CA Students to Commence Articleship After Clearing Either Group of IPCC

CA Students can cheer up with a good news related to articleship. The Board of Studies (BoS), ICAI has taken very important decision towards benefits of the CA students that articleship can be started after passing either or both the Groups of Intermediate (Integrated Professional Competence) Examination instead of Group 1 as per existing practice. Articleship is a part of the CA curriculum just to teach CA Students the practical aspects of the theory learned in curriculum, how the corporate world or the finance world works.

In Chartered Accountancy (CA) Course, earlier only after completing IPCC or clearing Group 1 of IPCC, a Student is eligible to undergo 3 years of Articleship under a Chartered Accountant, wherein a student has the opportunity to learn all the experiences which are required for a successful Chartered Accountant. Now, pursuant to the latest amendment in CA Regulations, 1988, a candidate who has passed either or both the Groups of Intermediate (Integrated Professional Competence) Examination can commence their Practical Training.

Out of these 3 years of articleship, 2 years of articleship are mandatory required to be served under a Chartered Accountant in practice. However, in the last year of training, a CA student may either continue his training under a chartered accountant in practice or enroll himself for Industrial training. Training under a Chartered Accountant in employment is called Industrial Training. Although articleship period is for 3 years, but a student can appear for his CA Final exams after 2.5 years.

Now students of Intermediate (Integrated Professional Competence) Course can commence their Practical Training even after passing Group 2 or Group 1 or both the groups of Intermediate (Integrated Professional Competence) Examination. Those Students during the period of articleship are also known as Articled Clerk.

READ Too: Learnings For A CA Student During Articleship Period

This would be fruitful for the students to carry on their IPCC group (if remaining) along with the articleship. This will not only reduce the time to complete the Chartered Accountancy course but also it would enhance the motivation among students to focus better on studies and complete the curriculum.

Articleship period is the golden period for a CA Student career to learn and gain. How you go through it will have an impact on your career prosperity and satisfaction. Now, with this amendment, students will take the articleship in a balanced way- learning the theory and implementing the same during practical training. Taking the Articleship period too seriously or too lightly will have an adverse impact on training and overall learning experience.

During articleship, students acquire the practical knowledge of the subjects and in parallel learn how to apply the knowledge acquired from the books. A student will learn how to reciprocate to complex situations and get an exposure to the overall social-economic environment in which organizations operate. The whole practice teaches to the actual atmosphere of being a chartered accountant.

Objective of Articleship (Practical) Training for CA Students

Articleship during the course of CA is extremely important as it forms the backbone of accountancy career. A qualified CA without proper articleship is not capable of handling the practical situations which will come forward as he/she has not gone through the experiences.

ALSO READ: How To Apply Articleship In Big 4?

The unique requirement of practical training is instrumental in shaping a well-rounded professional to ensure that students have an opportunity to acquire on-the-job work experience of a professional nature. The basic objectives of  practical training for CA Students are:

• Inculcates a disciplined attitude for hard work;
• a chance to work with the best professionals in the industry. It’s a wonderful opportunity for a student learn and earn simultaneously;
• Develops necessary skills in applying theoretical knowledge to practical situations;
• Provides exposure to overall socio-economic environment in which organizations operate; and
• Develops ethical values.

Under the Present Scheme of Education & Training, three years of articleship training has been designed to strike a balance between theoretical education and practical training. A student can also undergo audit training. Eight months of audit training is treated as equivalent to six months of articleship training. It’s important that articleship should be seen as a tool to learn and grow whilst in the process of a journey to become successful CA.

Over the years several cases of abuse of the system such as articles being made to work long hours, work without pay/delayed payments, or being made to perform personal tasks for their Principals, some faking their training (also called dummy articles, i.e. not going to the office but spending time studying at home or in coaching classes) led the institute to start enforcement of rules and regulations in the interest of the profession. Chartered Accountants may not provide coaching classes during working hours, as students are expected to apply themselves wholly to practical training in that time. An article may complain to the Disciplinary Committee against a member or firm for non-compliance with regulations.

Students are requested to note that although they can start their articleship after clearing either of IPCC Groups or both groups, they can register for CA Final only after clearing both the groups of IPCC. Hope this article helped you to understand the objective of CA Articleship. For any query please write in the comment box or on Forum. Connect with us for more updates on through Facebook and Twitter.