My advice to all my brothers – Never sell yourself so cheap.
So many of my friends who has recently qualified are so depressed by the ICAI’s Campus placement data that they have started doubting the brand value of CAs in the job market. They have also started to have some inferiority complex while comparing with their friends in other professions like engineers, MBAs etc.
We CAs are like Bagwan Hanumanji. We always underestimate our strengths and value. Since the ICAI is managed by the people who are 40+ in age and come from practice background, they can not market the freshers properly to the industry. The placement directors of the MBA and private engg. institutes used to pay huge bribes to the HR mangers of the good companies. Even then the MBA and engineers are got selected after qualifying a written test only.
No business can run without efficient accounting, internal control, inventory management and MIS system, good liaisoning with banks and timely compliance with all the fiscal and mercantile laws. All this is our blood.
ERP is like a God’s “Vardan”(boon) for us. All the ERP packages are so complicated that only CAs can understand them. Programmers from engineering background can not implement and maintain them.
Besides ERP, BPO and KPO sector has good demand for fresh CAs.
The worldwide unification and implementation of IFRS will create the job opportunities and mobility for the Indian CAs, similar to the Indian software programmers. All students will cram all IFRSs word by word when it will become part of the curriculum.
Communication skills and English fluency are not big handicap but the home sickness is. That’s why the employer used to exploit us and so many freshers start practice unwillingly at their home town. People from North India afraid of moving to West and South Indian job centers, like Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad etc.
Nobody wantst to go to Gulf counties, where the starting salaries of freshers are at least 4 times of Indian offers.
Nobody can reduce the brand image of qualified CAs until ICAI keeps the tight control on results. Out of 100 candidate who join CPT, only 2.5 can manage to become qualified. Ask the value of the “CA” word from an examinee who has just declared fail in an attempt.
So don’t worry about the future of the brand image of the CA profession and try to negotiate hard when you sell yourself in the market. Only you can value yourself, the HR Deptt. can not.
( Your valuable feedback on this is welcome)
CAclubindia
