Articleship - Mother-wit behind it !!!

Articleship in Chartered Accountancy course is a unique learning scheme in which a student gets exposure to professional activities. This helps him to understand the amplifications involved in various fields wherein chartered accountants are engaged in practice or in service. However, theoretical education supports a student to achieve excellence in articleship and therefore it is must to achieve the prime goal of becoming a successful CA.

An unripe mango takes a time to become sour to sweet. If we ripe it with some chemical process, the taste will not be the same and also it will endure for few days. So don’t take a dummy path.

Each learning need a dedication therefore I strongly believe that every successful chartered accountant has at his backdrop chequered history of successful and dedicated articleship.

Real dedicated articleship only can produce high caliber chartered accountants competent to encounter challenges of the professional role.

Objective of articleship

Many of students think that articleship is totally abuse and not linked with CA studies. The most of those students suppose so because they do not want to come out of their comfort zone.

I do not deny the problems created by a few of members due to their financial interest but as the ICAI is strict about irregular or unofficial activities of articled assistants, the scenario is changing fast.

The main objective of articleship is to equip a CA student with the knowledge, attainments, ability, skills, tacts and other professional qualities needed for a chartered accountant during his professional life.

What is articled assistant and audit assistant?

Articled Assistant

The Articled Assistant is a articled assistant attached to a practicing Chartered Accountant under a Deed of Articles for the duration of the training, namely, 3 or 3 and a half years. The articleship can now be done at any of 19 overseas centres of ICAI under any ICAI accredited chartered accountant.

Audit Assistant

An Audit assistant is a person who has served as a salaried employee for a minimum period of one year under a practicing chartered Accountant or a firm of Chartered Accountants in practices, on a monthly remuneration not below Rs.1,500 per month in cities with a population of one million and above and Rs.1,000 p.m. in other places.

Such a person is provided with an opportunity of becoming a Chartered Accountant by registering himself as an Audit Assistant for practical training under the concerned Chartered Accountant or the firm of Chartered Accountants in practice wherein the Chartered Accountant is a partner. A slightly longer period of training, namely, 56 Months, is prescribed in such a case.

It is also permitted to undergo training partly as an articled assistant and partly as an audit assistant and service of eight months as an audit assistant shall be reckoned as six months of service as an articled assistant ignoring all period of less then 8 months.

Liability of Member

A member engaging articled assistants shall before accepting a person as an articled-assistant, satisfy himself that :-

ü  his professional practice (either in his individual name, or in a trade name or as a partner of the firm), is suitable for the purpose of training articled assistants; and

ü  such a person -

a.       is not less than 18 years of age on the date of commencement of articles; and

b.      has passed the CPT with 10+2 examination /or professional Education (Examination - II) under CA Regulations; and

c.       has successfully completed computer training programme as may be specified from time to time by the Council and in the manner so specified.

A member who is in salaried employment under a chartered accountant in practice or a firm of such chartered accountants are not eligible to train articled assistants.

Leave

For the purpose of As per the latest training guide, the articled assistant earns 1/6 leave of the period actually served by them. Leave due shall ordinarily be granted, if reasonable notice has been given to the Principal by the articled assistant. In order to prepare for the examinations of the Institute, the articled assistants shall be granted leave for two months or to the extent of leave due, whichever is less, provided an application for the leave has been made at least 15 days in advance. The days on which an articled assistant appears for the examination conducted by the Institute (including holidays) are counted as a period on duty.

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**DM