ICAI’s move to hold CA Final exams thrice a year ‘suicidal’, ‘mistake’, say upset accountants

NEW DELHI: The “big step” of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to conduct the CA Final exams three times a year has rather disappointed a major section of the accountant community which believes that the decision will make it difficult to find a job in the already tight job market.

As per the latest ICAI announcement, the ICAI CA Final exams will be conducted in January, May, and September, allowing ample “opportunities” for students to gain “success”. Earlier, the exams were held only twice a year.

Several chartered accountants and aspiring candidates opposed the decision, calling it “suicidal” and “mistake”. The institute, notably, had earlier increased the frequency of conduct of CA Intermediate and Final exams to two times a year.

“Mistakes” of ICAI

Taking to social media platform X, CA Rishika Gupta said, “Three attempts for CA Final. Not a good idea in my opinion. Anyone who has done CA knows four months (assuming you know you won’t clear) is not enough to prepare for the next attempt.”

An X user expressed shock over the move and wrote in a post, “What? Instead the entry to this course should be made tough. Conducting Finals thrice a year will only cause problems for the qualified ones as the job market is already so tight. I don’t know what went in their minds while making this decision.

“ICAI is making mistakes imo. First, it reduced the articleship period to two years. Second, withdrew scampe/law in written mode and introduced spom. Third, implemented Inter or foundation exams three times in a year. Fourth, three times a year for CA final as well.”

A professor also called it a “bad move” and posted, “CA Final exams to be conducted 3 times in a year now! A bad move by ICAI to be honest. Inter and Foundation syllabus is comparatively less so it's manageable but CA Final syllabus is huge, a bit tough for students as well as for institute.”

Also read ICAI 60th campus placement ends; highest domestic package at Rs 26.70 lakh per annum

“ICAI’s decision to hold Final exam 3 times is nothing but suicidal. Torch bearers seem to be lacking long-term vision and stakeholders especially practicing CA were not taken in confidence,” said another user.

CA Himanshu Modi reacted, “Firstly, ICAI shortened the articleship period then reduced the number of subjects, and now introduced thrice-yearly exams. Many qualified CAs still struggle to find quality jobs. It’s concerning how these continuous changes impact the credibility of this prestigious degree.”

Another user reflected on the “problem” and said, “If ICAI final students think that increasing attempts to 3 per year is a big relief, then you're being misled. Compare Foundation old syllabus pass % (2 attempts/year) with new syllabus % (3 attempts/year), and you'll see why this move is a major trap.”