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Stating that chartered accountants face a major challenge from MBAs, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla today said there is strong need to expand the curriculum of CA courses beyond accounting.

“CAs today face top challenge from MBAs who are good at communication skills, know finance and economy better,” he said while addressing the two-day ‘All India Conference of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)’ here.

Seeking steps to re-orient the curriculum for CA courses, Birla said having knowledge only in accounting would not help the present day CAs to face the challenges.

“MBAs have an edge over CAs in many fields as the Indian economy is much closer to the world economy now. As merger and acquisition are order of the day, CAs have big roles to play,” he said.

Stating that the employers want new CAs to become productive from day one, Birla suggested the CAs to take leadership by virtue of their quality and have knowledge over other matters besides accounting.

Birla, a chartered accountant and an MBA himself, is not happy over the rate of pass percentage of CAs. “The pass percentage during our time was 4 per cent. Now it is 17 per cent. The pass ratio should be 10 per cent,” he said, emphasising on the need for better products.

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0 Comments

  1. al..subramanian says:

    we are comparing the CA course with well recognised MBA institute in the country. but for MBA they conduct selection process for admission throughout INDIA in mass and filter it to get cream and it is no surprise they perform well and the percentage of MBA pass is more.

    But in CA you are admitting all eligible candidates to the course and it means CA is conducting CA course exam directly for the entire mass instead of filtering at entry level. so not surprisingly the result is in single digit.

    The instiutue should make the entry level exam tough enough to give an assurance to the student and parent that if the student clears that entrance he can be sure of completing the course or in other words good pass percentage and in that case there will never be any such comment.

    Nobody complaints poor percentage of admission result for MBA or IIT but CA do mass admission and direct entry for CA regular exam and that spoils the image. MBA institutes do mass selection for class performer. but CA institue do mass admission without effective filtering mechanisam for getting class performer.

    The parents actually questioning – when you have an entrance as CPT and the institute is indirectly giving the parents a hope that their student will complete the course once they comnplete the CPT. but because of poor selection process of CPT , the CPT completed student also is not doing well in exams. CA has to think about making CPT – tough entrance level test like MBA or IIT – to get good candidates and more over give a ray of hope to the student and parent at the entry level itself. so that they will not spoil their future with bitter hope.

    in my oipinion comparing MBA result with CA result in percentage performance is meaning less.MBA do filtering at entrance and CA do it in regular exam and get commented for poor pass percentage.

  2. Anand says:

    The Only Benefit which todays Candidates are getting is 1 day leave between the Papers but that is offset by HUge And Huge Course. THis HUGE Course did not exist Few Years Back. So this 1 day hardly gives any benefit. One can hardly make any difference in 1 day if he has not studied a Full 1 year.

  3. Anand says:

    Much of the Accounting Standard like the AS 21 , AS 23 and Many More were not there when Mangalam birla passed and was just introduced around year 2001 so very simple questions were asked in 2001- 2002.
    Many of the Income tax rules and Cenvat credit rules and Central excise valuation rules 2002 and central excise rules 2002 and Many and Many of Service tax rules were not there uptil 2002. So just imagine how easy was to become a CA at the time Mangalam Birla passed.

