Demands CA-Intermediate as graduation degree and final qualification at par with post-graduation degree

New Delhi, 9th October 2017 : The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has recently written a letter to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India seeking its intervention in designating Chartered Accountancy qualification as equivalent to Post-graduation and CA-Intermediate to be treated equivalent to Graduate degree in the University education system.

This will not only help CA’s for pursuing higher studies but will also facilitate the mobility of Indian CAs globally as well for supporting the overall national cause of providing best quality professionals and academicians to the world at large.

ICAI has a holistic education pedagogy and stringent examination system wherein theoretical education is complemented with rigorous practical training of 3 years equipping potential CAs with knowledge to take up complex assignments in several areas such as accounting, finance, taxation, laws, business systems and strategy. The level of knowledge imparted and assessment in Chartered Accountancy course is such that it teaches from “analysis and application” to “evaluation and synthesis” testing the sufficiency of technical competence, professional skills and professional values, ethics and attitudes acquired during practical trainings. Such rigorous testing is not done in any other Post-graduate examination held by various Indian universities.

In any stage of examination of ICAI to pass a group, a student is required to obtain a minimum of 40% in each subject and 50% in the aggregate. As a matter of fact, the examination procedure of Chartered Accountancy course is perceived to be one of the toughest in the Country and, therefore, the pass percentage of the examinees has been low.

The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) in a letter dated 20th March, 1984 had recognized Chartered Accountancy (CA) along with Graduation to be equivalent to a Post Graduate degree in Commerce or allied disciplines for the purpose of registration to Ph.D. Accordingly, 101 Indian Universities, 6 IIMs and 2 IITs have recognized Chartered Accountancy qualification for the specific purpose of registration to Ph.D. programme.

Graduates with sufficient marks are also eligible to seek direct admission to the Intermediate level of the CA course. Such candidates need to qualify 8 papers along with 3 years of practical training which is more than 5 years of UG+PG courses followed by the Universities in India.

About ICAI :

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 for regulating the profession of Chartered Accountants in India. ICAI is the second largest accounting body in the world with a strong tradition of service to the public interest and to the Indian economy. During its more than 68 years of existence, ICAI has achieved recognition as a premier accounting body not only in the country but also globally, for maintaining highest standards in technical, ethical areas and for sustaining stringent examination and education standards. Since 1949, the profession has grown leaps and bounds in terms of membership and student base. Starting with a handful of about 1700 members, today, the strength of Chartered Accountant fraternity has grown to over 2.75 lakh members. On the education front, the ICAI began with mere 259 students and today more than 8.20 lakh active students are a part of ICAI. The Institute functions under the administrative control of Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India. It has its headquarters in New Delhi and 5 Regional offices in Chennai, Kanpur, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi. It presently has 163 branches spread all over the country. In addition, it has also set up 30 chapters outside India and an overseas office in Dubai.