What is the Best/Right Age to Start Preparing for CA Exam

In Scotland, chartered accountants form a professional body as first they were accountants. In many countries all over the world, the chartered accountant (CA) is an international accounting designation permitted to accounting professionals. The role of the chartered accountant is to manage areas related to financial accounting and accounting, audit and assurance, applied finance or taxation, and management accounting. Also, chartered accountant designation is equal to a certified public accountant (CPA) in the United States.

A CA aspirant must pass all the levels of ICAI examinations to become a chartered accountant. The ICAI stands for Institution of Chartered Accountants in India which conducts the CA exam. To prepare for the CA exam an aspirant should be aware of the right time to start preparing for the CA exam.

Eligibility criteria to become CA in 2023

To register for the CA exam, a student must complete their 12th grade or graduation with at least 55%. Moreover, there are three stages to becoming a chartered accountant. These are as follows

Foundation
Intermediate and final exams
3-year complete practical training

ICAI has made two paths for CA aspirants to enroll in chartered accountancy and achieve their goals at their convenience –

Foundation route
Direct entry route

In the foundation route, an aspirant must register for the foundation level and pass all three CA exams. In the direct entry route, aspirants skip foundation-level exams, and graduate students can directly register themselves for the intermediate level.

Qualifications required to become a chartered accountant

Students who wish to become CA must check the qualifications required or eligibility before starting preparing for the CA exam.

Completion of 12th grade from recognized board. (For foundation level)
Completed graduation in commerce stream with 55% or from humanities/science stream at least with 60%. (For direct entry route)

Eligibility criteria for CA foundation 2023

Eligibility for the CA exam 2023 is prescribed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). It is important to check the eligibility criteria of CA foundations before applying, to avoid rejection in the CA foundation application form.

According to ICAI, a student who has passed grade 10th is eligible to register for the CA foundation program temporarily. They made some provisions in 25E, 25F, and 28F that allows the student of grade 10th to get a chance through a temporary route. There is no age limit to apply for the exam. A student who works hard, follows deadlines, practices well, and keeps track of his or her strengths and weak areas will achieve or succeed early. Given below are the criteria for the CA foundation 2023 exam –

Age limit –

Aspirants who wish to apply to the CA foundation can apply easily as there are no age limits to apply in it and can start preparing for the CA exam.

Educational qualifications -

ICAI set some guidelines for CA students to follow them -

An aspirant can apply for the CA foundation exam when he or she passed the 10th grade from the central or state government board or an equivalent examination. Therefore, after clearing the grade 12th exams then only these students can take provisional admission.
Candidates who are appearing in grade 12th or have already given the exams can register for the foundation exam of CA.
Those students who have passed grade 12th with a minimum of 50% of marks can register.

Registration and time duration

The basic eligibility criteria to register is with the board of studies (BoS).

For the session which is held in May/ June 2023, candidates must register themselves on or before the date 1st January 2023. For the session which is held in November/ December 2023 exams, the last date for students to register themselves is 1st July 2023.

CA foundations exemptions

ICAI has a set of exemptions for students who register themselves directly in the second level of the CA intermediate course and they don’t have to appear in the CA foundation exam. These are mentioned below –

Criteria	Exemptions
For UG and PG students	Students with 55% marks in graduation or in post-graduation in commerce background or equivalent from a recognised university.
NIOS	Students who have done graduation and post-graduation from an open university.
Non commerce students	Minimum 60% or equivalent marks required for those candidates who have done bachelor’s and master’s degree in humanities/ science or other than commerce. They must pass out with a recognised university.

Conclusion

There are no age restrictions to become CA in India. The ICAI conducts CA exams in India. The ICAI stands for Institute for Chartered Accountants in India. If a person belongs to a non-commerce background, then he or she must score 60% in their graduation or masters to give intermediate level exams of CA. If they belong to a commerce background they must score 55% in their UG or post-graduation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. Does a chartered accountant have a government job?

Ans. Yes, a chartered accountant can have a government job. Also, those CA who are experienced can get a very good salary package.

Q2. Does a student from non-commerce background register themselves in CA foundation exams 2023?

Ans. A person from a non-commerce background can get admission directly into level 2 of the CA exam 2023 when he or she obtains 60% marks in other degrees.

Q3. How many times can a student appear in CA final exam?

Ans. There is no age limit so there are no limitations on the number of attempts given by students. For the final course, the initial registration is valid for 5 years. Therefore, 10 attempts are given, 2 each year. After 5 years, the student can revalidate it for another 5 years.

Q4. After completing CA, is it easy to get a job?

Ans. After giving all levels of exams, a person becomes a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in India (ICAI). Once completed a CA, a person is not qualified for a decent job but also, he or she hired someone to work with them or become a job giver. It depends from person to person whether they want to work in someone else's company or want to become self-employed.