Important Software Skills Required for CA Students

Chartered Accountancy is considered as one of the most prestigious courses in India. Chartered Accountants (CAs) play an important role in nation building. They owe it to people to spread financial awareness among them. CAs not only deal with accounting and auditing issues but are also responsible for suggesting and implementing various financial policies which directly impact the growth of the economy.

The recent phenomenon of the rapid growth and ascension of the accountancy and auditing profession and the vast changes occurring in the Indian economy has placed a great amount of responsibility on the shoulders of every Chartered Accountant. As the country is progressing towards becoming a business and economic powerhouse, various financial, economic and technological reforms are opening new avenues and opportunities for Chartered Accountants.

Chartered Accountants work in all fields of business and finance, including auditing, taxation, and financial, general and technical management; and thus such professionals are expected to apply their knowledge and skills acquired during their course of learning, particularly their practical training period.

Further, in this digital age, Chartered Accountants use a wide array of accounting tools, software and applications to provide their professional services. Accordingly, during the mandatory articleship period of 3 years, CA students or Articled Assistants are required to acquire and implement knowledge pertaining to various fields like auditing, taxation, law, accountancy, etc. For this, knowledge about various software and having adequate computing skills can serve as the greatest ally for any CA student.

Taking into consideration the importance of information technology, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has also included the Information Technology training in the curriculum.

Here are some basic computer skills required for CA to have for a great learning experience in articleship training:

1. Microsoft Suite

Nowadays all accounting professionals work with software programs that are part of the Microsoft office suite such as Word, Excel, Power-point, Office 365, MS Access etc. So a student should at least get familiar with the basic functions of Microsoft office. Basic knowledge of MS office includes from typing a thing to using appropriate commands.

• Microsoft Excel

  Microsoft Excel is one of the most useful software for accounting professionals. Excel is designed to support accounting functions such as budgeting, financing, forecasting and modeling, preparing financial statements and creating MIS reports, etc.

  Excel comes with basic spreadsheet functionality and many functions are in-built to perform complex mathematical calculations. Moreover, excel is also used in audit like for drawing samples from a given population, recalculating various figures and totals, preparing worksheets of areas like revenue and expenses, etc. Therefore, it is advisable for students to have a good grip and hands on experience in using excel. Some of the basic excel functions and formulas include sum, sumif, subtotal, vlookup, count, countif, filter, goal-seek, text to column, data validation, etc.

• Microsoft Word

  Note taking is an important part in articleship which is performed on Microsoft word. It is one of the simplest and user-friendly note taking applications created by Microsoft. Various options like colouring, find & replace, inserting tables, page layout, track changes, comparing, etc. are quite handy and save enormous time while performing any task.

• Microsoft PowerPoint

  Presentations are required to put one’s points in concise and eye-appealing manner. Microsoft PowerPoint is an application to make such presentations. One can make his/her own master slide and create numerous presentations. Even use of animations and various smart art options give the preparer an opportunity to present the matter in the most simplest and effective manner.

• Microsoft Outlook

  This is an application used for emails. It includes receiving and sending emails, grouping and classification of emails, scheduling emails and recalling wrongly sent emails. Any communication in companies is done mostly through emails. Hence, a good knowledge of operating outlook, exploring and using its various options in the articleship will provide an edge over others.

2. Tally ERP

Tally ERP is a widely used software for accounting which is also used in tax computation, TDS and GST calculation and compliance, managing commercial transactions effectively and efficiently. It serves in filing GST and Income-tax returns smoothly and in a time effective manner. Moreover, it is simple and easy to use. To make students familiar with this software, ICAI has also included Tally in the Information Technology training.

3. ERP Packages

Enterprise Resource Planning is a software solution which addresses the enterprise needs to meet its goals while integrating all the functions of enterprise like human resource, finance, purchase, sales etc. The renowned ERP providers include SAP, Oracle, PeopleSoft, etc. ICAI has also included basics of ERP in CA curriculum.

Many IT companies like TCS, Infosys, Wipro, etc. are now hiring finance professionals as Functional ERP consultants in ERP implementation and development.

Today a large number of CAs play a major role in designing the financial framework of ERP system of large enterprises. A good knowledge of the functions of these ERP systems can add wonders to the skills of the students and boost their career.

4. Befriend with printer

In articleship, printing of documents can seem to be a petty and trivial task but is of immense importance as the printed sheet is the final report on which signing is done and is the ultimate reflection of one’s work. Students are therefore required to get familiar with the printer devices, formatting, paper sizing, etc. Various legal papers like stamp papers have different sizes and printing on those papers can be a tricky task requiring one to remain careful avoiding errors.

Besides the above-mentioned software which are generally common amongst the CA community, CAs use different software for accounting, Income tax return filing, GST return filing and Audit report filing.

Now with government making e-filing of Income Tax forms and e-invoicing compulsory, students should keep themselves aware of these software and procedures. Besides this, students should have other skills like presentation and communication skills, basic knowledge about Internet and browsing sites. Moreover, having a good command on key board/ typing speed/ knowledge of keyboard shortcuts help you score some brownie points!

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Areas CA Students should work during Articleship