In Indian scenario, CA(Chartered Accountant) is a coveted accounting credential and most sought after career path for a student having a commerce background with a zeal to be the highest order of accounting professional.
But the journey of a CA is not that smooth due to various reasons as discussed below.
1)Duration
The CA course is on average 4.5 years but majority of the students used to take much longer period to finish it. Eventually, this is the reason why so many drop out happens in the midway.
2) Pass rate
In spite of the glamour associated with CA as a career, the low pass percentage is another main reason to finally end with much lesser number of professionals.
3) Exam pattern
Mere cracking the CPT does not yield a guarantee a degree. A large number of students struggle to clear both. groups at the IPCC level in a single attempt.
4) Elaborate syllabus
Due to the vastness of the syllabus, the course appears to be a complex game. Difficulty to crossover increases at each and every level to ultimate toughness.
5) Challenges during articleship
Students need to complete 3 years of articleship by working either under a licensed CA or an authorized CA firm.This has utmost importance providing practical knowledge and industry experience. To get selected in a good firm is a challenge, this with poor stipend and feed back system creates a disgusting situation for budding CAs.
6) Placement system
Apart from the firm of articleship, ICAI offers company placements but the job scenario is undergoing stagnant in India.
Although it is quite evident that CA is a good career option in India, where a CA has authoritative knowledge and skill over Indian taxation, accounting and regulatory norms but is it enough to reign in the global financial sector? Probably not.
It is time to reconsider other options too beyond CA.There are multiple career options available with global recognition in the field of business and finance. Globalization has brought drastic changes in the requirement of companies.
A CA with a global certification in finance like CA with CMA US or CA with CPA US or CA with CIA US has clear edge over only CAs.
Now the companies expect a job aspirant should understand and evaluate global financial reporting requirements and acclimatize to the evolving burden of constant changes and updates in the industry. Hence people even after completing the CA isn’t stopping now.
Moreover, the difficulty of clearing the CA exam and the time investment along with the crunched job prospects in global market generates a lot of frustration among aspiring CAs.
Hence, it is high time to embrace the newly available alternative career goals, with or without a CA, to achieve your dream in accounts and finance:
A) US CPA course: It is the highest accounting qualification in USA, just like CA in India. This certification is accepted globally including India. MNCs working in diverse geo-locations prefer CPAs than CAs where the former can also set up individual practise in USA. The CPA designation is 100% worth for those who have plan to build long term career in accounting platform. A lot of CAs are also pursuing CPA to get a job in MNCs.
B) US CMA course: This is another global certification and also applicable for India with higher job potential. If you want to be a part of corporate finance, performance arrangements, internal controls, decision analysis, financial reporting, strategic planning and organizational management in finance, go for this course.If you plan for the future, enroll for US CMA course. CMA syllabus is more focused and specific in contrast to the vast syllabus of CA.
C) US CIA course: People working in the domain of Internal Audit must go for this course. Till today mostly CAs perform the internal audit and compliance job in companies. Hence CAs with this particular job profile aspire to go global by being a CIA US.
While CA course takes about 5 years and Indian CMA takes 3 years to complete, both US CMA, CPA or CIA courses can be completed by 1 year only.
So take your decision judiciously, bring innovation, break the cocoon of being a CA only and grab the new opportunities as early as possible.
For guidance and help regarding US financial courses contact:
http://www.upliftprofessionals.in/CPA