COURSE LINE OPTIONS FOR CA / CS/ ICWA

It has always been noticed that in the myriad forums of this wonderful platform called CCI, many questions are asked. Some questions relate very well to this article that I am about to write. Let us first see these questions:

1) What to do after CA/CS/ICWA?

2) Which courses should I do along with CA/CS/ICWA?

3)Should I do an MBA or some law course?

4)Which certifications are beneficial along with these prestigious courses that we study?

I, myself being a student, hope to solve the above mentioned queries by doing an analysis of the options that are available to the students pursuing the CROWN 3. If not all, then at least some major options.

First let me start by analyzing these three main courses, either of which I and you all are pursuing, so that no seeds of doubt remain in our minds as to which opportunities lie ahead.

1) CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT (CA):   

CA as this course is called, is a very prestigious course. This course commands a respect both in the society as well as the corporate world. Many opportunities exist for the CA's due to the ample protection given by statutory acts. Not only the statutory protection, it is also the nature of our emerging economy and development that is giving these professionals many opportunities to prove themselves. They pride themselves in the core portions of accounting, audit and taxation. Along with it, they have an in depth knowledge of the accounting standards, legal regulations as per their profession, securities markets and corporate finance. Any person with a strong ground in finance and accounting can pursue this course. With hard work and determination, one can pass it with flying colors.

2) COMPANY SECRETARY (CS):

CS as this course is called, is as prestigious course as a CA. One of the most respected professions in the corporate area. This course is emerging with many opportunities and a wide plethora of areas have been opened to this profession due to the ever growing demand of the Indian economy. The results have been liberal in comparison to CA but it is as tough as CA. A CS professional has a strong ground in corporate laws and secretarial issues but also has in depth knowledge of the stock markets, accounting, corporate finance, taxation and economics. Any person having an interest in law can pursue this course. It is a good course to do along with CA. The combination becomes a deadly one. Although many people ask whether CS alone will fetch them a job? Answer is Yes. But any additional qualification is always welcome.

3) COST AND WORK ACCOUNTANTS (CWA):

CWA as the course is called, is also a very professional course as well as prestigious course. They have got the statutory permission to conduct cost auditing and many opportunities lie ahead for them in the areas of management accounting, cost accounting, taxation, corporate finance etc. It is also highly respected and emerging profession, slowly gaining demand. Any person having a strong ground for accounting and cost related concepts can do this course. CA+CWA is also a very good combo but it is always seen that MBA + ICWA or CS + ICWA that proves to be a worthwhile combination.

Please note, I have said that those who have strong commerce concepts can do these courses easily provided they work hard and determined to have success, this does not mean that science students/passouts/graduates cannot do these courses. They can do these courses, but a little more dedication would be required. I am myself a science graduate currently enrolled for CS Exec. (although I have pursued business related diplomas). They just need to have their basic accounting concepts cleared and once there is no confusion, then I might add this: Accounting will be as simple as English. But working hard and smartly preparing schedule is the KEY.

Many number of people pursue CA, CS and ICWA together or any two of them. For these people, opportunities can never be behind. CA + CS makes a deadly combo as well as CS + CWA.

Now as we have gone through a brief overview of the three courses which people called the CROWN 3, we can look ahead to other course that lie open to us.

1) CHARTERED FINANCIAL ANALYST:

Abbreviated as CFA. A person qualified as a CFA would deal with the financial services sector. He/She would deal with the financial markets, derivatives analysis, money and capital markets, private equity and venture capital etc. For that he would have to pass a series of exams. CFA(US) and CFA ( ICFAI) are the institutes providing this course. CFA (ICFAI) is good as it covers Indian market more and also international market is covered. But in my opinion, CFA US is the best one to pursue, as in globalization perspective.

Here you can find details about this course:

https://www.cfainstitute.org/pages/index.aspx

https://www.educationinfoindia.com/cfafaq.htm

Coming back to CCI students, CA + CFA would be a nice combo as well as CWA + CFA. But any CS who would like to venture into capital markets can pursue this course as well.

2) CIMA:

CIMA course is offered by CIMA institute UK. It is a very prestigious and professional course. it is a very demanding course and tough to clear but for hard workers, it should be a cruise. Always expect what is not expected of the paper in this course. the questions are very practical. A CA can pursue CIMA as well as CWA also. They find great opportunities in the corporate finance and management accounting sector.

The details can be found in this website.

www.cimaglobal.com

3) CSA:

CSA stands for Chartered Secretaries. This is offered by ICSA UK. CS students can pursue this course. As per my knowledge, this course provides exemptions in almost all the subjects except 3 provided the students are CS passed and have a minimum of 2 yrs of industrial training, the training period not counted. It will really be a value addition to the CS students. Please avail of this benefit that ICSI provides you. It also has an MoU with CISI(erstwhile SII) for those who want to get into financial services sector. Please avail of these benefits. However, CA students can also pursue this course.

The details of this course are available in:

https://www.icsa.org.uk/home?c=1

4) Masters in Business Administration (MBA):

This course is very famous and there is always a madcap race to get into this course. Many people have this degree in their belts. MBA is better done through top B-Schools, entry to which is through entrance examinations like CAT, SNAP, XAT etc. The IIM's top the list. CA students would find an MBA(Finance) to be a worthwhile addition to their already shining resume. However ICWA and CS students also can find this degree worthwhile.

5) LLB:

This is a law diploma. Two years but often combined with BA or BCom, thus making it 5 years. IT deals myriad aspects of law and regulations. CS students find it a worthwhile combination. LLB + CS is a deadly combination. So, if you want to go for a practice, then LLB is a very good addition. I would not consider CA or ICWA to be a deadly with an LLB, but if the students possess an aptitude for law, then it would be worth it. National Law Schools, especially Bangalore are good for studying LLB. There is also a PG diploma in law called LLM. The advantages of doing these courses are you are recognized by the Bar Council and so are allowed to practice advocacy in the courts of law.

6) Masters of Business Law:

This is a PG degree of 2 years dealing with business laws. This is a distance education course offered by NLSIU Bangalore. It is also a very difficult to pursue. The examinations are conducted yearly in June. It clashes with the CS exams so CS students, better watch out. CS + MBL is also as good a combo. but MBL students cannot appear in courts of law, but they can find many opportunities in corporate legal departments. For those CS students going to practice in future, this is a value addition to ur resume. The supplementary exams are conducted in January and you have to submit a number of assignments and projects. The course contents are exhaustive in nature. The examinations are conducted in Bangalore only.

Details are to be found in this site:

https://www.nls.ac.in/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=103&Itemid=49

7) NCFM certifications:

NCFM certifications are provided by the National Stock Exchange. There are many modules and CA/CS/CWA students would find these certifications useful for their foray into money and capital markets. If one has interest in these fields, it would be good if you managed to take these courses. The Corporate Governance Module is mostly beneficial for CS pursuing students.

In addition to these above mentioned courses, there are various diplomas offered by the different B-Schools and law schools. For those interested in law, diplomas in IPR, Cyber Law, Labor laws and investment laws would be helpful. These are provided by NLSIU, Bangalore, Symbiosis Law School, Pune. There are also many finance related diplomas offered by top B-Schools.

Also, NLU Jodhpur offers a 3 year MBA + MBL integrated program which would also be useful, coming from a prestigious law school.

I have not covered some other courses like CPA etc as I have not researched much into this field. Hence the inconvenience is duly regretted. I hope this article has proved useful to you in some way or the other. Any questions would be answered duly subject to time and frequency of me coming online. Thanking you. CCI rocks.