Greater demand for CAs

Hyderabad: Salaries offered to Chartered Accountants (CAs) may be nowhere close to what their engineering and management counterparts get but the placements of the former are on the rise. According to a statement released by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), the placements for CAs grew by 40 per cent. But, there was only a marginal increase in the salary offered by international companies, which offer close to Rs 24 lakh per annum. Incidentally, the highest pay package offered by domestic companies has dropped from Rs 21 lakh to Rs 17 lakh per annum.

• ICAI sees 40 per cent rise in placements
• However, highest salary package for domestic placement falls by Rs 4 lakh

Reportedly, ITC and Alghanim Industries offered the highest salaries for domestic and international postings. The average salary was Rs 7 lakh per annum, which hasn’t changed for the past two years. The statement from ICAI also reveals that a total of 952 CAs were placed. However, it failed to mention, how many appeared for the placements. “In all, 86 companies, including TCS, Federal bank, ITC, Cairn and Barclays, visited the campus this time as against 80 in March,” the statement read.

"Chartered Accountants today are technically equipped to act as management consultants and play a vital role in assisting business and industry to improve the use of their resources, increase their efficiency and achieve their objectives. The breadth of management advisory services rendered reflect their expertise in diverse areas," K Raghu, president of ICAI, said in a statement.

Unlike management and engineering students, CAs have several paths to choose from. If they fail to secure a job through campus placements, they have an option to obtain a Certificate of Practice (COP) and set up their own practice. HR professionals state that finance is a crucial department for all business entities and CAs have myriad opportunities in various sectors open. “They can be placed in banking, financial services, IT, telecom, infra and other sectors. The profession also ensures good salary hikes. The value of CA professionals increase exponentially as they gain experience,” informed a HR practioner.

Unlike engineering and management colleges who have placements only once a year, ICAI organises campus placements for the qualified CAs twice a year. The candidates are given two chances to meet the companies by opting for two centres. Those who choose smaller centres first and fail to land a job can take a second shot at placements by registering for bigger centres like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.