[FAQs] Chartered Accountancy (CA) – Admission Related Questions

In order to get the CA degree, candidates have to clear the CA exams which are conducted in three stages – Foundation, Intermediate and Final. All these exams are conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)

In order to complete the CA Course, candidates have to clear the CA exams conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in three stages – Foundation, Intermediate and Final.

At each level of the CA Course, a candidate has to get himself/herself enrolled/registered with ICAI. After such registration, once the requisite period of study as well as the necessary trainings are successfully completed, the candidate is eligible to appear for the respective level examination by filling a separate examination form.

Eligibility Criteria for Registration:

For Foundation Exam:

Foundation Course is the first level in Chartered Accountancy Course.

Students after passing Class 10th examination conducted by an examining body constituted by law in India or an examination recognized by the Central Government or the State Government as equivalent thereto, can provisionally register for the Foundation Course.

Note:

• Although registration can be done after Class 10th examination, but students can appear in the Foundation Examination only after appearing in the senior secondary (10+2) examination.
• Once the student clears Class XII exams, his/her provisional admission to Foundation course will be regularized on uploading the XII Marsheet.

There are two ways in which a student can register for CA Intermediate Course:

1. Through CA Foundation Course: To register for the Intermediate Course, candidates should clear the CA Foundation examination successfully.
2. Through Direct Entry: Some candidates are exempted from passing Foundation Course and can directly register for Intermediate Course through Direct Entry scheme. They include:

• • Commerce stream graduates or post graduates with minimum 55% marks;
  • Other stream graduates or post graduates with minimum 60% marks;
  • Candidates who have passed the Intermediate level of the Institute of Companies Secretaries of India (ICSI) or the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI).

Note: Students who are pursuing the final year of Graduation Course can also register for the Intermediate Course on a provisional basis; and they must submit the proof of having passed the Graduation examination with the specified percentage of marks within six months from the date of appearance in the final year Graduation examination.

Candidates must qualify both the groups of the Intermediate examination to register for CA Final Course.

ICAI grants exemption to following students/candidates/professionals by allowing Direct Entry to Intermediate Exam:

• Commerce stream graduates or post graduates with minimum 55% marks;
• Other stream graduates or post graduates with minimum 60% marks; or

Candidates who have passed the Intermediate level of the Institute of Companies Secretaries of India (ICSI) or the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI).

The major and notable difference between joining CA Course after Class X/XII or after graduation is that after passing Class X, a candidate can provisionally register for CA Course and on appearing in Class XII Examination, he/she first needs to clear the Foundation Examination, which is the entry-level examination of Chartered Accountancy Course.

However, if the candidate has completed his/her graduation or is in the final year of graduation, he/she can take direct admission into Intermediate course, which is the second stage of CA Course i.e. he/she can skip the Foundation Examination.

Usually opting for CA Course right after clearing class X examination is preferred, since it helps the students begin with the course early besides continuing with the graduation parallely which can result in saving time and complete both the courses (CA as well as graduation) together.

Yes, the minimum educational qualification required to get admission in CA Foundation course is passing Class X examination from any recognized board. Thus, a student can provisionally register for the Foundation Course after passing Class X examination and can appear in the Foundation Examination after appearing in the senior secondary (10+2) examination (either from commerce or any other stream).

Further, a student can register for CA Intermediate Course either through:

• CA Foundation Routee. after clearing Foundation examination successfully, or
• Direct Entry Route in which he/she may be a Commerce or any other stream graduate/post graduate with a specified minimum percentage of marks or has passed the Intermediate level of ICSI or Such candidates are exempted from passing Foundation Course and can directly register for Intermediate Course.

Thus, even a non-commerce student can pursue the CA Course.

Chartered Accountancy is one of the most prestigious professional qualifications that enables the student pursuing the course, gain sound technical knowledge for managing finance, accountancy, taxes and legal compliances of any organization. To gain such sound knowledge, a candidate needs to study below subjects during the three stages of CA examinations.

