Chartered Accountancy Groups: A Continuum Conundrum!

In this never-ending race of achieving success in our professional endeavours, we often take up Chartered Accountancy course for redemption, which in itself presents us with a lot of analysis and decision making which in turn requires a lot of brainstorming.

Often, parents, mentors, seniors, professionals are looked up to for advice as to how to pursue the Chartered Accountancy examinations, the top charted question being if one should attempt single or both groups at a time. There is a lot of dilemma involved around this question which can be answered by someone who has had first-hand experience of the same.

The answer to this unanswerable question can be answered by answering a few unanswerable questions! Well, this was such a self-contradictory statement. Anyway, as a matter of fact, it is no rocket science to decide whether or not to give both groups together.

One can make a decision by stating the pros and cons of this question, as we all do in our lives for major decisions that we take. So, here’s a precise analysis!

Pros of giving Single Group:

• Lesser course to prepare in more time.
• Better understanding and retention.
• Higher probability of clearing the group in one attempt.
• Higher probability of getting an exemption in 1 or maybe 2 subjects (practically speaking!)
• Boost to confidence and ease of pressure for the next attempt.

Cons of giving Single Group:

• Loss of an opportunity to get a Rank! (Who are we kidding right?)
• Loss of an edge over other students clearing both groups in first attempt (definitely for the recruiters!)
• Inability to take advantage of the aggregate set off of marks in case of both groups given together.

Pros of giving Both Groups:

• Increased possibility of qualifying in a single attempt (Recruiters would love to interview you at least!)
• Higher possibility of taking advantage of the aggregate set off of marks in case of both groups.
• An opportunity for getting into bigger and reputed articleship/employment firms as they prefer both groups qualified students.

Cons of giving both groups:

• Chances of getting exemptions reduced due to divided focus on 7-8 subjects together.
• A meek possibility of ending up with no exemptions, no cleared groups! (Harsh reality!)
• Longer durations of preparation and exams may instil fatigue and inefficiency.

Also, a few general considerations that really need to be kept in perspective are enumerated, namely:

• The order in which you choose to take classes for preparation is an important aspect as some subjects are considerably prone to amendments while some remain consistent for years. So prefer giving the group with more volatile laws, if you are already done with the classes.
• Proper analysis of the time required for preparation of the Group/subjects and accordingly preparing a weekly/daily time schedule and trying to cross off that target on the day or within the week itself. It will definitely give a sense of accomplishment and much-needed confidence to keep going further!
• Also, trying to cover the whole syllabus should be a primary goal, especially when giving a single group because it’s better to be a Jack of all, at least in Chartered Accountancy examinations! This is important because given the uncertainty of the way ICAI asks questions in examinations, it’s better to be acquainted about something or the other for every topic, just to make sure the whole paper is attempted which in turn increases the probability of scoring better.

In spite of above-mentioned considerations related to single and both groups, there is still a lot of scope for self-analysis because everyone has their own set of skills, perseverance, patience, understanding, intellect, gasping power among others. So, there is no definite and scientific way to analyze the answer to this question.

But still one should start with a thorough understanding of the curriculum as well as own potential. At times, we end up competing with our peers without realizing that they go that extra mile to achieve what they want, but we have to consider the fact that not everyone has the same calibre or maybe we are just too lazy!

Also, one must learn from the failures and gaps of seniors and mentors to actually assess our own selves and then set our targets which are achievable. One must try to carefully listen to seniors’ advice because they will advise to the fullest only if one is keen on listening and inculcating their advice for decision making.

The bottom line of everything in this course is that there is no certainty about anything, which can be made certain, only by one’s sheer belief in themselves.