ICAI demands Chartered Accountancy Certificate be treated at par with Graduate and Post-Graduate Degree
New Delhi: 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.