Hi!
Thanks for coming out with such a topic.
First of all, about the 3-1/2 years articleship - while the idea of practical training while you study is good, the actual situation, i mean the ground reality is not all that good. I am enumerating here the reasons:-
1. There is a subject called Auditing which says "Every entry in the books should be supported by a Voucher"
I do vouching as per Vouching chapter, but my principal, instead of adressing the irregularities, is asking me to pass some more bogus expense entries so that his DEAR client need not pay any tax.
"Auditors are professionals" - YES but in commiting master frauds.
Now what am I supposed to learn from this kind of practical training??
(Please dont justify this. A mistake is a mistake even if GOD does it and dont say no against your conscience.)
Though everybody knows this (including Mr. VidhyaShankar) they will cover it up and say CA is the noblest profession.
Dont insult the word Noble yaar.
2. What is the point in doing the same kind of work for 3-1/2 years - vouching, reconciliation, confirmation, valuation, & tax? This lengthy period can be reduced or we could be put on different
kinds of training, say, industrial visits, project work, checking and understanding how banks and insurance companies work (I mean the compliances & not every day functioning), govt funding, and many other innovative forms of training.
3. The work leaves us with little time to study.
Secondly, the ban on the transfer. Isn't it so aristocratic? If I join a firm and I find that I dont like it or it doesnot have much work, and I am a kind of person who want to do lot of work & learn as much as possible, I would obviously want to shift, then, whats wrong in transfer? Imagine working in a firm for 3-1/2 years with little learning and little work, is that not waste of time? It is a form of curtailing the little freedom we had.
Thirdly, the stipend. very very less, Just to make up for the conveyance from home to office. Thats all. I know my MBA friends (Madras University) who went for internship during their last 6 months of study and got stipend as high as Rs.15000 p.m. Do we do any kind of lesser work? Why not we be better paid? And if I go by Management terminology, thats motivation for work.
Lastly many of the principals, who are supposed to teach us, have not updated their knowledge withthe latest changes, developments and amendments taking place. Among those I have seen and heard, many of the auditors dont know e-filing (only seniors know), to be worse, some even dont know the latest income tax slab rates and provisions, etc. etc. They are happily settled, somehow passed, got some well-paying clients, found some tiring Articles and stopped there, no updation of knowledge. (I am not saying all are like that, but many whom I have seen and heard, especially the medium sized firms are this way, If u bet on this, I will give you the names and addresses of such auditors, you can interrogate them and confirm for yourself) Now what should we learn from them?
(The only thing I have learnt is "Not to be like them")