CA students lament about time gap between exams

CHENNAI: Another round of the final examinations for the Chartered Accountancy course began on Tuesday. While the course is considered by many as one of the toughest to crack,  the temptation of a lucrative career, and the glamour attached to Chartered Accountants in society, has ensured that it still remains one of the most popular options for lakhs of candidates registering every year.  However, apart from the comprehensive nature of the test, and the difficulty levels of the subjects involved, CA students, who spoke to City Express over the last week, say that certain other issues, hamper their preparation and require the urgent attention of administrators. Foremost among these is the time gap involved between the completion of the examination and the publication of the results. The tests, whether the intermediate (IPCC) or the final, are always conducted twice every year, with a gap of six months in between. In the current format, the subjects are divided into two groups and the candidate is expected to score the minimum pass percentage in each subject and achieve the minimum total marks required in each group. Even if the person obtains pass marks in every subject in a group, but fails to achieve the minimum aggregate required, he would have to repeat the group six months later.  This is where the problem arises. According to Vigneshwaran*,  who is attempting the final examination for the second time in November, while the students complete the exams by mid-May in the first round for the year, the results take at least “two-and-a-half months” to get published. This, he says affects them tremendously as a considerable amount of time within the six months is spent awaiting the results without much preparation.  “I was very confident of passing all groups. However, I failed and I am repeating now. The problem is, if they take more than two months to publish the results, we lose out on precious time for preparation awaiting the results. So essentially, we are left with just three months to study something we spent almost two years on,” he says.  Students also say that apart from this gap, the depression resulting from the failure takes a while to get over. However, there is no time in between to ponder over it, as formalities such as registration and other things begin immediately after results. “They might ask why not skip the immediate cycle and write in next May again. But you must understand we have already spent five years on this course to get here (involving the CPT, IPCC and about three years of articleship) and wasting  nine more months is not viable. Most of us have to start earning to support the family,” says Atmanathan*, a CA candidate. Others are quite critical about the Institute of Charted Accountants of India, the statutory body which conducts the exam, and blame it for the delay. “They do take registration charges of thousands of rupees. For every subsequent attempt, students pay several thousand more. What are they doing with all the money? Why can they not expedite the process and help students?” questions Ramanujan, a Charted Accountant himself whose son is appearing for the final examinations in November. When contacted, officials at the regional centre of the ICAI say that decisions regarding such issues are made at the Central Office in New Delhi and cannot be commented upon without permission.*Names changed  on request