Here is the list of subjects in CA exams at various levels:

CA Foundation Subjects:

Paper-1: Principles and Practices of Accounting (100 Marks)

Paper-2: Business Laws and Business Correspondence and Reporting (100 Marks)

• Part I: Business Laws (60 Marks)
• Part II: Business Correspondence and Reporting (40 Marks)

Paper-3: Business Mathematics and Logical Reasoning and Statistics (100 Marks)

• Part I: Business Mathematics (40 Marks)
• Part II: Logical Reasoning (20 Marks)
• Part II: Statistics (40 Marks)

Paper-4: Business Economics and Business and Commercial Knowledge (100 Marks)

• Section A: Business Economics (60 Marks)
• Section B: Business and Commercial Knowledge (40 Marks)

CA Intermediate Subjects:

For Group I:

Paper-1: Accounting (100 Marks)
Paper-2: Corporate Laws & Other Laws (100 Marks)

• Part I: Company Law (60 Marks)
• Part II: Other Laws (40 Marks)

Paper-3: Cost and Management Accounting (100 Marks) 
Paper-4: Taxation (100 Marks)

• Section A: Income-Tax Law (60 Marks)
• Section B: Indirect Taxes (40 Marks)

For Group II:

Paper-5: Advanced Accounting (100 Marks)
Paper-6: Auditing and Assurance (100 Marks) 
Paper-7: Enterprise Information Systems & Strategic Management (100 Marks)

• Part I: Enterprise Information System (50 Marks)
• Part II: Strategic Management (50 Marks)

Paper-8: Financial Management and Economics for finance (100 marks)

• Part I: Financial Management (60 marks)
• Part II: Economics of Finance (40 marks)

CA Final Subjects:

For Group I:

Paper 1: Financial Reporting (100 Marks)

Paper 2: Strategic Financial Management (100 Marks)

Paper 3: Advanced Auditing and Professional Ethics (100 Marks)

Paper 4: Corporate and Economic Laws (100 Marks)

For Group II:

Paper 5: Strategic Cost Management and Performance Evaluation (100 Marks)

Paper 6: Electives (100 Marks)

• • 6A: Risk Management
  • 6B: Financial services and Capital markets
  • 6C: International Taxation
  • 6D: Economic Laws
  • 6E: Global Financial Reporting Standards
  • 6F: Multidisciplinary case study

Paper 7: Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation (100 Marks)

Paper 8: Indirect Tax Laws (100 Marks)

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is the governing body for conducting the CA exams. For being certified as a Chartered Accountant, a candidate has to clear all the course levels – Foundation, Intermediate and Final. Every year, the CA exams (for all the three levels) are held in May and November (i.e. twice a year).

Note: Sometimes, the exams may be conducted in June/December instead of May/November, as may be announced by ICAI.

One can register for the CA course in two ways:

1. Provisonally registering for Foundation Course after clearing Class X examination, and appearing for the Foundation exam after appearing in Class XII examination.
2. By Direct entry route i.e. in final year of graduation/after completing graduation or post graduation/after passing Intermediate level of ICSI/ICMAI, as the case may be.

Depending on the route chosen to enroll for CA Course i.e. Foundation Route or  Direct Entry, the time requirement for course completion differs as follows:

In order to be eligible to appear in the Examination, usually the students must register (https://www.icai.org/post/students-services) for the respective Course on or before the following dates:

In order to enroll for the CA Course, online registration by the student is required at all the three levels of the course – Foundation, Intermediate and Final. Further, the registration process for each stage requires different documents to be uploaded which are stated as under:

Documents Required for CA Foundation Registration:

• Scanned self-attested copies of:
• Class 10^th exams mark sheet. Note: If DOB is not mentioned in the mark sheet, then additionally Pass Certificate should also be uploaded.
• Admit Card (if appeared for Class 12^th exams) or mark sheet (if passed Class 12^th exams). Note: If DOB is not mentioned in the mark sheet, then additionally Pass Certificate should also be uploaded.
• Proof of Special Category Certificate (For SC/ST/OBC/Differently Abled).
• Proof of Nationality (if candidate is foreigner).
• Recent passport-size colour photograph.
• Specimen signature.

Documents Required for CA Intermediate Registration:

• Scanned self-attested copies of:
• Class 10^th exams mark sheet. Note: If DOB is not mentioned in the mark sheet, then additionally Pass Certificate should also be uploaded.
• Class 12^th mark sheet (if passed Class 12^th exams). Note: If DOB is not mentioned in the mark sheet, then additionally Pass Certificate should also be uploaded.
• For CA Direct Entry route students: Graduation/post-graduation certificates or the Intermediate exam mark sheet issued by ICSI or ICMAI, as the case may be.
• Proof of Special Category Certificate (For SC/ST/OBC/Differently Abled).
• Proof of Nationality (if candidate is foreigner).
• Recent passport-size colour photograph.
• Specimen signature.

