career
Chartered Accountancy as a Profession
A Chartered Accountant is like a doctor of Finance and Taxation. This rewarding profession offers private practice and job opportunities both, in the areas of accounting, auditing, corporate finance and other business laws, taxation and corporate governance and even in academics.
Educational rigour along with extensive practical training that a Chartered Account possesses is what the business and industry needs especially now with the globalisation of Indian economy. Chartered Accountancy is a globally acclaimed profession and is capable of offering a bright career to any young talent.
Various Career options available with a Chartered Accountant are:
1. Independent Professional Practice:
A Chartered Accountant may start professional practice as a proprietor or join any existing firm as a partner or staff member.
A practicing Chartered Account could offer various services, like:
- Undertaking various types of Audit work such as Statutory Audit, Tax Audit, VAT Audit, Compliance Audit, Bank Audit etc.
- Providing all kinds of Management Consultancy services like financial management, strategic management, planning and financial policy determination
- Corporate Consultancy by helping the business to secure loans, preparing financial projections, etc.
- Corporate Law Advice regarding company formation and structure, liquidation and financial aspects
- Project planning and advice on financial resource
- Preparation of financial reports
- Investigation of share valuation for takeovers, issue of capital shares, amalgamation with other firms.
- Advisory services like business expansion, profit analysis, profit improvement, joint venture programmes, etc.
- Tax consultancy and representations with various tax authorities
- Various certifications required by statues
- Secretarial Practice and Procedures services
- Information Systems management
2. Working in Industry:
In any industry CAs are generally found in the higher positions of the Accounting, Taxation and Finance department. The regular role of CAs in various areas are:
- Financial accounting :
Financial accounting deals with keeping financial records. The job involves interpreting accounts, supervising, controlling and organising expenditure and income, etc. It includes compiling daily, monthly and yearly management accounts. - Auditing:
CAs carry out internal audit to keep track of management procedures and internal controls and ensure that records are accurate and controls are appropriate. They review compliance with corporate policies and procedures. -
Cost accounting:
Cost accounting deals with the complex business of working out what particular operations, jobs, and products really needed to produce. It also includes budgeting and budgetary control, forecasting and monitoring expenditure to see that costs are not over-shooting. - Tax management:
CAs specialise as tax managers and assist in optimising the firm's financial structure. They look at the tax implications of new plans, changes in company structures, in fact any major decision. They advise on the tax effect of performance goals. - Management accounting: Management Accounting is a task senior chartered accountants perform. They collect, organise, collate and analyse information from all parts of the organization. Make regular critical analysis of past and present financial performance Make projections for the future.
- Financial Management: CAs work in treasury department where all the financial functions are performed by them. It involves estimation of funds requirement, means of procurement and their effective utilisation. The role of CA is very crucial here as the long term growth of the business is mainly dependent on the proper financial management of the business organisation.