Q 1. What is the duration of the CA course?

A. The minimum duration of the CA course for a person pursuing after Class 12 (i.e. through CPT Route) is four years and six months. For a person pursuing after graduation (i.e. through Direct Entry Scheme), the minimum duration of the CA course is three years.

Q 2. What are the eligibility criteria for pursuing CA?

A. A candidate can pursue CA course through two routes, i.e. Foundation and Direct Entry. The eligibility criteria for both the routes are mentioned below:

Q 4. Is MBA better than CA?

A. MBA offers more diverse fields to the students whereas CA concentrates mainly on the field of finance and accounts. Hence, this completely depends on one’s area of interest to decide which course is better.

Q 5. Which courses can be pursued after completing CA?

A. After completing CA, one can pursue the following courses:

Accounting & Commerce Colleges in India

CA Colleges in India

Q: Q 3. Can a CA professional work in government sector?

A. The scope for CA professionals is vast. CAs can find several job opportunities in private, public as well as in government sectors. They can also work with international accounting organisations or smaller accountancy firms, known as small and medium practices (SMPs), manufacturing, retail and telecoms industries, educational institutions, charities, and not-for-profit organisations and so on.

Shiksha Internal Authors

Chartered Accountancy (CA) is a three-level course designed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). ICAI conducts CA exam to certify a candidate as a qualified Chartered Accountant after the successful completion of this course. Chartered Accountant is a designation given to the accounting professional to manage work related to accounting and taxation of a business, like file tax returns, audit financial statements and so on. T

Chartered Accountancy course can be pursued by a candidate either through Foundation Course Route or Direct Entry Route. As stated above, the CA course is divided into three levels: Foundation, Intermediate, and Final. The candidate must meet the following eligibility criteria to pursue CA:

Foundation Route

The candidate must have completed Class 12 and four months of the study period to be able to appear for Foundation examination.
The candidate needs to register with the Board of Studies for four months of the study period.

Direct Entry Route

The candidate must be a Commerce graduate/post-graduate or other graduates/post-graduates with a minimum aggregate percentage of 55% or 60%, respectively from a recognised university (including Open University).
The candidate must have passed Intermediate level of Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI).

The interested candidates can pursue this course through full-time, part-time classroom, online, distance/correspondence mode. In India, CA colleges are spread across many cities/ states such as Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, etc. Some of the popular CA colleges in India with their fees and location are tabulated below:

Popular CA Colleges/ Universities in India

S. No.	Colleges	Location	Total Fees (Rs)
1.	The Institute of Chartered of India (ICAI)	Noida	-
2.	Indian Institute of Finance and Accounts, Pune	Pune	-
3.	Pearl Accountants, International Accountants and Business Consultants	Kochi	-
4.	Zell Education	Mumbai	2.85 L
5.	Vista Academy	Dehradun	32.5 K
6.	ETEN CA	Guwahati	-
7.	PIRON School of Business and Finance	Mumbai	-
8.	Siddharth Academy	Thane	8.5-12 K
9.	Navkar Institute	Ahmedabad	-
10.	CMS For CA	Hyderabad	20 K
11.	PIRON School of Business and Finance, Bangalore	Bangalore	-
12.	International School of Financial Studies	Secunderabad	33-53 K

Placement Opportunities after CA Course

Only a few CA colleges in India provide placement opportunities to the students. ICAI provides maximum placement opportunities to the CA students as compared to other colleges across the country. After completing CA, the average salary package offered to a fresher is around Rs 6-7 LPA whereas an entry-level professional can expect the average salary package of around Rs 7-8 LPA. This range can go up depending on the size of the firm.

Students are required to fulfil the criteria and clear the rounds as set by the recruiting companies. These colleges with their placement ratings (based on student’s reviews on Shiksha.com) and top recruiters are given below:

S. No.	Institutes	Placement Ratings (Based on reviews)	Top Recruiters
1.	Navkar Institute	5	Adani, Reliance, TCS and so on
2.	The Institute of Chartered of India (ICAI), Noida	3.7	Big four, PWC, KPMG, EY, Deloitte, ITC, Indian Oil Bharat Petroleum, Tolaram Group, Swiggy, Goldman Sachs and so on

Some of the other CA top recruiters are:

Indian Firms

Federal Bank
State Bank of India
RBL Bank
JS Sundaram and Co
Luthra and Luthra
Khumji Khiverji and Co
Standard Chartered
Axis Bank
IDFC Bank
Bajaj Finserv and Group
HDFC Bank
TR Chadha and Co
RM Rajapurkar and Co
SS Kothari Metha and Co

Multinational Companies

Tolaram Group
E&Y
KPMG
PricewaterhouseCoopers
JP Morgan Chase
Deloitte
RSM International
Grant Thorton
Olam International
Qatar Insurance Co
ETA Ascon Group
Edelweiss
BNY Mellon
Oman Cables Industry
Landmark Group
Credit Suisse
Citi Bank

Skillset Requirements

The candidate interested to pursue career as a Chartered Accountant must have some of the following skills:

Self-motivation and commitment
General business interest and awareness
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
Quick numeracy
Integrity and trustworthiness
Time management skills
Communication and interpersonal skills
Keep updated with new and amended laws
Confidence
Great listening skills

How affordable is studying CA in India?

