Chartered Accountancy is one of the most opted career options in India. Students from any field can pursue the CA course and add a CA prefix to their name. So, if you’re also interested in becoming a Chartered Accountant and want to know the steps involved, check out the complete article.

Students who have completed their 12th or graduation with at least 55% are qualified to register for the course. However, to become a CA in India, they must clear three exams: Foundation, Inter and Final, and complete the 3-year practical training.

Furthermore, ICAI has made two ways through which aspirants can enrol for Chartered Accountancy:

• Foundation Route
• Direct Entry Route

In the Foundation route, you have to register for the Foundation level and pass all three CA exams. However, in the direct entry route, graduate students can directly register for the Intermediate level and skip the Foundation exams.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is the governing body of the CA exams. It handles all the matters related to the Chartered Accountancy course and profession.

Qualifications Required to Become a CA

Students who want to pursue the CA course must fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

• Completed Class 12th with the recognized board. (Foundation Route)
• Completed graduation in commerce stream with at least 55% or from science/arts stream with at least 60%. (Direct Entry route)

CA Foundation Papers

There are 4 papers in the CA Foundation exams that students must clear:

• Paper 1: Principles and Practices of Accounting
• Paper 2: Mercantile Law and General English
• Paper 3: Business Mathematics, Logical Reasoning, and Statistics
• Paper 4: Business Economics & Business and Commercial Knowledge

CA Intermediate Subjects

CA Intermediate Syllabus consists of 8 subjects categorized into 2 groups. The CA Inter subjects are:

CA Inter Group 1 Subjects:

1. Paper-1: Accounting
2. Paper-2: Corporate Laws & Other Laws
3. Paper-3: Cost and Management Accounting
4. Paper-4: Taxation

CA Inter Group 2 Subjects:

1. Paper-5: Advanced Accounting
2. Paper-6: Auditing and Assurance
3. Paper-7: Enterprise Information Systems & Strategic Management
4. Paper-8: Financial Management and Economics for Finance

Candidates can start their CA articleship training as soon as they pass any CA Intermediate groups and complete the ICITSS training. Afterwards, they can register for practical training.

The 3 years of articleship training will give you vast exposure to practical work that a Chartered Accountant does in the real world. After completing 2.5 years of articleship training, students become eligible to appear for the CA Final exams.

The fee to register for the CA Articleship is Rs 2000.

We have seen that some students go for dummy articleship. But they are making a big mistake as they’ll not get practical exposure while working as an article. So, never opt for a dummy articleship.

CA Final Subjects

The CA Final syllabus includes 8 subjects that are categorized into two groups:

Group I Subjects:

1. Paper-1: Financial Reporting
2. Paper-2: Strategic Financial Management
3. Paper-3: Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics
4. Paper-4: Corporate and Economic Laws

Group II Subjects:

1. Paper-5: Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation
2. Paper-6
   1. Paper-6A: Risk Management
   2. Paper-6B: Financial Services and Capital Markets
   3. Paper-6C: International Taxation
   4. Paper-6D: Economic Laws
   5. Paper-6E: Global Financial Reporting Standards
   6. Paper-6F: Multidisciplinary Case Study
3. Paper-7: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation
4. Paper-8: Indirect Tax Laws