First question that comes in fresher Chartered Accountant’s mind who is planning to start his own practice is “How to get the work”. Believe me, getting work is not very difficult task, provided you have good contacts and references. And contacts can be developed over a period of time, until then you must have patience. In this article, I will provide you few tried and tested tricks and tips that will make your survival easier in early days of practice.
Firstly, one should prepare a list of person from whom he can ask for work; they may be your relatives, friends, principal, clients which you had handled during the internship days. Generally, your principal provides you some work on assignment basis, but for that you have to impress him with your dedication and sincerity during your internship days.
Secondly, try to maintain constant touch with the clients which you had handled during your articleship period, there are fair chances that they may give you small but recurring assignments such as filing of TDS returns, Service tax returns etc. This work may not be very remunerative but it will provide you a steady source of income. You can also request your client to recommend your name to other persons.
Thirdly, try to meet seniors in the profession, they will be very happy to see a new entrant, chances are that they may give you some work on the spot or after few days. Prepare a list of well known Chartered accountants of your city, call them and ask for a meeting, seek their guidance and remain in constant touch with them.
There are many other ways in which you can get work:
1. Enter a networking agreement with an established firm which don’t have an office or branch in your city.
2. Visit government departments regularly, try to establish and maintain contacts with the officials there.
3. Look for the entities who want to outsource their accounting work.
4. Try to obtain the bulk return filing assignment at the discounted fees of various companies having salaried employees.
5. Join an association; it will help you to develop contacts.
6. Use forums such as CaclubIndia etc to get in touch with some of the bright members of our profession.
7. List your business online.
8. Do some post qualification certification courses; it will help you to stand apart from the crowd.
9. Try to grab small assignments such as return filing, stock audit, registrations under various acts etc.
The author can also be reached at rohitjain3663@gmail.com
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