Ailing  CA Profession needs to be admitted in a super speciality Hospital  and a proper series of tests are required to diagnose the ailment and its treatment.

 

As you might be knowing only  3.1% of the students  passed the CA. final exam of Nov. 2013.The count is approximately thousand odd only. This is said that the result is poor and the marks are manipulated to reduce the supply of Chartered Accountants  in the market. Isn't it shocking that the Indian market which all the MNC's are considering to be the biggest market to sell anything don't need Chartered Accountants.

 

But if you actually look at the placement records (as is being said that in the recent campus placement held in Delhi earlier in this month only 60 odd could be got recruited out of 600 plus applicants by the 15-16 companies came for campus) it seems to be true that the market can't absorb thousand CA professionals even. Newly passed out CA's who faced interviews found it difficult to live up to the expectations of the companies which came for the placements. Or the placement cell of ICAI could not guide which is the right way to judge the capabilities of the person who has successfully passed their curriculum.  

 

On the other hand you pick up the News Paper and you will find many advertisements of a no. of MBA colleges which may not be properly affiliated even, claiming 100% placements. I don't say that their claims are valid but if you compare the no. of CA's produced in a year and number of other professionals be it engineers , doctors, MBA's or even B.com or M.com from a reputed institute like SRCC  produced and the kind of packages and placements they are getting, you will definitely be a bit disappointed about opting to be a Chartered Accountant. The fact is that so many Chartered Accountants are at very prestigious positions in many big companies and they are well aware about the capabilities that a CA possess. The placement cell of CA institute has failed to negotiate with them or they are not being approached to be a part of this process.

 

Now what I feel is that either it is the failure of the placement cell or the curriculum which is  been taught is not up to the mark. But you can't say that the curriculum  is faulty as many Chartered Accountants who got chance to work have proved their  capabilities and are true assets for the people they are working for.

 

If the curriculum is not faulty and the students which are eligible for placement interviews are first attempters only then you can't say that their IQ is less than a person who graduated from IIT or IIM then why is he/she not getting a chance to work in a prestigious company. It is not the case that there are no jobs in the financial sector but companies prefer to recruit students  from IIT's. It is definitely the success  of their placement cells, as they are able to secure jobs in financial sector for their engineers, and definitely failure on the part of  ICAI's placement cell who are not able to market their product.

 

A person who is not from a corporate/professional background  is dependent on placement cell only. The same is the story of any professional collage. The students who don't have anybody to recommend them depend on collage placements only. And it is very difficult for them to get a job if they are not selected in the collage placement. The placement cells of these professional institutes work  really hard to get a big no. of prestigious companies to their collages as the reputation of their institutes depends on the quality of placements their students get.

 

It is been pointed out that ICAI through its placement cell is interesting in garnering the revenue by charging hefty amounts from the companies which come for placements rather than inviting more and more companies to the campus for placements and providing required infrastructure. Is't it shocking ?The ICAI leadership is making mockery of the profession which has made then what they are today.

 

It is a wakeup call for all the stake holders to introspect at all the levels as  CA's are bound to work for a salary which is less than the salary for which you get a office boy even. 

 

Contributed By: 

Rachna Jindal,
MBA(Finance)