22 June 2013
GUIDELINES FOR TRAINING OF ARTICLED ASSISTANTS OUTSIDE INDIA • A Chartered Accountant is eligible to train an articled assistant provided his main occupation is the practice of the profession of Accountancy at the time of engaging articled assistants as well as in each of the qualifying years on the basis of which he claims eligibility to train articled assistants. • Any member engaged in any other business, occupation or holding part time certificate of practice, is not entitled to train articled assistant. • The member in practice shall have a professional address in India in his own charge or in charge of another member. • The terms and conditions that may be made applicable for training articled assistant in India from time to time shall mutatis mutandis apply for training of articled assistant abroad. • The period of practical training shall be 3 years or 3½ years, as applicable, under a practising chartered accountant abroad. However, the articled/audit assistants should have an option to undergo industrial training in accordance with the Regulations 51 & 72 of the Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988 during the last one year of training. • The Industrial Training may be imparted by the Chartered Accountants working abroad in a financial, commercial or industrial undertaking with minimum fixed assets & minimum total turnover or minimum paid-up capital as may be specified by the Council (whatever the value specified in terms of Indian currency may be deemed as applicable in foreign countries in their respective currencies) or such other organization or institution approved by the Council • The terms & conditions contained in Regulation 54 dealing with secondment shall be applicable to the articled assistants receiving training abroad. • The Principal shall send training reports as prescribed along with the service certificate to be issued in Forms 109 & 108 as the case may be The principal shall impart training in accordance with the guidelines contained in Training Guide. He shall maintain a record of practical training imparted by him to the articled assistant and report to the Council in the form prescribed in the training guide. • The rates, terms and conditions of stipend prescribed as payable to the articled assistants receiving training in India shall be applicable to the articled assistants receiving training abroad except that the same rate of stipend in equivalent terms specified in respective national currencies of the countries concerned instead of Indian rupees. • Regulation of training in terms of office hours and working days holidays will be applicable as per local office timings and laws. However, requirements of total training hours will be the same as applicable in India. The working hours for the articled assistants shall be 35 hours in a week excluding the lunch break. The office hours of the Principal for providing article training to the articled assistant shall not be generally before 9.00 a.m. or after 7.00 p.m. The normal working hours for the articled assistant shall not start after 11.00 a.m. or end before 5.00 p.m. The working hours for the articled assistants should not exceed 35 hours in a week excluding the lunch break and normally an articled assistant be required to work during the normal working hours fixed for articled assistants. In case of exigencies of work with Principal, an article assistant may be required to work beyond his/her normal working hours. However, under such circumstances, the aggregate number of working hours shall not exceed 45 hours per week. The requirement to work beyond 35 hours in a week should not be a practice but only in exceptional circumstances. Further, where the articled assistant is required to work beyond normal working hours, and aggregate of such hours exceed 35 hours per week, he/she shall be entitled to compensatory leave calculated with reference to number of completed working hours, over and above, 35 hours per week.