The Hindu Business Line : CA revamp on the ramp

SYLLABUS CHANGES DO not usually attract attention. But the `revamp' the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has been talking about is making waves owing to the structural alteration proposed to the professional accountancy course, CA. Most important is the welcome suggestion to reduce the period of qualification to four years from the current five-years-three months. It spells relief, because the long duration to become a qualified CA has been a deterrent for many an aspiring student, and was mainly responsible for the high rate of dropouts at different stages.

However, doomsayers are quick to raise the bogey of a dangerous trade-off between term and quality. A weak argument, because one does not get better chartered accountants by running them through an education mill for an eon. Again, the quality of accountants churned out will depend largely on the inputs provided by the principal during apprenticeship. A notable feature of the re-engineering proposed by the ICAI is to revisit the trashed old wisdom of practical training, or what is called articleship. For the current stipulations, introduced in 2001, leave students ineligible for practical training till they finish the PE-II exam; it also keeps them away from the Final exam for almost three years. Also, the mid-way evaluation, PE-II, was criticised as being academic because candidates were not expected to have real-life exposure to accounting or taxation, company law or audit. Thus, in the recent proposals, the Institute has reverted to the pre-2001 days of letting the practical period run parallel to the preparation for PE-II, inviting though the justified criticism that major changes to education and curriculum were perhaps put in the rulebooks without foresight. That brings into focus the depth of the work done by the ICAI-appointed Committees on Review of Education and Training (CRET). In the light of the changed thinking towards what was implemented only less than five years ago, it will be appropriate for the Institute to run a fine-tooth comb through the proposals that affect the student community in any significant way.

The suggested overhaul is noteworthy for its `catch them young' dimension, with the Institute spreading its net two years ahead, that is, from the post-10+2 to 10. Accordingly, a student may enrol for the Common Proficiency Test after passing the Class X exam, but can write the test only after clearing Plus-2. It is a moot point if preparation for the test will be an extra load on the already overburdened students, but surely a well-designed proficiency filter can improve the showing at higher levels of the CA course, where there is the promise of emphasis on business ethics, information technology and case studies. Given the sheer volume of the student base, the conduct of the CPT can turn out to be a money-spinner. But the Institute should resist the temptation and keep the fee closer to what it costs to conduct the test. Hopes that the sandwiched scheme will be in place by 2006 do not seem overly optimistic, going by the pace of Government action in recent times on many policy issues.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
CA revamp on the ramp

One way to stop a runaway horse is to bet on him

Budget session — Full play of acrimony, divisive issues

Banking M&As: Fusion and fission

Creating a market by segments

Retail boom: FDI can give the extra thrust

Is Wal-Mart what the doctor prescribes?

Return on value

Scientific research

Increasing fares