Documents Required for CA Final Registration:

• Scanned self-attested copies of:
• Mark sheet of CA Foundation exam (if not a Direct Entry student)
• Mark sheet of CA Intermediate exam
• Proof of Special Category Certificate (For SC/ST/OBC/Differently Abled).
• Proof of Nationality (if candidate is foreigner).
• Recent passport-size colour photograph.
• Specimen signature.

Foundation Course is the entry-level Chartered Accountancy Course. Students after passing the Class 10th examination conducted by an examining body constituted by law in India or an examination recognized by the Central Government or the State Government as equivalent thereto may provisionally register in the Foundation Course of ICAI.

Further, any student/candidate after passing the 10+2 examination conducted by the relevant examination body can register for Foundation Course.

Note: There is no age restriction to apply for the CA Foundation course.

There are two ways a student can register for the CA Intermediate Course.

• Through CA Foundation Course: To appear for the Intermediate exam of CA, candidates should clear the CA Foundation exam successfully. After clearing the Foundation level, candidates can register for the Intermediate stage.
• Through Direct Entry: Candidates are allowed to skip the CA Foundation level and directly register for CA Intermediate level through the Direct Entry scheme. If they choose the Direct Entry to Intermediate course, then they should have done their graduation/post-graduation with a minimum 55% or 60% marks in graduation for commerce or other than commerce stream respectively. Alternatively, one who has cleared the Intermediate Level of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) or the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI) is also eligible for the Direct Entry Route.

To appear in the CA Final exam –

• Candidates must clear both groups of the Intermediate exam.
• Also, they need to undergo an Advanced Integrated Course of four weeks which is on Information technology along with Soft skills. This consists of courses that are on advanced information technology along with management communication skills which should be done in the last 2 years of practical training and also before the final exam.

To register for CA Foundation/Intermediate (Foundation Course Route or Direct Entry Route) and Final Course, a candidate has to visit Self Service portal of ICAI (https://www.icai.org/post/students-services).

Thereafter, filling the additional details required for registration, student will need to submit soft copies of documents and complete the OTP based registration process (with a valid email address and mobile number).

After successful submission of the form and payment of the requisite registration fees, the documents will be verified and registration shall be confirmed by the Institute.

Students will also be provided details to order study material through the centralised distribution system portal (https://icai-cds.org).

Note: For CA Intermediate and Final Course, it is advisable to register for both the groups together, though a student may later choose to give the exam for each group separately.

The registration fee structure applicable as per the current guidelines of ICAI (https://resource.cdn.icai.org/45781cacoursefee.pdf) for different levels of CA examinations is provided herewith:

* Optional Journal Subscription fee is ignored in calculation.

Note: In addition to the applicable registration fee payable to the Institute, the applicable bank charges (nominal amount) for payment of the fee online through payment gateway should also be paid by the candidate.

To appear for the CA exams, candidates should fill an online examination form with applicable fees. The CA examination fees for all the three levels are as follows:

Note: A late fee of Rs. 600 is also applicable.

Students are required to register online for each level of CA Course by submitting the necessary details, documents and making the requisite payment. Accordingly, once the registration is done successfully, ICAI sends a confirmatory message on the registered email ID/mobile number. Alternatively, students can also check their registration status on the portal by logging in to their student account and tracking the status of registration.

The CA registration at all levels remain valid for a specific period, during which the student needs to complete the required trainings as well as clear his/her exams. However, the registration can be renewed/re-validated at the end of its validity by paying a renewal/re-validation fee as specified by ICAI from time to time.

The validity period of initial registration to CA Course at each level is stated below:

The students must have a valid registration number as on the date of filling Examination Application Form. Thus, after the initial validity period lapses, the student has to get his/her registration re-validated.

Re-validation Procedure

 A student needs to submit a duly filled format for re-validation online on the ICAI Self-service portal (https://eservices.icai.org), register as an existing student and pay the following re-validation fee online:

After re-validation, student can appear in the respective exam by specifying the date of re-validation in the online examination form.

