Diversification of jobs in Accountancy has resulted in increased demand for account professionals. Due to this, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) revised the pattern of the CA course in 2017 and gave an option of selecting New or Old Syllabus to the students for studies.
The students are actively choosing the new course more than the old one as it is synchronized with the changes in the financial world. The change of syllabus was introduced in all the levels- Foundation, Intermediate, and Final. The new course is filled with subjects like Business Corresopondance and Reporting, International Taxation, Economics for Finance and many more.
Atul Kumar, President of ICAI, said, “The syllabus of the CA course was revised to inculcate competence and skills among the aspirants to increase endurance in the dynamic global business environment. The changes were introduced keeping in view the changing business and economic dynamics. The new course will help refine and upgrade the technical competence, professional skills, values, ethics and attitudes of aspiring CAs by introducing subjects to incorporate practices of international accountancy education bodies. It would help in accepting new roles once they qualify as chartered accountants.”
New Roles
The CAs have to go beyond their theoretical studies to act according to the changing financial pace and have to deliver more than just being a CA. “The professionals today are required to excel in multiple fields such as artificial intelligence, financial modeling, risk assessment and management, forensic accounting and auditing, planning strategies related to entry of overseas companies, GST, corporate governance, insolvency-related consultation, business revenue models – planning and structuring, among others, to act as a complete business solution provider,” said Gupta.
To undergo the practices of international accountancy, the new course contains subjects like Global Financial Reporting Standards (GFRS) to ready the students for international accounting. Basic courses of languages like German, French, Spanish, etc. are also being provided for the same. “By acquiring the language skills, students, with all the knowledge can bridge the communication barriers and understand the local market better,” added Gupta.
Students’ Response
More students of the old scheme passed the 2019 CA Final exam as compared to that of the new scheme but more and more students are opting for the new scheme with time.
Look at the facts, in May 2018 CA Final exam around 2300 students appeared for the exam in Group 1 while around 1200 appeared for the Group 2 exam and in November 2018 CA Final exam around 6100 students appeared for Group 1 exam while around 3300 attended the Group 2 exam.
The registrations for the new course increased widely with 27,816 students appearing for Group 1 and 26,972 students appearing for Group 2 exams in 2019.
Passing Records
There is no doubt in the fact that more number of students from the old course is clearing the exams but there is a gradual increase in the number of students passing the exams under the new scheme.
The trend of opting new scheme is coming to surface with time.
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