Options after Dropping Out from Chartered Accountancy (CA) Course

There are two possible outcomes of any event in one’s life, either one succeed or learn. Dropping out from Chartered Accountancy (CA) Course can be someone’s personal choice induced by any kind of reason be it not liking the subject matter or not been able to maintain the consistent effort required to pass the exam. Or else, it may be one’s only choice due to hindrances like financial constraints, family commitments, ill-health conditions, etc. In any of such cases, deciding to drop out from CA Course is a very personal decision which is to be taken by oneself taking into consideration all the factors influencing the decision with due diligence of all the outcomes.

If it has been decided that it is prudent to drop CA Course, then there arises an urgent need to look for alternatives to keep the career trajectory moving upwards. It brings a high time to choose which career paths to take and various avenues to ponder upon.

Some of the options that can be summed up so that one can decide the way forward are given below which may prove o be useful for students in arriving at a decision-

1. Work as Semi-qualified

A person who has cleared Intermediate level of CA course is considered having knowledge equivalent to a bachelor degree graduate and is competent enough to be employed as a semi-qualified working for an Articleship firm. Accordingly, if one has already undertaken some part of his/her articleship and if he/she is comfortable with the working environment of that firm, application can be made there itself to work as semi-qualified. The Principal of that firm will most likely be happy to recruit a person with prior experience in that firm. Generally, many organization/companies operating at a small scale have vacancies for semi-qualified person for accounting or book-keeping related profiles. One can start working with these organizations and try to move up to the corporate ladder with experience combined with skill upgradation.

2. Pursue Other Professional Courses

There is plethora of options while searching for professional courses as an alternative to CA. But before jumping on to something, one must be very clear with its subject matter and job opportunities in future.

• • ACCA – ACCA qualification is a great way to build a career in accounts and finance. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Institute is the global professional accounting body offering the “Chartered Certified Accountant” qualification. It is a globally recognised course and it will open job opportunities internationally too.
  • CFA – A Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) program tests the fundamentals of investment tools, valuing assets, portfolio management, and wealth planning. It is considered as one of the most valuable professional certifications in the field of finance. This program is provided by the CFA Institute.
  • FRM – Financial Risk Manager (FRM) is a professional designation issued by the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP). FRM is globally recognised as the premier certification for financial risk professionals dealing in financial markets. FRMs possess specialized knowledge in assessing risk and typically work for major banks, insurance companies, accounting firms, regulatory agencies, and asset management firms.
  • CMA – Cost Management Accountant (CMA) is a course offered by the Institute of Cost Accountants of India which is considered almost equivalent to a CA degree but with specialized knowledge in the field of costing. This degree will be helpful in achieving management level roles in an organisation.
  • CS – A Company Secretary (CS) is responsible for ensuring that the company complies with the statutory or regulatory requirements. Therefore, CS handles the legal aspects of a business enterprise. The course is offered by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).
  • Civil Service Exam – The Civil Services Examination(CSE) is a national competitive examination in India conducted by the Union Public Service Commission for recruitment to higher Civil Services of the Government of India, including the Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, and Indian Police Service. It is considered to be one of the most difficult competitive examinations in India.
  • LLB – Bachelor of Legislative Law or LLB is an undergraduate course of 3-5 years that opens up an option to practice law in India. The course is offered by various colleges that are approved by the Bar Council of India (BCI).

3. Going for MBA

One can prepare for exams like CAT or GMAT in order to enroll for Masters in Business Administration (MBA). It is a post graduate degree/diploma program that provides conceptual, theoretical and practical training in various aspects of business like economics, operations marketing, basic accounting, human resource, corporate finance, etc. Many Business Schools provide this program and it is a good alternative to CA Course if someone wishes to be a part of the top end of corporate hierarchy.

4. Career in Securities Markets

If someone is really fond of seeing red and green prices of stocks and have a fair understanding of the working of securities market, then it is not necessary to be a CA or a CFA to get your hands on the stock market. There are numerous courses made available for eligible candidates by National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM) established by Securities and Exchange Board of India. It provides certifications on investment advisory, portfolio management, equity derivatives, mutual fund distribution, etc. These will open up job opportunities in many stock broking firms or mutual fund distribution agencies.

5. Explore Business Opportunities

For a commerce or finance professional, there are a lot of freelancing or business opportunities like starting own tax consultancy/ tax return preparation or engaging in accountancy work as a freelancer. This will at least kick start one’s career and with some networking and experience, one can scale up the business multi-fold and in multiple dimensions. Also, it is pertinent to mention here that with the advent of internet and an era of online content, one can look into arena of content creation like starting of a Youtube channel or writing blogs using content writing, video editing, text to speech tools. Through affiliations and consistent content creation, one can really excel in this unorthodox profile. This will again open many dimensions of work like video editing, content delivery, marketing and social media handling, app development, website development and its maintenance, etc. It all depends on the personal interest or passion of each individual for the choice of subject for content creation. It is important to note that the gestation period in these types of work is quite high and may test one’s patience at times.

6. Teaching

Any person pursuing CA is presumed to have a good depth of knowledge in the field of commerce. Therefore, it can easily be applied in tutoring commerce students. If someone is good in communicating thoughts and easily explaining concepts, then this one step of going into the field of teaching may result into wonders. After all, as a student, we all must have had calculated our teacher’s monthly income and given a guess of his/her bank balance. In this space, two options are present – either one can start private tutoring or if someone is a graduate, then he/she can complete Master’s degree and appear for National Eligibility Test conducted by University Grant Commission (UCG) for the post of Assistant Professor.

So, in a nut-shell, commerce does not always mean just CA. There are numerous other options to look at. One can look at the above-mentioned career options and may choose the best option as per his/her own will and passion. Everything has its pros and cons. One should choose based on his/her liking in the subject matter as well as his/her aim for which one is working for. At the end, whatever one choose, it requires dedication and commitment as well as interest in it. Always remember

“A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him”.