@ Everyone..................
You are all mentioning about practice and what will happen at later stage.... But what Shashank has asked is why is Mr. X given a lower post and salary although he has more knowledge and experience.....
If seen from the point of view of the employer, 1st attempt ( academics ) is more important and they will continue to remain so for the foreseeable future. We all can make all noise over experience and practical exposure but the reality is there is NO STANDARDIZED AND PERFECT WAY to judge them given the varying amount of exposure a Fresh CA has in his kitty. The only comparable and standardized thing on which a fresh CA would be tested is his Exams. .
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Just to give an example. Suppose a Company has to select among a pool of applicants for one post. If it only considers 1st attempt candidates, it has to screen only 100 applicants. And if it widens the pool to all CA's then the pool will be much more than 100. The cost benefit ratio of screening an applicant will be thrown out of proportion. Also, a company which hires only 1st attempt CA's and Class colleges MBA's has a better chance of showing off to clients to win business as it has a better talent pool ( as gauged by the market )......