| Originally posted by :Preeti |
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HI,
I too would like to add some morepoints.
1. Shorten the articleship upto 2 years..As I think 1.5 years arenot enough to learn. (Anyways, a person who becomes a CA need not necessary to be an expert in all areas & life itself makes u learn new experience. So, going by that theory, the whole life is short to learn every thing..However, a person should have the basic knowledge of all working areas.So I think 2years are enough.)
2. Institute should make the rules & regulations for ensuring that a student get every fair & equal chance for getting exposures in all areas. It can allocate a fixed period for different work area. For example, 5 months to learn statutory audit, 6 months for taxation &tax audit, 2 months for ROC & legal work, or 8 months for Internal audit.
3. In case a CA cant provide exposures to all the specified area above, then provision can be made for allowing transfer or secondment.Or the institute itself should make the rule for members to show up their clients list & the type of work they are getting.o, that no member can show dummy or fake work area / rosy picture to students.This would not only make the firms image transparent but also save students from geting trapped in a wrong firm.
4.Stipend should be increased atleast to make it at par with a B. com passed student.
5. Proper format of work diary or work TIMING should be specified. SO that a student is not made to sit late night.This is very important as I have seen in many firms(including my firm) where only present or absent is marked which would not give a clear picture of how many hours the student has worked.IN TIme as well as OUT time should be clearly recorded& signed & approvedby the concerned principal.The institute should take every steps to ensure that articles are not made to work after 5.30 as provided in its new rule.I should not be on paper but also on real corporate/profeesional world.
6. Member should be trained on how to handle the articles.( I have seen many cases where a newly passed CPT student had been made to handle a statutory audit on the first day of his articleship.) Members should be trained on how to impart an effective training to students(at least new comer should not be allowed to handle an audit without giving him basic training).
I hope u would find this suggestion helpful.
Thnks |
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Hi Preeti,
Fantastic! I want all girls to participate thus and think for yourselves.
Yes, you are true 2 years seems like a good choice but why did I say 1.5 years? Is it a sort of a magical/random number or do I have a proclivity to it as a personal quirk? Neither!
It was after a careful thought process, I came out with the number.
Following is the take on the issue:
Human psychology always wants to round off numerals.You say to a shop keeper give me Rs.50 round change keep the rest yourself.And this is an universal phenomenon,mind you and thus we think 1.5 years sounds like an odd number so make it a round figure "2".The brain is not attuned to seeing half-numerals.
This being so, one and half years I feel is quite sufficient because if a scheme like this is adopted
--->Entrance level exam after 12th---->Requires 1 year prep
---->Level 1---after 1.0 year of Entrance clearance.--At this level of students feel they want to branch out they can be given Accounting Technician degree.
----->Level 2---after 2 years of Level 1 Clearance.
You have a total of 4 years already.In these 4 years ICAI must keep cumplusory classes and model exams(without taxing the students with eligibility requirements like pass the model then only you can sit for the main exam and all such childish things).These 4 years including the Entrance level must be spent by the ICAI and student interaction well.
Now, then after this if you further stretch the timeline by another 2 years then the duration of the course becomes like 6 years.MBBS students themselves come out after 5 years, with the last year as intern.Im giving 6 months more than them.
Also, student-psychology after clearing the exams would be to possess that CA qualification ASAP after clearing Level 2 exams.Which would mean delaying,denying and delgating that by another 6 months; would be giving pain and frustration to them unnecessarily.Ultimately, the quality & future of the profession is majorly determined by the Institute and the students.
These and all made me think that 1.5 years is sufficient.There is not much of a difference in 6 months.They anyways are going to work after the 1.5 years(most probably in the same company as they might be inducted there till they jump to another company).
Also, students who opt for training under an auditor(ie., those who wish to practice) can now command a newfound respect as a co-peer from their seniors than the humiliation,subjugation,frustration,fear,jealousies,insecurities and other negative circumstances surrounding the audit profession these days.Only that Auditors now need to pay them more and reasonably.The auditors too get matured assistants and not mere "ticking clerks" and they dont need to fear the moment--"when is this girl gonna ask me for the study leave and bunk work in my office?" kind of scenarios.
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Your second point is very valid.Well thought of again.
However, pressure should not be made of a mandatory type to force students to seek Internal audit and other types of exposures you have said.What about a person in Agarthala,Tripura or say Kottayyam,Kerela how can he or she manage to get all that you say? How many companies or CAs are willing to have them?Maybe Income tax exposure can be easily given..but what about corporate and other expsoures you talk of?One has to be take all practical considerations while framing a course, just seeing our immidiate environment in the metro cities and deciding, would prove highly painful and detrimental to these type of candidates who dream a big dream and who want to succeed too like us in cities.They have the right to dream thus and I would encourage them to too, because development of India should start from rual pockets.
The moment rigidity and rules come in in a big way, confusion,frustrations and feelings beset from all sides.However rules too are necessary for optimum performance only that too many is a sign of stupidity.The system becomes like an elephant which has fallen down and unable to move.You require a crane to lift it and make it stand on its own legs.Any Institute/organization/society/Country or person must be like a Cheetha or Jaguar--fast to act despite falling down not like some Trynoserex or a megalithic monster!
So,consequently the need to have this 1.5 years practicum to fill that need.
One must train in all areas as you say in a theoretical and if possible on a field tour level including educational videos for students who are interested during the 4 years well.There is something called "Shadowing" which we do in MBA course, where we just shadow a CEO or top level officer and take notes on what he does without disturbing him, for one whole day and submit our observations to our course moderator.Something on these lines can be thought of too but these extra things should not be made mandatory.At the first drop of the hat students start crying fowl.This is the student psychology these days.There is growing frustration,stress,economic recession,pressure to succeed,etc which is eating their souls already.They feel tired.
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When the question of 1.5 practicum with industry comes into question with regular CA salary(reduced a bit till one completes it and gets the qualification),one can do away with the draconian work diary,timings(are we factory workers to maintain such logs?),etc .They are gubernatorial hangings of a bygone British era.Even ICAEW(British CA) have introduced mammoth changes and we are still lagging behind, just fooling ourselves with name changes and introduction of useless courses in the name of 'keeping pace'.
Euphoria and jingoism existent in ICAI must be replaced with practicality and lateral thinking intended to help students,members and soceity in a big way.Nowhere should our Profession's quality take a back-seat.
Then our profession's respect will grow in leaps and bounds.
The current scenario will only make the popularity of the course nosedive among students and we attract only losers,average people and medicoreness to the course and profession.
There can even be a rebel but not a medicore person it is said.Mediocrity sounds the death knoll for any organization.(or society).
Thankyou for your comments,they are well thought of.
CAclubindia
