What is CA: Full Form, Duration, Admission 2026, Colleges, Syllabus, Salary & Scope

Yes,  Chartered Accountancy is a recognised professional degree for pursuing a career as a chartered accountant. The University Grants Commission on March 15, 2021 announced that CA qualification will be treated equivalent to PG Degree based on requests submitted from the ICAI.

Although the Chartered Accountancy degree is a professional degree in and of itself, it cannot be divided into undergraduate or postgraduate degrees or levels. Rather, it is a degree that can be obtained after passing the three levels of exams that are required to complete the degree.

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The decision solely depends on your career goals. CA focus on accounting, taxationa and auditing part, where MBA focus on business part. CA is a good option if you want to work in accounting and finace firms or same departments in any Corproate, while MBA graduates can work in finance, management and marketing  department of the companies. However, both can fetch high amount of salaries and grow as per the market trends. 

Yes, CS is a good career option. A certified CS can join finance, accounting and auditing firms which offer services to big organisations and multinational companies or they can start individual practice. They are also in charge of lowering the firm's administrative load and corporate governance, which would otherwise fall to the company directors.

It is tough for a freshly established firm or organisation to manage all administrative needs in addition to its day-to-day operations. As a result, it is critical in carrying out all of these company processes properly and effectively.

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Hi Vilas CA means chartered accountancy and you may get all information about it at icai.org. You can pursue it with any stream after 12th or graduation(except BFA).

Yes CA does need lot of hardwork and determination as the success rate of completing it every year is just 2-3% but ppl hv completed it in the time span of 3 years too.

Of course, not. The CA course is administered by the ICAI, and once you complete your Class 12, you become eligible for it. There are many ways to enter a CA program, like right after Class 12, register for the CA Foundation course, or complete your BCom, skip the Foundation level, and start directly from the CA Intermediate level.
However, you'll still need to meet the % criteria.

No, it is not tough for a Science passed student. 

CA course is equally tough for everyone. You do not need any prior knowledge of any concepts of commerce so it does not matter whether your stream in 12th was Arts or Science or Commerce.

No, it’s not. If you have studied accounting and finance, you can pursue a CA. Though a Commerce background offers a strong base for this course, people generally consider it the only pathway for CA. But the Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is open to students from many academic backgrounds after completing their 12th.

In the CA course, candidates can make any number of attempts until they clear a particular level. They will be eligible to register for the next level only after clearing the previous level. For example, a candidate needs to clear the CA Foundation level to be able to register for CA Intermediate. For appearing in CA Final exams, a candidate needs to clear both Foundation and Intermediate levels.
Since, the level of difficulty of this course is very high, a maximum percentage of students make multiple attempts. Candidates who decide to pursue CA course, need to make sure that they are well prepared to a marathon of studies, preparation and exams.

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In the CA Foundation, there are 4 papers, followed by 8 papers each in CA intermediate and CA Final. The candidate must score at least 40 percent in each paper respectively to pass the examination. 

To know more about the CA Examination, Candidates can refer to the official website or Shiksha.

Candidates can check their results of CA Foundation, CA Intermediate and CA Final exams on the official websites of ICAI – icaiexam.icai.org,  caresults.icai.org and icai.nic.in. To check the result cum scorecard, candidates have to log in to their ICAI account. They can do so by using the login ID and password created at the time of exam form filling. The ICAI shares scorecard download link for the specific course at its website. Candidates have to locate the link and click on it to be able to login in the result dashboard. Candidates can also check the merit list of any course through the same process.

There are four sections to the CA Foundation course. To pass the test, candidates must fully understand these subjects in their coursework.

CA Foundation Paper 1: Accounting Principles and Practice Business Laws and Business Correspondence and Reporting is the second CA Foundation Paper.

There are two sections in the CA Foundation document. There are five papers in Section 1. In order to take the foundation exam, these chapters must be completed in the allotted time. Business Economics and Business and Commercial Knowledge is the fourth CA Foundation Paper.

Principles and Practice of Accounting, by PC and Bharat Tulsian, is the first paper in the CA Foundation Books. PC Tulsian, Tushar Tulsian, and Bharat Tulsian are the CA Foundation Books for Paper 2: Business Laws, Business Correspondence, and Reporting.

The CA course has three levels. Given below are the CA levels in order of hierarchy:

• Level 1: CA Foundation course

• Level 2: CA Intermediate/ IPC course

• Level 3: CA Final course

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After completing CA, one can pursue the below mentioned courses -

• Cost Management Accountancy (CMA)
• Bachelor of Law
• Master of Business Administration  (MBA)
• PhD in Accountancy or Taxation
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
• Company Secretary (CS)

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Both the course are considered to be the same level. But the general perception is that CA is tougher. There are some common subjects. You can prepare for them together.

You will need to divide your time for the other subjects. You could have timetable so that you spend equal time for both.

CA is a professional certification which can not be deemed equivalent to graduation or post graduation degree. ICAI allows an Indian CA to sit for foreign countries Charted Accounting Professional bodies examination in mutually signed agreements. 

Hello Vikrant, I can understand your angst. It’s actually a well-known fact that admission in IIT is one of the toughest propositions. It is said that getting admission in a US college is much easier.

CA on the other hand appears simple but is not. It too requires dedicated studies and concentration. Having said this, I would sincerely advise you to introspect and first decide as to which of these two fascinates you more. Please select this subject as your future. I am sure you will achieve success.

Hi Sourav, According to me, you should continue your career as a doctor. Both, MBBS and CA deal with 2 different areas. If you are pursuing MS then why do you want to do CA?

Moreover, what’s the use of MS then? Think well before taking a decision.

