Articleship- An Important Phase for CA Aspirants

The Chartered Accountancy course is considered as the most coveted profession in the country. Rated as difficult, the course attaches a lot of quality and values of the profession. The rigorous three and half year of Articleship is considered as the most important phase for a CA aspirant. The vast curriculum along with practical training approach (Articleship) is designed in a way so that a student gets ready to carry the baton of the profession ahead.
There is a saying that “Practice makes a man perfect”. With this old age adage, the Institute of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) has devised the way out to make student’s future ready for the profession. A student should not only conform the theoretical knowledge, but should also be aware of the practical know-hows of the profession. Like swimming cannot be learnt by simply reading the book on “How to swim”, similarly, the course cannot be completed with the 3 years of practical articleship which allows a student to explore the career horizon. The potential employer also examine whether the CA has conceptual clarity of the profession or not and most importantly knows how to apply the theory learnt.

But there are few students who do not take their articleship seriously. This will adversely affect their training and overall learning experience. Few questions always arise in a student mind while undergoing training: Why is the articleship training so long? Why is it required? How I will be benefited?
Here are few tips from us to the student fraternity on why to take your Articleship successfully:

What to learn
You can learn the maintenance of books of accounts, Filing Income Tax Returns, Tax and VAT audit, Bank audit etc. It familiarize you with the basic accounting software’s- Tally and Busy. Not only the numerical skills, this will also improve your communication skills, as will it help you become a good speaker and good situation analyzer.

How to learn
You have to follow a structure in a organization while working. Eventually, your seniors will guide you about the work, but at one point, you have to learn things on your own. For this, explore the reference books, Institute journals and apply the concepts at practical situations i.e in audit, accounting etc.

Always remember that the three years of articleship are foundation stones for your impending career. So, prioritize your time accordingly and learn when to relax and when to put your best foot forward.