  4. ANAND says:

    The Pass percentage has not increased at the Will of ICAI. Passing Ca was way easier few years back than now. But at that time the Students were not prepared to study as hard as now.
    Students started reading and studying more and more which led to the increase in the results despite the increase in Course each Year.
    Because of this The Institue has made its Course way much HArder than earlier years.
    ICAI does not wishes that its students score good marks so It has made its Course much much harder.
    The Course if Isca was much easier 5-7 years back. Straight forward questions were asked . But now You see the Course Each and every question from any where in the book is asked. The study material of Isca has been framed in such a way that you will have to mug it up instead of just understanding. Qustion is now asked from anywhere in the book.
    Secondly in Papers like Corporate Law , Isca Questions were asked Chapter wise.
    Like there are 6 Questions asked in Paper carrying 16 marks each and 20 marks 1st question.
    Now each Question is divided into 2 sub questions . Earlier if first subquestion was of chapter 2 then the second sub question was of chapter 3 and likewise 4-5 or 5-6 . So if a student did wish to prepaRE SUPPOSE 8 , 9 , 10 EVEN THE HE COULD HAVE EASILY SCORED IN CHAPTERS 1-7.
    bUT NOW FIRST SUB QUES IS OF CHAPTER 3 AND SECOND SUB QUES IS OF CHAPTER 10 AND SO ON.
    i CAN JUSTIFY MUCH MORE. mANGALAM bIRLA IS NOT AWARE OF THESE SITUATIONS.
    aLSO INSTITUTE KEEPS ON REVISING ITS ISCA STUDY MATERIAL EVERY 5 YEARS WITH 4-5 CHAPTERS INTODUCING NEW CHAPTERS AND DELETING OLD ONE JUST TO CREATE TROUBLE FOR THE STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN GVING EXAMS FOR 2-3 YEARS AND WHO HAVE NOW STARTED TO SCORE GOOD IN SUCH PAPER.

    each and every year new and new chapters are being added in each and evey paper and still the passing percentage was good not because of icai but because students now a days are studying many time more than earlier.
    you see the course of costinf the kind of quetions being asked. 5-7 yeas the theory asked was very very simple in costing and now the theory is no more staightforward, but its asked based on prctical situations taking away a students 10-20 marks. Please ask some students who passed 5-6 years back . they just studied Operational research and theory of 20 marks and they had passed the exams easily, but now thats not so. Even such practical type theory have been asked in 2012-2014 that even if you are given the book in examination centre you wount be able to answer correctly. there are many things i have to say, but in i would say kumar mangalam birlas and other cas who have passed earlier were quite lucky and if they were to give exams today it would have been much difficult for them. without knowing the deatils and the current course mangalam birlas and othes should not make such wrong statements and the should not say that todays cas lack quality.
    I would say todays cas know much more and go through their course in much more detail.

  5. Kumar says:

    Articleship should be reduced from 3 to 2 years…..and for direct entry candidates, leave period should be increased, n also, if an article is empty, he should be given permission to sit at home and study, instead of sitting empty in the office amidst the noise.

  6. CA Ashok kumar sahoo says:

    Now-a-days the knowledge and writting style of CA student is very qualitative.A student who passed having 90% in 10th, +2 ,and CPT,if he/she fails what would be morality of such student.

  7. A Laha says:

    The institute is more interested in producing ‘mass CAs’  instead of  ‘class CAs’.Today CAs who have cleared in three or more attempts are finding it very difficult to get placements. Many are working in CA firms for as low as  10000/- to 15000/- per month.It is not only that the economic recession is responsible,but also the excessive pass percentages are responsible for this. If I am not wrong about 20000 fresh CAs qualified in May 2012 term. There is cut throat competition in practicing also,especially among st the small and medium firms.Undercutting of fees are taking place,I am not telling to reduce pass percentage by deliberately making deserving examinees  fail,but  instead I an hereby requesting the institute to make the marking system a little more strict, and not as liberal as it has been happening in the last few terms. Students have told me that they are passing the final just by solving the RTPs and Practice Manuals(Compilers).I feel embaressed when I hear from people that that “aab to CA bohut aasan hai pass karna, koi bhi kar leta hei, lakin uske baad pareshani chalu hoga”.

  8. CA Guru M says:

    I completely disagree with pass % reduction!!!! Why % should be controlled??? is there any justification for that?? i believe in transparency.

    If at all ICAI wants to keep the passout %, let it stop the examination itself !!!!!

    Regarding syllabus yes ICAI need  to emphasis on more application of knowledge.