Hi, If you plan to work in India, CA is the best. For global exposure, you may choose ACCA. ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), UK, is a global body of professional accountants and is recognized as the worlds largest and influential accountants association expanding over 170 countries and training more than 370,000 students all over the world.

The portability of the ACCA qualification is what makes it attractive in the global economic climate. Unlike CA or other accounting courses, ACCA qualification is in line with the current demands of employers all over the world. So make the best decision. Please feel free to discuss more. Wish you luck.

Candidates frequently get prestigious higher positions in illustrious companies. The qualifications and position that a candidate applies for determine the typical pay that a qualified chartered accountant will earn. Even for the same position, the pay will differ depending on the institute. 

The average salary of Chartered Accountants in India ranges from INR 6-7 Lacs per annum to INR 30 Lacs per annum. Salary package offered by international auditing firms can go as high as INR 75 Lacs per annum. 

Getting hired by top recruiters for CAs is kind of a challenging thing, because many people qualify for CAs each year, and while there are lots of jobs, still everyone wants to work for top firms. These big companies like "Big Four", and large Indian and International businesses often pay good salaries, provide chances to grow, and builds a strong raputation, hence making them an attractive thing to new CAs. 

Ernst & Young (EY), PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler (KPMG) and Deloitte are the top private companies that hire CAs. They are known as The Big Four. CA professionals can seek employment in these companies as well as other enterprises if they don't want to practice independently.

The ICAI has its own placement cell to, through which it provides placements to candidates who complete the Chartered Accountancy course. Some of the top companies that participate in the campus placements are Infosys, Pankaj Somaiya Associates LLP, Prism Johnson Limited, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, Bandhan AMC Ltd, Mahindra Rural Housing Finance Limited, Hindalco Industries, Ford Motor Private Limited, LIC Housing Finance Ltd, Axis Bank among others.

It depends on when you are joining this course. Those who pursue CA courses straight after the 12th grade require around five years to complete the programme. The duration of the CA course for those joining after graduation is three years. To become a chartered accountant, one has to clear three levels along with three years of articleship.

1. The first level is the CA foundation stage.
2. The second level is CA Intermediate. 
3. The third level is the CA final, consisting of groups one and two. If you fail at any level, you will have to repeat it, which will increase the course duration for you.

CA is a professional degree certification. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is a role . CEO can be a designation for a company of 5 employees or 5 lakh employees.

It is different to compare CA profession with CEO. Your question is not not clear. You may reframe your question.

The first step before starting your studies is to prepare a timetable. Those students who think that making a timetable is a waste of time done a blunder mistake. Instead of wasting time every day thinking about what to study or where to start, make a proper plan. Pick Up the study material, check out the CA Foundation exam pattern and allocate time to every subject and every chapter according to the days left in your exam. This will not just organize your studies in a proper manner but also help you to analyze your performance.

Teachers play a major role in the success and the failure of a student. Many of the students crack this exam without coaching with just passing marks. But let me warn you, that clarity on the concepts is essential from the basic level because Chartered Accountancy is a long journey where you will be called experts. And a proper CA Foundation coaching helps you a lot in gaining clarity over your concepts.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants popularly known as ACCA is a globally recognised course with over 200,000 members and 600,000 students across 180+ countries. The ACCA qualification is considered the largest professional accounting qualification in the world.

ACCA course is one of the most prestigious certifications in accounting and is preferred by many students who want to build a successful career abroad. In India, ACCA is said to be equivalent to CA and ACCA professionals are hired at the same salary in most companies such as PwC, KPMG, Deloitte, EY, Grant Thornton, and BDO. 

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Corporate Law includes various paperwork related to finance and accountancy, therefore, it is directly related to Chartered Accountancy. Therefore, the course curriculum of both courses includes Corporate Law and Chartered Accountancy as mandatory subjects.

Corporate Law also consists of various other laws such as the Companies Act and other CSR Laws which require a fair understanding of the principles of managing a company. Moreover, corporate law is also a popular choice in LLB especially for those who have completed or pursuing CA.

Such systems are able to provide extremely accurate Management Information Reports and Decision Support outputs, sometimes replace human efforts. However, this field is yet to develop to replicate human intelligence and replace it. CA is statutory requirement and unless laws are changes by Government of India, AI will not able to replace CA in enterprises. CAs must be ready to adopt these valuable technology breakthroughs to understand and help technologist to create applications and systems to solve accounting and business problems.

These technology innovations will make CA more proficient, more productive, and capable of taking on and handling more clients. They will also help in delivering more value through insight by capturing hidden business knowledge in data and discovering business intelligence, rather than doing long hours of physical hard work. CA must be aware of these support systems to ease their business and help to increase accuracy and efficiency and not find any threat to their existence.

Hi, I would suggest not giving up on the articleship training. It is going to help you in long run in getting lucrative jobs and able to sustain the job pressures. You can still skip it and take up job but that's only a temporary phase.

More than getting a job it is very important to learn the various work process while learning in this articleship. This is going to help throughout in life and will fetch much more success.

There are about 20+ best CA colleges in India. Of these, 6 colleges are privately owned and 1 by public/government organisations. Students can secure admission after passing Class 12. Some of the top CA colleges in India include Navkar Institute, ICAI - Institute of Cost Accountants of India, Indian Institute of Finance and Accounts, Pune, CMS For CA, Shiksha Guru, ATM Global Business School (ATM-GBS), EduPristine, Mumbai, and many others.

Below is the table showing particulars of best CA colleges in India:

A. There are 27 CA colleges in India. Out of which, Maharashtra and Delhi/NCR have the maximum number of CA colleges in India. Below is the table showing states having number of colleges:

Explore more at: Best CA Colleges in India