Career Guidance

 “I am highly interested in Chartered Accountancy but confused about few things, such as financial support, I also heard that it takes a lot of time in qualifying CA, and lastly, a friend failed several times even at initial stages of CA, is it really difficult to qualify?”

Glad that students nowadays are raising very pertinent questions. No doubt the field of CA has maintained a remarkable reputation over the years. 

Before catering to your queries about the CA qualifications, I would like to highlight two points. Firstly, there are very few students who get 80% + marks in their intermediate or A-Level exams and usually, in other fields, the merit for admission in top-ranked universities is very competitive. Because of one reason or other, many hardworking students are unable to get admissions or secure higher percentages in their previous exams. Institute of Chartered Accountancy of Pakistan (ICAP) offers admissions not only to those who secured excellent grades but also to those remaining students who have reasonable results to start all over again in the challenging and dynamic field of CA.

Secondly, not all students are from the same background and have the same academic skill set. Being young and adventurous, many students, after passing the initial exam of CA, take papers well beyond their capacities and hence are unable to achieve the desired result and after those results, either themselves or by some random guidance, make decisions that cause further frustration.

One must evaluate his or her capabilities first, and the easiest way to assess is what and how they have achieved so far. One must keep in mind that qualifying AFC the initial exam of CA in the first attempt does not mean they consider themselves competent enough to attempt 3 or 4 papers in CAF, the second stage, merely because many students have done the same. Intermediate and A-Level results and their habit of hard work must be kept in mind while selecting the papers of CAF on the first attempt.

Generally, my advice for students is to choose only two papers of CAF in the first attempt. Then, based on their own experience of the entire term and the result of those two papers, they would be in a better position to make good decisions onwards. Please do not make the mistake that if you fail in one or two papers in an attempt, then you think now you can attempt three or four papers, only because you’ve already covered the paper you failed. 

Only if you qualify both or all papers attempted, then you can increase papers in the next attempt. CA is not at all difficult to qualify, but instead of looking towards others, one must incrementally improve his or her academic capabilities.

Finance is a very important issue and must be taken care of before embarking on the journey of CA. Talk to your parents, relatives and near ones about this matter. It is not necessary that they help you financially, but they may give you excellent advice. Scholarships may also be offered to deserving students by some institutions. Because of online classes and the availability of recordings, one can look for a part-time job or teaching assignment etc. for gathering of sums needed. Considering the quality of education in CA institutions, the fees are comparatively very nominal to other fields of education. 

Last but not the least, the CA qualification takes the time. Take an example of a cricket player: some only play street cricket and some club cricket, some play for district or zone level and some play for National teams. Remember, the greater the purpose, the higher would be the effort. Aiming high and making efforts for achieving it is far better than aiming low and being complacent by achieving it.

I would like to emphasize that irrespective of qualifying Chartered Accountancy or not, in this field you will come across the best among the best teachers and the ICAP examination system also gives a wonderful opportunity to learn and keep on learning. Qualifying Chartered Accountancy is a reward, but learning is the ultimate reward. 

CA is doable provided one must evaluate and enhance his or her academic skill sets, i.e., reading, understanding, summarising, and writing skills. Decisions about a number of papers attempted in one attempt must be made purely on present academic skills and results achieved so far.