  9. Amit Kumar says:

    I appreciate the attention of Mr. Birla towards quality of course and % of passing results, though i m also a ca final student but i still not in favour of increasing results, whenever i see the results before congratulating all the colleagues the only question arise in my head is “the future of CA’s ?, job opportunity ?, values ? etc.” if i m not wrong students are taken CA course as courses like b.com, m.com now a day, they do not put special efforts towards the course, still results is so high, rather decreasing…though now a days best teachers are available but still results should not be so high. Inspite of increasing the result being a professional body institute should take steps towards incresing tne scope of carriculam, better comminucation skills, better training programmes, mandatory GD’s etc. we must take care of study if we are doing CA as mare passing ca is not enough, competition is tough, passing certificate is only the ticket to doors of opportunity, quality, expert knowledge in all the areas a CA may connected with, professionalism, much better communication skills, better presentation, leadership, team spirit, to cope up with change and requirement environment in which we work etc. and to perform tranings with due care are the steps to become a perfact CA.

  10. hrusikesh says:

    The pass % from May 11 onwards is very high and there is no scope for the CA s to build their carrer in the finance & accounts or Tax profile rather they were forced to work in non CA profile in BPOs/KPos/other fields.Institute must maintain the pass % of student as per the requirement of the market and ensure quality of the candidates rather than quantity.

  11. kalyan says:

    Increase in pass percentage is not a issue. The quality of the qualified CAs should be taken into account. The institute should focus on existing CAs who are to be made more competitive, giving a chance to test their present skills, by conducting exams frequently over a certain period, say once in three years. They must be made compulsory.

  12. sekhar says:

    I totally agree with Rajender,if any one has obsorbed in lat 3 years the results very high and around 20000-25000 CAs have qualified and our institute has to focus on that and it has to lay emphasis on the quality and not the quantity as suggested by Birla Sir,as there is threat from MBA,CMA,CS.

  13. Rajender says:

    I agree what is said. Earlier the members who used to appear to exam were very less and pass % was also less. Now the students appearing are high and pass % is also high. Lets see earlier 50k used to appear and 5% of it used to Qualify 2500, now 1 lakhs appear and 17% qualify which means 17,000 pass, the institute should also think of the opportunities available for the qualified, and the special skill set required.

  14. CA. BISWAJIT PATTANAIK says:

    The point raised by Mr. Kumar Mangalam Birla is a serious concern for the ICAI & the Profession as a whole. The curriculum should be structured in a way to compete with the MBAs passing from best B Schools.

  15. sistla says:

    I truly agree with Birla sir,The pass percentage of CA is more than CA and CWA.In the recent ICAI results the percentage was over 25% i think this very much higher while compared to ICWAI where the pass percentage for final is 3-5%.

  16. CA Dinesh Kumar, Delhi says:

    Yes, the point raised by Mr. Birla is of serious concern. The present structure of education and training, is no doubt, at par with any other professional course, rather much more covering. However, as per current scenario, there is a need to include a more practical corporate environment and to deal with managerial problems in the syllabus.

  17. CA RAVINDER K SHARMA says:

    I do agree with Mr Birla. Curriculam need comrehensive changes in order to cope with the present economic and competitive scenario. Institute should introduce subjects and topics which are unique and involve application of knowledge to practical situtaions in an expert manner. This should further be strengthened by imbibing high standards of examination and training.

  18. CA Balram Sharma says:

    I’m 100% agree with Mr. Birla, Passing rate is very high. Newly qualified CA’s are not up to mark and resultant which they are not able to got the good jobs. Even last attempts qualified CA’s are still searching jobs. It’s the matter of concern, which direction CA profession is going….

  19. Namrata Patil says:

    I agree with Mr Birla,incresing passing percentage will increase supply of CAs and demand is not gonna change,hence it will decrease our Value.But I disagree with his next comment that CA knows only Accounting because CA studies many areas like Accounting,Finance,Taxation,Laws and so on

  20. kumar yadalam says:

    Every time the CA results are announced, organizations are expecting more qualified persons.
    At the present rate of passing, the demand & supply ii is in the negative. The next result is that the other professional candidates are filling the gap.

