No CAT, now CAs can get into IIM-C directly

Thousands of chartered accountants or company secretary graduates and ICWA pass-outs can now skip the tough Common Admission Test (CAT) and seek admission directly to the IIM-Calcutta. The management school will open 50 centres across the country and four more abroad —two each in Dubai and Sharjah—to offer an 18-month General Management Programme for accounting professionals. Lectures will be conducted by faculty members at a studio in the IIM-C but students at all these centres will be able to hear them live and interact with their teachers. A typical studio for live lectures is a classroom devoid of desks and benches. But a huge screen at the studio displays classes filled with students at all the study centres. A second screen shows teachers as students see them. An electronic board from the studio transmits data from the studio to the centres in a matter of seconds. The IIM-C has set up six such centres in Mumbai. This programme is spread over three terms and covers 16 subjects, including Financial Risk Management, Financial Statements Analysis and Business Valuation. “This course will equip students with the competence and skills required to occupy a place in the senior management or be a business strategist in diverse scenarios or even become a corporate leader. This programme caters to CAs, cost accountants and company secretaries,’’ admissions co-ordinator for the programme Darshana Vyas said