate as the application of additional knowledge is more important than merely possessing it.

How do I know if CA is for me? Who do you think should take up this Career choice?

Chartered Accountants are very close friends of Entrepreneur. They are usually the go-to person of the businesses. Basically, they execute the roles that ideally a business person is required to do. But is unable to do, due to inability or time-constraint. For instance, Tax filings are required to be done by businesspersons, however due to both – lack of expert knowledge & time, Chartered Accountants do it on their behalf. In short, Chartered Accountants step into the shoes of businesspersons and execute their role.

So if you have interest in Business and Management, you will surely find Chartered Accountancy Profession interesting. This course has inclination towards Accountancy. However, all kinds of roles performed by an entrepreneur are covered in this course. The difference between a businessperson and Chartered Accountants is risk, while one is owner of business risk, the other is only helping in reducing the risk.

However, interest alone is not enough. This is a difficult course to clear and therefore, one must carefully analyze his/her abilities and take the decision. One can go through the subjects and topics covered in this course. It will help you understand your interest in CA. One should also consider interacting with Chartered Accountants, knowing their routines, getting an understanding of the work they do. This will help in understanding your interest in CA as a career.

What advice you have for someone who did try his/her best, but still couldn’t clear CA?

CA course is one of its kind. Even if you didn’t clear, there is certainly a lot more that you have learnt in this course than you could have in other courses. This experience of being a CA student is also recognized by people and businesses. If not CA qualified, the experience will certainly help you or simplify your journey through other courses. In other words, “If you have already seen the devil, facing the goons shouldn’t be a problem.”

What advice would you give a high school student who is considering Chartered Accountancy?

The course is highly difficult and you must know it. Being a CA student, comes with not only educational burden but also social burden, with less or no personal time to address the same. Your aspirations and people’s hopes may be high, but it is important to make sure that you are not wasting your precious career time, by failing multiple times in this course. Not becoming CA is not end of your career.

Any recommended resources for an aspiring CA?

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (The official website which contains all information that one might need. Various other websites have information & opinions, but not recommended since they are highly misleading.)

Any final thoughts?

It’s important to choose career based on interest and suitability rather than what it pays & how much it is valued. In long term, a career based on interest is usually more successful. It’s not the career which is reputed, rather it’s the successful people who made it a reputed one because of their passion.

Sachin Tendulkar could contribute more to Cricket, rather than Rajya Sabha. A passionate person in field of passion can do greater things than an unpassionate person in some other well-paid or well-known field.

Reach me with all kinds of queries at edusaarthi@yahoo.com

You can read about Saurabh’s career path here. Continue reading.