Students need to register themselves on https://icai-cds.org by clicking “sign up” button in order to purchase the books. All the study material is available on the Central Distribution Store (CDS) where students can place an order and make the payment. Accordingly, it shall be delivered to them.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has developed this portal with an intention to deliver the study material and ICAI publication at door-step to students, members and other stakeholders. Through this portal, students registered at BOS ICAI can redeem coupon/s issued to them and get their desired study materials. This portal also provides options to purchase all relevant publications and artefacts online.

The study material is also web-hosted at the BOS Knowledge Portal from where the students can read/download. (https://www.icai.org/post/bos-knowledge-portal)

Countless number of students from commerce as well as other streams get themselves enrolled for the Chartered Accountancy course every year. There are varied reasons as to why a great number of students get registered for the course, one of those reasons being high demand of Chartered Accountants in India who are paid for their expertise. Moreover, the over-all expense that has to be incurred for completion of Chartered Accountancy Course is much lesser than many other professional courses in India.

The entire CA Course takes approximately five years to complete with a total course fee of around Rs. 1,90,000 to 2,90,000 (including coaching center fees). If a candidate does not opt for a separate coaching institute, then the over-all expenditure comes down to an approximate of Rs. 85,000 to 90,000, which includes all expenses such as registration fees, examination fees and training fees.

To qualify the CA Foundation exam, candidates need to secure minimum 40% marks in each paper and an aggregate of 50% in all the four papers.

A student/ candidate may appear for both the groups together or individually. He/She is declared to have passed the Intermediate or Final examination, if he/she passes both the groups. For passing a group, the criteria are as follows:

A student shall be declared to have passed in a group if he/she secures at one sitting, a minimum of 40% marks in each paper of the group and minimum of 50% marks in the aggregate of all the papers of that group.

Yes, for the following categories of students/candidates, ICAI invites applications for the award of scholarships/ fee concessions:

1. Need-based for economically weaker Intermediate/Final students
2. Merit-cum-need based scholarship
3. Merit scholarship
4. Differently abled students
5. Students of J&K, Ladakh and 8 North-Eastern States

Detailed information about these scholarships awarded by ICAI can be accessed at: https://www.icai.org/new_post.html?post_id=6327

Additionally, ICAI allowed exemption of CA Course Fee for students who have lost their any parent during Covid-19 Pandemic, the details on the same can be found at the link provided here: https://resource.cdn.icai.org/66469bos53708new.pdf.

Further, a student/candidate must follow the different announcements made by ICAI in respect of scholarships, fee concessions and other benefits on https://www.icai.org.

ICAI had announced the extension of the last attempt to appear in CA Final and Intermediate (IPC) Old Course Examination to November/December 2021 attempt for all the students of the old course as well as the students who opted out of the May 2021 examination cycle.

Hence, December, 2021 was the last exam of Intermediate (IPC) Course as well as Final Course Examination under Old Scheme.

• Automatic Conversion from Old Scheme to Revised Scheme of Education and Training: The Revised Scheme of Education and Training was implemented from 1st July, 2017 and the last exam for Intermediate and Final Old course students was December, 2021. In order to ensure smooth transition of students from Old to the Revised Scheme of Education and Training, the Competent Authority has decided that the students who are in Old scheme stands automatically converted in the Revised Scheme of Education and Training. All such students may make requisition for study material on demand through Central Distribution System by paying Rs. 1,000.
• Cut-off date for conversion from Earlier Scheme to Revised Scheme to appear in May 2022 Examinations at all levels – 13th March, 2022: Students may note that since the December, 2021 was the last exam of Intermediate (IPC) Course – Under Old Scheme and Final Course Examination – Under Old Scheme, therefore, old course students who wish to appear in May 2022 exams of Intermediate and Final are required to convert themselves from Earlier Scheme to Revised Scheme of Education and Training implemented w.e.f. 1st July, 2017 latest by 13th March, 2022. Further, the last date of conversion from Common Proficiency Test (CPT) to Foundation is also 13th March, 2022 for appearing in May 2022 Foundation Exams. For conversion from Earlier Scheme to Revised Scheme of Education and Training, the students may visit Self Service Portal at https://eservices.icai.org.