ICAI: Over 9,000 take part in job placements; highest CA salary at Rs 41 lakh per annum

NEW DELHI: The highest domestic package received by students enrolled with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) was Rs 24 lakh per annum and the international package was Rs 41 lakh per annum, shared the newly-elected president of ICAI, Ranjeet Kumar Agarwal.

The institute is also looking at digitalisation and has set up a committee to develop a road map for the institute to become Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled.

The institute is also setting up a committee to conduct research on how the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio in the country can increase like in other developed countries and identify irrelevant laws which the government of India could remove.

CA jobs, salary

In the two examinations conducted by the institute, 22,000 students qualified in 2023.

“More than 9,000 students opted for campus placement offered by 138 companies. Only these many students took the campus placement as they had better opportunities in auditing, advisory field or in foreign locations,” said Agarwal.

Apart from the highest package the average package offer made to the students was Rs 12.5 lakh per annum.

“We encourage students to take up the course as it offers opportunities. It is a correspondence course which is unique in the world with two years of articleship and offered at just Rs 75,000 for five years. Practising CAs are grooming the students,” said Agarwal at a press conference.

ICAI new scheme

The recommendations of the Committee for Review of Education and Training (CRET) led to the ICAI new scheme, implemented with effect from July 1, 2023. As per the new scheme the first exams of CA Foundation, CA Intermediate and CA Final will be conducted in May 2024.

The applicability of the new scheme would be in force for all new candidates who are registering for all the three levels of the CA exam.

The number of candidates for each of these is as follows:

• CA Foundation: 49,028

• CA Intermediate: 58,907

• CA Final: 21,185

CA Foundation, Intermediate, Final: New registrations

Every year, there are almost 1.5 lakh new registrations, added Agarwal; 43% registered students are female. With the students from Jammu and Kashmir and northeast being provided with 75% fee exemption, around 7,000 students registered are from these areas.

As per the ICAI new scheme, the CA Foundation course registration can be done after Class 10, but after four months of study. Earlier it was only students who had graduated Class 12 who could register.

For the CA Intermediate course there are two ways to become eligible. One is by completing the CA foundation course and the other is through the direct route.

Once candidates clear the Class examination and the CA Foundation exam, they become eligible to register for the CA Intermediate course. As per the new scheme, to clear the CA Foundation exam a candidate must score a minimum 40% marks in each paper and an aggregate of 50% in all four papers.

Another route to become eligible for registration for the CA intermediate course is the direct route which one can opt for after graduation or after clearing the Intermediate level exam of Institute of Cost Accountants of India and Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

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Plans for registered CA

Agarwal shared, “We will take stock and see how all wings of the institute can be made AI enabled. A committee has been constituted for it.”

Not just for new students, the institute also plans to upskill the enrolled CAs. According to officials, there are 4 lakh registered CAs.

“Residential courses for upskilling will be started so that they can upgrade themselves with new technology and newer happenings,” said Agarwal. For registered professionals, 30 hours of learning in a year is mandatory.

The institute will also be starting a programme called “Each One Teach One”, where the registered CA’s will nurture the students.

Agarwal also hopes that the government will complete negotiations with Canada and the United States on Foreign Trade Agreement (FTA). “We want reciprocity so that our CAs are also able to go and practice there. We are hopeful,” said Agarwal.