Chartered Accountant is one of the most popular and best career professions in the commerce stream. Chartered Accountancy course is both challenging and rewarding and provides a wide array of career opportunities with a high salary scale along with extensive career growth opportunities.

Anyone comfortable with numbers, dedication and willingness to work hard can pursue this course.

Let's discuss in detail about Chartered Accountancy course and the steps to become a Chartered Accountant.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is the regulatory body for the Chartered Accountancy course. The Chartered Accountancy course structure is designed and modified from time to time by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

To fulfill the dream to become a Chartered Accountant, there are 3 steps as mentioned below -

• CA FOUNDATION

• CA INTERMEDIATE

• CA FINAL

Exams of Chartered Accountancy course for all the levels are conducted twice a year in -

• May

• November

Let us look at each of the 3 steps of Chartered Accountancy course in detail.

Step – 1 - CA Foundation - This is the first step of the CA course that the candidates have to clear. It is like an entry level exam to the Chartered Accountancy course and is a mix of Subjective and Objective papers.

Q - How and when to register for the Foundation course?

A - Candidates can register for the CA Foundation course right after passing 10th class. Candidates have to register for the Foundation course by filling Online Registration Form from the official website of ICAI - http://www.icai.org.

Q - Who is eligible to appear for the CA Foundation Exam?

A - A candidate can appear in the CA Foundation Exam after appearing/ clearing the 10+2 exam (Senior Secondary Examination), or its equivalent recognized by the 'Government of India.'

Q - What is the syllabus of the CA Foundation course?

A - CA Foundation exam is split into four papers.

The detailed syllabus of CA Foundation is as below -

• Paper 1: Principles and Practice of Accounting (100 Marks)

• Paper 2: Business Laws & Business Correspondence and Reporting

• Section A: Business Laws (60 Marks)

• Section B: Business Correspondence and Reporting (40 Marks)

• Paper 3: Business Mathematics, Logical Reasoning and Statistics

• Part A: Business Mathematics (40 Marks)

• Part B: Logical Reasoning (20 Marks)

• Part C: Statistics (40 Marks)

• Paper 4: Business Economics & Business and Commercial Knowledge

• Part I: Business Economics (60 Marks)

• Part II: Business and Commercial Knowledge (40 Marks)

Q - What are the qualifying marks within the CA Foundation level?

A- To clear this level, an aspirant must get at least 40% in each paper with an aggregate of 50% marks overall.

Step – 2 - CA Intermediate - This is the next level after CA Foundation. This level has two groups. The candidates have the option to appear for both groups together or they can appear for the papers in one group at one time and the papers in the 2nd group next time.

Q - How and when to register for the CA Intermediate course?

A- Candidates have to register for this level after clearing the Foundation exam or, any graduate student who has 55% marks can also register for this course. Candidates have to register for this level by filling Online Registration Form from the official website of ICAI - http://www.icai.org

Q - Who is eligible to appear for the CA Intermediate Exam?

A – The below mentioned candidates are eligible to appear in the CA Intermediate Exam.

• After clearing both the CA Foundation exam and Class 12th exam, one can appear for CA Intermediate Exam.

• Commerce Graduates or Post-Graduates who have a minimum of 55% marks can directly appear for Intermediate Exam without going through the first step of CA Foundation exam.

• Apart from Commerce, Graduates or Post-Graduates from any other discipline need to have a minimum of 60% to appear in the CA Intermediate Exam directly without going through the first step of CA Foundation exam.

Q - What is the syllabus for the CA Intermediate course, and what are the qualifying marks?

A - CA Intermediate course is split into two groups, each consisting of 4 papers. Candidates may get through the groups in one or more attempts, either together or separately. But candidates will be considered qualified at this level only if they get at least 40% marks in each paper and an aggregate of 50% marks overall in both groups. The group-wise detail syllabus is mention below-

Group 1

• Paper 1: Accounting (100 Marks)

• Paper 2: Corporate and Other Laws

• Part I: Company Law (60 Marks)

• Part II: Other Laws (40 Marks)

• Paper 3: Cost and Management Accounting (100 Marks)

• Paper 4: Taxation

• Section A: Income Tax Law (60 Marks)

• Section B: Indirect Taxes (40 Marks)

Group 2

• Paper 5: Advanced Accounting (100 Marks)

• Paper 6: Auditing and Assurance (100 Marks)

• Paper 7: Enterprise Information Systems and Strategic Management

• Section A: Enterprise Information System (50 Marks)

• Section B: Strategic Management (50 Marks)

• Paper 8: Financial Management & Economics for Finance

• Section A: Financial Management (60 Marks)

• Section B: Economics for Finance (40 Marks)

Step 2 (A) - Articleship

For professional courses, training is the most vital part, to gain practical knowledge. In the CA curriculum, the candidates are required undergo various training programs given below-

1. It is mandatory to complete the IT and OC training (15 days each) before or after the Intermediate results. It is noteworthy that training must be completed, before undergoing for Articleship.

2. After qualifying Intermediate exam (either one or both groups), and completing IT and OC training, the candidates must go through 3 years of Articleship. At the same time, candidates have to prepare for the Final level.

Step- 3 - CA Final - As the name indicates, this level is the last level of the CA course.

Q - How and when to register for the CA Final course?

A- Candidates need to register for this level by filling Online Registration Form from the official website of ICAI - http://www.icai.org. Candidates can register for this level only after qualifying both groups of the CA Intermediate exam.

Q - Who is eligible to appear for the CA Final Exam?

A - Candidates who have qualified both the groups of the CA Intermediate Exam are eligible to appear for the CA final examination. Also, candidates who have completed the advanced IT and OC training can only appear for the Final Exam.

Q - What's the syllabus of the CA Final course?

A - CA Final course has two groups. The detailed syllabus is mention below-

The detailed syllabus of CA Intermediate is as below -

• Paper 1: Financial Reporting (100 Marks)

• Paper 2: Strategic Financial Management (100 Marks)

• Paper 3: Advance Accounting & Professional Ethics (100 Marks)

• Paper 4: Corporate and Economic Laws

• Part I - Corporate Laws (70 Marks)

• Part II - Economic Laws (30 Marks)

• Paper 5 : Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation (100 Marks)

• Part A: Strategic Cost Management and Decision Making

• Part B: Performance Evaluation and Control

• Paper 6: Elective Paper (One to be chosen from the list of Elective Papers)

• 6A Risk Management (100 Marks)

• 6B Financial Services & Capital Markets (100 Marks)

• 6C International Taxation (100 Marks)

• 6D Economic Laws (100 Marks)

• 6E Global Financial Reporting Standards (100 Marks)

• 6F Multi-disciplinary Case Study (100 Marks)

• Paper 7: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation (100 Marks)

• Part I - Direct Tax Laws (70 Marks)

• Part II - International Taxation (30 Marks)

• Paper 8: Indirect Tax Laws

• Part I – Goods and Services Tax (75 Marks)

• Part II – Customs & FTP (25 Marks)

Q - What are the qualifying marks within the CA Final level?

A - Candidates are said to be qualified for the CA Final level if they score a minimum of 40% in each paper with an aggregate of 50% marks overall in both groups.

Once you clear both the groups of the CA final level successfully and have finished the formalities laid by ICAI - Congratulations! You are a qualified Chartered Accountant!