Articleship might no longer remain tedious

Admin (CCI Team) (12885 Points)

04 September 2007  
THE articleship for
the chartered accountancy (CA) students might not remain laborious and
tedious job anymore. The CA students would be soon able to join KPOs,
asset management companies (AMCs) and hedging funds for articleship, if
the executive committee of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
(ICAI) approves the proposal by committee for members in industry.
There
are nearly five lakh students in the country who have to compulsorily
work for about 42 months with audit firms as part of their curriculum
before clearing their final exams.
CA students are entitled for only Rs 750-1,500 as stipend depending on the city and their seniority.
“CAs’
role is no more limited to auditing books and filing returns. They are
playing an active role in industry and other emerging areas like
hedging funds and asset management also and we want the students to
prepare for the same well in advance while they pursue their course.
Last month, our committee has approved the proposal to allow the
students to work with non-auditing firms like asset management
companies and KPOs,” Uttam Agarwal, chairman of ICAI’s committee for
members in industry, told ET.
The proposed bill will be
reviewed by the executive committee of ICAI in coming days for final
decision. The move is likely to open big opportunities for the industry
to recruit bright CA students, especially when they are facing the challenge of recruiting talent in the areas of accounts and finance.
On
the other hand, CA students would have an opportunity to earn
remuneration according to the market rate during their articleship
instead of their entitlement.
Commenting on the development,
Parimal Shah, MD, Doshi Accounting Services,(DASPL) said: “I am not
sure about what final framework ICAI would come
up with. But it is a good news for the industry since they will have
access to the quality manpower if CA students are allowed to do
articleship with entities like us. Also, the students can get
experience of global accounting standards and practice.”
DASPL,
which offers accounting and taxation assistance to UK-based firms,
employs over 20 CAs. But currently it is not entitled to issue
experience certificate to students for articleship.
The
financial institutions and KPOs are welcoming the decision. But, it is
believed that powerful auditing firms might not appreciate such move,
since they are likely to loose quality and cost-effective manpower.
According
to the chairman of the Ahmedabad branch of Western India Regional
Council of ICAI, Parag Raval, the dynamics of the profession are
changing rapidly and the institute is actively reshaping the CA course
curriculum considering the expectations of the market. He added there
should be provision for students to get the feel of all the areas of
applications of their studies.
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT
Students would be soon able
to join KPOs, AMCs & hedging funds for articleship if the executive
committee of ICAI gives nod to proposal by committee for members in
industry
Move likely to open big opportunities for industry
to recruit bright CA students, especially when they are facing the
challenge of recruiting talent in the areas of accounts and finance