Selection of a proper career

So the Final examination for CA comes to an end or is about to end and in two months and half the result will be published. And some of the lucky enough chaps amongst you will become the torch-bearers of the esteemed accounting profession in this country. At this juncture many of you are dreaming very high and of course for CA sky is the only limit. Plethoras of opportunities are waiting for you ranging from auditing to taxation, finance to banking, education to law and so on so forth. But can you pause for a moment and look two to three years back the day when you registered for this course. Are you able to recall what prompted you to join this course? What was in your mind? Or somebody forced you to do this. Whether money lured you or respect lured you? Can you think that? I am sure for some these are very troublesome questions. But I am telling you these are the very relevant questions. And if you haven’t thought about it earlier this is the right time to think because after qualifying and once joined the job you don’t have time to think about all these. My contention here is that you should join only that career which you like most and where you can excel easily. When you become a chartered accountant you can select any of the following options:

1. Statutory Audit

2. Internal Audit and Risk Management.

3. Accounts and Finance

4. Banking and Insurance

5. Investment banking and Management

6. Mutual fund and stock broking

7. Taxation  

8. Corporate affairs, secretarial practice and arbitration etc

9. Functional consultant in IT companies

10. IT auditing (Includes SoX compliancing, SAS 70 etc.)

And the list is endless. Every career mentioned above requires different skills and expertise. First one should assess their quality and capability and then choose the option. If you are very good in understanding the business and its related risks you should choose internal audit and risk management. If you understand budgeting, cost control and corporate finance then you can choose finance and so on and so forth. Don’t choose a career for money because if you are doing well in any career money will follow you. Once you select a wrong career it’s then very tough to shift and simply you will waste the time. Until and unless you don’t find passion in the job you should not select that job.

So the crux is that before selecting any career sit for some time and thinks about your strengths and weaknesses and then selects a career. Right now time is with you.

Views are personal.

Saurabh Kumar

Chartered Accountant/ Working in Corporate Audit Deptt