Studying CA in India is inexpensive. Approximately 86% of CA colleges in India have the fee structure less than Rs 1 lakh. These colleges are listed below:

CMS for CA, Hyderabad
Siddharth Academy, Thane
IIKMFE Financial Education, Chennai
Tips Institute of Professional Studies, Moradabad
Vista Academy, Dehradun
International School of Financial Studies, Secunderabad

The fee structure of around 14% CA colleges in India falls under the bracket of Rs 1-2 lakh. Some of these colleges are:

EduPristine, Mumbai
Zell Education, Mumbai

Different Modes of Study offered by CA Colleges in India

CA colleges in India adopt various modes of study. Full-time mode is the most popular one followed by online mode of study as offered by CA colleges in India. The percentage-wise distribution of these among various CA colleges in India is given below:

Mode of Study	Number of Colleges	Percentage
Full-time	21	60%
Online	8	23%
Part-time Classroom	5	14%
Distance/ Correspondence	1	3%

Full-time Mode of Study

The following CA colleges provide full-time courses:

S. No.	Colleges	Location
1.	The Institute of Chartered of India (ICAI)	Noida
2.	Navkar Institute	Ahmedabad
3.	International School of Financial Studies	Secunderabad
4.	CMS for CA	Hyderabad
5.	Indian Institute of Finance and Accounts	Pune

Online Classroom Mode of Study

S. No.	Colleges	Location
1.	PIRON School of Business and Finance	Bangalore
2.	IIKMFE Financial Education	Chennai
3.	PIRON School of Business and Finance	Chennai
4.	EduPristine	Mumbai

Credentials for CA Course in India

Several CA colleges in India offer different types of courses such as degree, certificate, and Diploma. Some of the CA colleges that offer degree course are listed below:

S. No.	Colleges	Location
1.	Crest Eduscore	Delhi
2.	Tips Institute of Professional Studies	Moradabad
3.	Zell Education	Mumbai

The colleges that offer certificate course are tabulated below:

S. No.	Colleges	Location
1.	The Institute of Chartered of India (ICAI)	Noida
2.	Navkar Institute	Ahmedabad
3.	Indian Institute of Finance and Accounts	Pune
4.	Siddharth Academy	Thane
5.	International School of Financial Studies	Secunderabad

ICAI Exam

The examinations conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) are:

Common Proficiency Test (CPT)
Intermediate (Integrated Professional Competence) Examination
Final Examination

Common Proficiency Test is the entry-level exam which is followed by Intermediate and Final examination. These examinations are conducted twice a year - CPT (June and December) and IPC and Final examination (May and November).

Scope of CA Course

Chartered Accountant is one of the toughest professions in the world. The primary job of a CA is to maintain and review the financial health of the company. CAs can find several job opportunities in private, public as well as in government sectors. CA also prepares and maintains financial statements and budget, conducts financial audits, advises clients tax planning, financial risks, business acquisitions and mergers and so on. A certified CA can choose to either work with a firm as an employee or open their private practice. One can also work with international accounting organisations or smaller accountancy firms, known as small and medium practices (SMPs), manufacturing, retail and telecoms industries, educational institutions, charities, and not-for-profit organisations, etc.

CA professionals can also go for higher studies and pursue the following 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)
Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
Cost and Works Accountants (CWA)
Financial Risk Management (FRM)
Certified Information System Auditor (CISA)
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)

Also, Articleship is a mandatory part of the curriculum which gives the practical experience to the candidates. As mentioned above, a CA professional can also become an entrepreneur. They can also offer their services in the field of capital market and contribute to decision-making and augmenting the profits of the firm. CAs can also work in project management, consultancy services, banks (Both private and public), mutual funds, portfolio management companies, legal firms and so on.

There is a wide scope for CA in abroad as well. ICAI has tied up with its Canadian, Singapore, and Irish counterparts to provide several work opportunities in these countries. Other countries like Dubai, the USA, UK, and so on also offer job opportunities to CA professionals. The experienced candidates with the right skills have a better chance to get a job overseas.

Some of the job profiles after completing CA are given below: