Hello Freshers!!!!

Chartered Accountancy is considered as one of the most reputed profession in India. Irrespective of the number attempts to become a CA, society gives equal respect to all the CAs.

Its the only profession which has been untouched by the malices of reservation and corruption. Entry to the profession is easier but passing out is a herculean task. CA examinations helps us to be disciplined, strong, determined and keep on moving irrespective of the failures we face.

Congratulations to all those who passed the examinations in May 2013. Its really a commendable achievement for all of you. You people are the most luckiest person in the planet. That excitement of getting something for which you have sacrificed everything for 5 years, including the 3 golden years of college life, cant be described in words.

Everytime when I see a student passing his CA final exam, I remember the days when my Final Exam was going to be declared. That moment of uncertainty, those few hours before the exam results, those few minutes when your heart starts beating rapidly at the speed of 200 beats per minute, those moments when your brain thinks about all the possibilities and then that excitement when you pass irrespective of the attempts made. Its a fun thing to experience this.

And then there comes the sudden change around you. People start looking upon you with respect, you suddenly gain a lot of importance in the family and friends and you are on the top of the world. On one hand there's an excitement of passing the examinations while on other hand there are lot of dreams to fulfill. Completing CA opens up many opportunities for everyone and there are many options available in the market to make an exciting career path.

Due to increasing career options and many opportunities available, freshers get confused what to do and they end up landing in a place where they destroy their career path.

What to do now?

Passing CA is tough but more tough is choosing a right career to fulfill your dreams. The recession in the job market makes the scenario more and more challenging. To start with lets discuss the two basic possibilities:

Starting your own practice vs. Employment (Job)

 

Practice

Starting your practice is one of the best opportunity that anyone can grab in the current situation where there is a recession in the Indian job market.

All the budding entrepreneurs those who like to work on their own, who cannot work under anyone can go for practicing as a Chartered Accountant providing consultancy in the various fields like Audit, Taxation, Finance etc.

Starting your practice requires a great deal of courage and firm determination. You have to be well versed in public dealing and have to build up a strong network to build a good client base. The average gestation period for any fresh practicing CA to establish himself in the market, in the current situation is 9 - 10 years.

Moreover in this changing times starting a sole proprietorship firm is never advisable. Its an era of specialization and clients require all the services under one roof. So the only option is to start a partnership firm which provides a variety of services to the clients.

As a practicing CA you need to venture in the new and untouched fields like:

• Carbon Credit Accounting
• SOX Audit
• International Taxation
• FEMA Compliances
• Environment Auditing
• Management Auditing etc.

Remember, starting a traditional Statutory Audit and Income Tax practice is not going to work out. While practice nurtures the inner entrepreneur in you, there are lot of struggles which you need to establish yourself. Practicing as a CA helps you to develop your leadership skills and makes you an expert in managing people and circumstances.

Employment (Job)

 

Employment is the safest option one can bet on when you are starting your career path. Though its said that the job market is facing a huge recession, deserving candidates still try to bag jobs with a lucrative package.

Being employed makes your life easier specially when you are a fresher. There are no fixed costs of starting your own office, no worries of gaining clients and no struggles for earning money. Being employed makes you financially secured and gives a very good exposure to learn new things.

Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Pune etc provide an excellent opportunity to work into the corporates and provide a good exposure in terms of the quality of work and the knowledge. As a fresher you can get jobs in various sectors like"

• Big 4s
• Banks
• Insurance Companies
• Finance Companies
• Accounting Firms
• KPOs
• Manufacturing Industry
• Media Industry etc.

Being employed somewhere makes your future secure in terms of the money you get, but jobs tend to be boring in the long run. Due to the monotonous work life and extensive traveling a CA does, people lose the charm of jobs as and when they start getting experienced. Job makes you dependent on someone and you lose the basic fighting spirit and independence in yourself. It kills the entrepreneurial spirit in you. But again if you work hard at the job you secure, it can take you to a level where sky is the limit.

So to summarize, both practice and job have their own pros and cons. Please do think about your future before taking a decision as this will affect your future career plans.

In the next blog I will post about the Campus Interviews conducted by the Institute and how to crack them.

Till then..bbye....