  21. CA DEV KUMAR KOTHARI says:

    In the observations of Shri Birla we can feel some what worry some situation about newly qualified Chartered Accountants and an indication for high time to think about qualitative improvement in education and training.
    For improvement of quality of CA, it is desirable that principal CA should be allowed to charge training fees , instead of paying stipend to articled/ audit clerks. Simultaneously CA should take responsibility of providing training in various fields. In case of need training should be allowed under 3-4 practicing CA and / of industrial training to get all round training. Last six months of training should be kept for the area in which an articled clerk intend to specialize.
    It is felt that at present (as was in long past also) the principal CA is just interested in maximizing output of his trainees and are least bothered about all round training of articled clerks (students of CA course). This should be checked.
    Examination papers for each subject must be set in six to eight series so that in each examination room 3-4 examinees /candidates only get common question paper. Vigilance in examination centers should also be stricter. This will improve quality of examination.
    six months residential training course should be organized for imparting skills in leadership, management, team work, effective communication and presentation etc. with a view to make CA more compatible with any other experts.
    From feelers and grapevine from CA examinees, recently passed CA and also students of class IX – XII who intend to become CA, now-a-days CA course is considered very easy course in comparison to medical and engineering. The reason for finding CA course easy is CA made easy coaching centers who help in preparing for examination by providing guidance of selective and minimal studies. WE find many candidates securing much less marks in B.Com examination but securing very good marks in CA examinations. Higher standard deviation in marks obtained in various subjects of CA examination are also indicative of effectiveness of selective study in some of subjects.
    Another reason is relaxation in training and less office hours (may be in some cases zero duty hours- popularly called dummy article ship as per grapevne).
    Earlier CA was considered as toughest course to pass. The cases of dropout were 5-6 out of ten. (5-6 candidates could not become CA within eight – ten years and then dropped course)

  22. Prashant Bohra says:

    I totally agree with Mr. Birla. There should be more emphasis on real example projects associated with corporate world and should be 2 projects for appearing the final course. Articleship should be reduced to two years intead of three and internship for 1 year should be implemented.

  23. muthu says:

    In past the cream of the students were opting for Cs Cs and CMA. But today the cream is moving to IITs, IIMs, BSchools and Foreign universities. So the quality is defenitely not so good despite the good pass paercentage whcih is the outcome of mark scoring technolgies developed over the time without acquring the knowledge. In this context all professioanal institutes should consider revamping the course whcih should have atleast 6 months of campus learing

  24. Rohit Jain says:

    Very true… Icai must consider development if communication skills & personality of students.. Now a days it has become much easier to clear the exams since most of thr question come from past papers.. Papers are not set to check the ability of the student to apply his knowledge in a given practical problem… If it goes on as such, the day is not far when we will not be considered as even comparable to MBA’s…

  25. Amit says:

    I dont agree in all points raised by Mr.Birla. CA’s are not only accountant today they are also expert in taxation, financial appraisals for M&A, consultancy services towards corporate deals and so on. I will mentioned that the pass ratio should be maintained to give equal chance to student.

  26. Rahim Mardhani says:

    I completly agree that now a days passing percentage has gone up like anything. earlier CA’s were having huge demand & reputation, now when i meet CA articles or fresh CA it seems like yeta nother B.Com guy. We/Institute really need to work on this.

  27. Subhash says:

    I agree to what Mr. Birla has said. The institute should focus on producing quality professionals as this is very important for the  growth of the Institute.

  28. Madhur Agarwal says:

    this is true that result should not be like such but there should be consistency in % of result. After declaring result like 2 % suddenly declaring result like 17% is not a good step. this increased much more competition and also down the value in market…. even this also affected our corporate world and employers became much more alert while taking interviews.

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