When you belong to Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Japan, Hong Kong, China, or residing in Canada, the United Kingdom, etc., CA is the dream career with being among the highest-paying jobs.
It is one of the reasons why many students go for a CA after completing their college degrees. There is no doubt that chartered accountancy has high demand, but the belief that chartered accountants always have bags full of money is somehow an exaggeration.
By this, you might think that chartered accountants remain unemployed. It might not be necessary for every person to land his dream job after completing CA, and it is not necessarily a compulsion that every CA has to be an independent practitioner.
But a lot of people ask if chartered accountants remain unemployed. It is because a lot of noise about too many chartered Accountants leads to a demand-supply gap. But is it real?
We are going to discuss this important question, “Do chartered accountants remain unemployed?” and also everything about CA that you should know before deciding to take the certification as your future career path.
So let’s get into it.
Chartered Accountancy And Chartered Accountant
Most of you know will know that chartered accountancy CA is a professional certification in accounting. But what is the need for CA, and why is it introduced?
CA is an internationally recognized accounting certification or designation that accounting professionals can earn. CA education’s main focus is auditing, assurance, management accounting, financial accounting, taxation, and applied finance. Chartered Accountancy is a highly demanded certification in Commonwealth countries like South Africa, Singapore, Pakistan, India, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, etc.
Who is a Chartered Accountant?
Any individual holding CA certification is a Chartered Accountant. Or we can say that the most qualified and professional accountant with international accreditation of CA is a Chartered Accountant.
If we talk about CA history, it was established as the first accounting professional body in Scotland in 1854. However, many institutes and accounting bodies are currently working in different regions of the world.
For instance, the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants is for Canada, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales cater to the need of CA professionals in Great Britain. ICAEW is considered a global institute and professional body for Chartered Accountants.
What Do Chartered Accountants Do?
Chartered Accountants are highly in demand in most of the big companies around the world. According to the stats shared by ICAEW, more than 83% of FTSE 100 companies hire chartered accountants having certification from ICAEW. Similarly, we can expect comparable figures for chartered accountants accredited by other professional bodies.
Why almost every company need Chartered Accountants?
It’s because of the expertise of chartered accountants in different business areas like Public practice, business accounting, corporate finance, forensic accounting, taxation, financial reporting, etc.
Large firms need chartered accountants to manage their investments, capital budgeting, and other corporate finance affairs.
Besides, CAs have a significant role in auditing(external or internal) for business organizations.
Let’s talk about the public practice of CAs. They can offer independent services like business consultancy, audits, management consultancy, etc., to businesses of all sizes and industries.
Many businesses prefer CAs to manage the accounting and financial reporting due to their in-depth knowledge and expertise in financial management and accounting
How To Become A Chartered Accountant?
It’s important that how do you become a CA?
If you want to ace a career as a professional accountant or financial expert, here is what you need to do to get your CA certification:
- After completing your high school, you must be admitted into the CA foundation course. Besides, you can get an exemption if choosing to get CA certification after a college degree.
- You must pass a series of accredited exams in the relevant fields after a minimum of three years of training. The fields include auditing, business taxation, financial management, and business strategy.
- After passing the exams, you must have relevant experience working in diverse industries with different businesses. This experience must be gained at the business organizations or clients approved by professional bodies. For instance, ICAEW in the UK.
Once you get your CA certification, it’s not the end but the start of your professional career. To be able to retain your designation and ace in your career, you must follow the following tips:
- Undertake yearly professional development training to stay up to date about your relevant areas of expertise
- Always follow professional standards like work reviews, indemnity insurance, etc.
- You must comply with the Code of Ethics and necessary principles expected from you as a CA. These principles include confidentiality, professional behavior, professional competence, objectivity, and integrity.
What Is An Alternative To CA?
As we mentioned earlier, CA is a popular designation in most Commonwealth nations, including the UK. However, if you are not in Commonwealth nations, there is another alternative to CA that you might want to pursue.
Certified Public Accountant is an equivalent certification in the USA. CPA is also known as PA (Public Accountant) in countries other than the USA.
CPA stands for Certified Public Accountant, considered the most advanced accounting certification to get a license and work as an independent accounting & financial professional.
To get a CPA designation, an individual must possess certain education and experience besides passing certification exams.
The Board of Accountancy in every state is responsible for awarding professional CPA certification. However, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants provides resources for obtaining a CPA license.
After completing a CPA, the public accountants can join public accounting, corporate accounting, or government service. In many cases, CPAs are offered positions as controllers, chief financial officers(CFOs), etc.
Is Chartered Accountancy In-Demand Certification?
The answer to this question is Yes!
Chartered Accountancy or Certified Public Accountancy are among the in-demand designation in accounting and finance.
Despite changing dynamics and challenges of the business world, CA and CPAs are in demand. It is because the professional training and development provided with this designation are continually upgrading the knowledge and expertise according to technological advancement.
Do Chartered Accountants Remain Unemployed?
Now to the most asked question: do chartered accountants remain unemployed?
There is no doubt that chartered accountants are qualified professionals with deep knowledge and expertise in accounting and finance. Also, the demand for the skill is high, but employment or unemployment is irrelevant to these factors.
The employment depends on the personal preference of the chartered accountant, his expertise, how well he applies his skills, his communication skills, and his willingness to work in a corporate environment.
Therefore, we can not answer the question of yes or no! It is a subjective question. However, we can safely say that most the CAs have the hands-on experience that enables them to secure a good position in a corporate environment.
Alternative Of Job For Chartered Accountant
Chartered accountants or CPAs do not need to do a job with some organization. It is a requirement during their certification course, but they can choose to be self-employed after completing training.
Chartered accountants can start giving their services independently as business consultants, auditors, taxation accountants, or related services by establishing their own accounting firm.
Why can chartered accountants easily become self-employed?
Here are the skills they possess that give them the privilege to be self-employed without any regrets:
- Expertise in financial reporting, corporate finance, and auditing
- Strategic insights into data-driven approaches and in-depth analysis regarding business development, growth, and continuity
- Deep knowledge and expertise in forensic accounting
- Understanding of business taxation, personal taxation, and regulations.
Conclusion
After reading this article, you know everything about chartered accountants and accountancy. If you want to pursue a career as a chartered accountant or public accountant, you must know that the skills and designation itself are high in demand no matter what region of the world.
Therefore, if you are dedicated and want to ace your career, CA is a decent option.
