How To Become A Chartered Accountant

A Chartered accountant is a professional playing a prominent role in the economy and society serving in all fields of business and finance, including auditing, taxation, financial and general management. Statutory recognition is given to the role of the members of the profession and their audit / certification is insisted upon for various purposes in different statutes. To qualify as a Chartered Accountant one has to clear the exams conducted by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). In this article How to become a chartered Accountant is explained in detail.

Steps To Become A Chartered Accountant?

There are two routes to the CA course one is the Foundation route and the other is Direct Entry route

CA Foundation Process explained in Detailed

If a student has qualified her 12^th exams or has appeared her 12^th exam and awaiting for results, then such student can begin with CA course under the Foundation route by enrolling to the foundation course. If the student is a graduate then such students can enroll to the CA course by the Direct entry route, which does not require the student to appear for Foundation exam and can directly appear to the intermediate exam. The details of the Direct entry route are given below

Eligibility for CA foundation

To register for foundation course a student should have either pass her 12^thor should be awaiting for her 12^thresults

Cut of Dates for CA foundation registration

Exams for Foundation are carried twice a year in the month of May and November. Student should complete a minimum of 4 month period before the date of examination. The CA foundation cut of dates are as follows:

Registration fees for CA foundation

Steps to Registration foundation Course:

• Visit www.icai.org
• Click on SSP portal (Self Service Portal)
• Click on “New student enrolling for the first time”
• The form for personal details appears, the applier should make sure that the details are correct as NO CHANGE IS ALLOWED AFTER FORM SUBMISSION.
• Generate and Validate OTP.
• Dashboard appears with two tabs student cycle and Article cycle
• Click on student cycle
• Under student cycle fill in the following details
  • Personal details: Provide details like Name, Gender, Date of Birth, Email address, Mobile number, Nationality etc (Provide all the details carefully as ICAI has clearly mentioned that changes will not be allowed after submission). After providing the required details Generate and Validate OTP. User Id and Password to login the ssp portal will be sent through mail
  • Qualification details: Provide 10^th Qualification details, along with 12^th.If the student has cleared her 12^th then she can provide those details. If she is waiting for results then she can provide provisional details like the Roll no etc of appeared exam. Once the results are declared she can provide the pending details and complete the final registration process. Also the required documents should be uploaded and signature and the Photo are mandatorily required
• Payment: After providing the above details the portal will direct towards payment. One has to make the payment and the registration will be complete

Filing of exam forms

ICAI conducts exams in the month of May and November every year throughout India. A student can apply for exam form online during the period when the portal is open by paying the prescribed fees. You can visit  icaiexam.icai.org

Subjects in CA Foundation

One can visit www.icai.org. Click on student portal then click on BOS knowledge portal for updated study material, Practice manual, RTP, MTP, Past year question paper etc.

Pass criteria for CA Foundation

 A student will have to obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper and minimum of 50% marks in aggregate of all papers after considering negative marking for objective papers

CA Intermediate Process Explained in detailed

The CA intermediate course is the next level after passing CA foundation. However, student through the direct entry scheme need not appear for CA foundation.

Eligibility for CA intermediate

Foundation Route: A Candidate has to pass the foundation examination or the CPT (under the old syllabus), if he chooses the foundation route.

Direct Entry route: A candidate should have completed his graduation/post-graduation with the minimum marks required by Icai or should have passed the intermediate level of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India / the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Provisional Basis: A student who is in the last year of graduation can also enroll and such registration will be regularized after the student has provided sufficient proof of passing the graduation. The advantage of registering under such basis is that the student can undergo Integrated Course on Information Technology and Soft Skills (ICITSS) which requires weeks so if you can finish ICITSS well in advance.   

Cut of Dates for CA intermediate registration

Exams of CA Intermediate are carried twice a year in the month of May and November. Student should complete a minimum of 9-month period of Articleship before the date of examination who are through the direct entry route and 9 months of study period for students from the foundation route. The cut of dates are as follows:

CA intermediate Fees

Steps to Registration CA Intermediate Course

• Login to SSP Portal
• Dashboard shows two options one is Student cycle and the other is Articleship cycle
• Click on Student cycle
• The Student cycle Shows two options one is “Intermediate (Direct Entry) for existing student” or “Intermediate through PE1/CPT/Foundation”
• Select the one applicable
• Enter your personal details and Qualification details
• Pay attention while Selecting the medium of study
• Select single group or both the group, with or without articles
• Upload Photo/Signature and required documents
• The portal directs towards payment gateway
• After payment the submitted application form will be verified and approved by Icai accordingly

Filing of exam forms

ICAI conducts exams in the month of May and November every year throughout India. A student can apply for exam form online during the period when the portal is open for applying by paying the prescribed fees. You can visit  icaiexam.icai.org.

Subjects in CA Intermediate Course

Intermediate course has been divided into two groups. A student can apply for single group or apply both the groups and clear the Intermediate level.

Pass criteria for CA Intermediate

A student can appear for both the groups or a single group. A student will have to obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper and minimum of 50% marks in aggregate in each group if attempting single group. However, if the student appears in both the groups then the aggregate of both the groups should be 50% marks, the advantage of attempting both groups is that marks of one group can be set off with the other group.

For eg if group 1 score is 250 after scoring 40% in each subject and group 2 score is 190 after scoring 40% in each subject, then the shortage of marks in group2 can be completed by set off from group 1.

CA Final Process Explained in Detail

CA Final is the last level of examination after successfully completing the Foundation and the Intermediate level. 

Eligibility for CA final

The following eligibility is required for registration of CA Final    course.

• A student should have passed both the groups of CA intermediate
• A student should have completed 2.5 years of articleship out of the total period of 3 years of articleship to appear for the CA final exam
• For appearing the CA final exam the student should mandatorily undergo 4 weeks of Advanced Information technology and management communication skills (AICITSS), this can be taken up from the 2^nd year of articleship

Due date for registration:

Fees For CA FInal

Steps for Registration of CA Final course

• Login to SSP Portal
• Go to student cycle
• Final tab will appear on screen
• Registration form opens with most of the details Auto filled check and edit accordingly
• Fill the personal details and the course details(be sure of which elective subject you would want to prefer)
• Generate and Validate OTP
• Make Payment
• ICAI will acknowledge the payment and provide the material

Filing of exam forms

ICAI conducts exams in the month of May and November every year throughout India. A student can apply for exam form online during the period when the portal is open for by paying the prescribed fees. You can visit  icaiexam.icai.org.

Subjects in CA Final course

Pass Criteria for CA Final

A student can appear for both the groups or a single group .A student will have to obtain a minimum of 40% marks in each paper  and minimum of 50% marks in aggregate in each group if attempting single group. However if the students appears in both the groups then the aggregate of both the groups should be 50% marks , here marks of one group can be set off with the other group.

CA Articleship Explained in Detail

A student has to undergo 3 years of articleship training during the CA course.

If the student has chosen the foundation route then she can start her practical training after passing in any one group of Intermediate. Before beginning her articleship it is mandatory to complete four weeks of ICITSS.

If the student has chosen Direct Entry Scheme then she must undergo articleship training after registration fo Intermediate course and 9 months of training should be mandatorily completed before appearing for Intermediate exam.

Opportunity after CA

After completing and passing in all the levels of CA course along with practical training the student can now apply for membership with ICAI.

A qualified CA can choose to practice or can choose to take up job. If she chooses to practice, then she must apply for Certificate of practice with ICAI.

After qualifying as CA one can serve as an auditor, as an advisor, manager in relation to accounting, taxation and finance in various business sectors and entities. Nowadays many CA’s are even into teaching profession, online blogging, online advisory services etc. A CA is always in demand unaffected by the economic conditions of the market. The role of a CA is very wide and difficult to list down.

• Author
• Recent Posts

CA Harish Negi

Hey readers, welcome to my blog investsaver.com. I am Chartered Accountant by Profession and I love to write on tax & money matters. You may ask your queries through comments related to the topic, I will be happy to answer them.

Latest posts by CA Harish Negi (see all)

• Ind AS 115 Revenue from Contracts with Customers - March 20, 2020
• Ind AS 116 Leases - March 12, 2020
• How To Become A Chartered Accountant - March 9, 2020