Why B.Com with CA is advised by experts | Everything point by point | Best Career Advice
Are you a Chartered Accountancy (CA) Student who has just started his CA journey and in confusion that whether you should pursue or not Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) along with CA? Or Are you a B.Com student who wants to pursue CA together but cant decide. Then dont worry, you are at the right place to get some useful information and analysis which will help you to reach out at a right decision for you.
As we know that there are very similarities between Chartered Accountancy and B.Com course curriculum. But CA, being a professional degree, is more difficult than B.Com. Hence, job opportunities are more after CA comparatively to B.Com. Despite it B.Com is advisable with CA. Lets understand why it is.
B.Com is the most traditional and popular 3-4 years undergraduate course. Majority of students who pass intermediate of commerce go for B.Com. It is easier to get admission in B.Com course in any state as many of colleges provide this degree and availability of seats are there as well. It is a comprehensive course structure which offers to give knowledge of various subjects such as Financial Accounting, Cost and Management Accounting, Taxation, Auditing, Economics, Business Studies etc.
In Chartered Accountancy (CA), a student has to go through three stages i.e. CA Foundation, CA Intermediate and CA Final. A CA student is also required to undergo 3 years of practical training called as CA Articleship under a practicing CA after passing at least one group of CA Intermediate. It takes minimum 4.5 years to complete CA when you join after class 12th. The minimum duration of the CA Course for a student joining after Graduation under Direct Entry Scheme is 3 years.
A student who wants to take admission in CA after matriculation has to pass CA Foundation test. For this purpose he is required to be passed or appeared in Higher Secondary Examinations (+2 exams). So, when he passes his +2 exams as well as CA Foundation Exams he would be taking admission in B.Com and CA Intermediate simultaneously. Now, since the syllabus of B.Com and CA Intermediate are mostly common it becomes little easier for the student to prepare for B.Com examinations.
Now lets have a look on some benefits of doing B.Com with CA.
Expert Level Knowledge
So B.Com is a 3-4 years undergraduate course which consists of various subjects out of which many are common with CA curriculum like Financial Accounting, Business Laws, Auditing, Taxation etc. B.Com course will help you to gain basic conceptual knowledge of these subjects while CA will provide you in-depth knowledge as well as sharpness to your understandings. The combination of both will help you to get expertise in these subjects.
Higher Studies
If you want to go for other higher studies apart from CA like MBA, LLB and other post graduation courses then you will be required to have graduation degree to get admission in universities. If you want to go to foreign countries for your further studies then B.Com is a recognized undergraduate degree in many foreign countries. It will help you to take admission in post graduation courses in foreign universities. On other being a CA candidate some professional courses or post graduation courses provide you exemption from some papers.
Job Opportunities
B.Com degree enables you to apply for various job opportunities as a fresher including Government jobs. Information Technology trainings and CA Articleship experience under CA add advantages while you apply for the aforesaid job opportunities and increase the chances of selection. Being a B.Com student you will have opportunities to crack competitive exams, civil services exams etc.
Self Employment
Teaching: If you love teaching and want to open your own coaching class then it would be a great idea for you to open tuition classes for B.Com students. After graduation you would have overall understanding of B.Com syllabus and experience of university examinations as well as being a CA student you would have a reputation among the B.Com students that you can give them in-depth conceptual knowledge and guidance for their careers. It will ultimately help you to get more and more students.
Own Business: If you want to start your own business then as a B.Com degree holder you would be eligible to take help of various government assistance or schemes. CA course subject knowledge and CA Articleship training experience will help you to build and manage your business. You can also do statutory compliances like Income Tax Return, GST Registration, GST Return, MSME Registration etc for your business by yourself. You will also be able to prepare project report for your business to get financial assistance or loan from Banks, Government departments etc for working capital needs of your business. It will save business and financial consultancy service charges for you. Further the contacts built up in your CA Articleship period will help you to get clients for your business.
Career Security
We all know that CA is one of the toughest courses in the world. Very few students can pass it in their first or few attempts. Many students take many attempts to pass CA. Delay in passing CA demoralizes those students and closes the door of other career options for them. B.Com degree plays a very helpful role in such situation. A student can choose other paths like LLB, MBA etc for his career if he is not able to clear CA in many attempts. He can also move to self employment. Therefore, B.Com degree provides you a safeguard against the uncertainties associated with CA Course.
College Life
CA is a correspondence course. You are not going to enjoy college life here. If you want to experience and enjoy college life along with CA then you should definitely go for regular B.Com course from a good college. You will make many memorable moments there and it will help you to improve your personality, skills and get chance to engage in extracurricular activities. These events will help you to build a good career profile.
Networking and Contact Building
You will make many good friends and contacts during your graduation journey in B.Com. It will help you a lot after qualifying CA. If you go for a job post CA then your contacts will help you to get chance in the organisations in which they would be working. Further if you go for practice after CA then you will receive direct work or client referrals from your contacts in forms of Income Tax Returns, Tax Audits, Tax Planning, GST compliances etc. Hence, networking is very necessary for professional growth in life of a Chartered Accountant. Your B.Com journey provides you a place for networking and contact building.
Post-nominal Letters
If you complete B.Com then after passing CA, you can write your qualifications with your name like “CA., B.Com” in your CV or profile at professional network website (e.g. LinkedIn) or directory of CAs. It gives an attractive look to your professional identity before others. Many qualified CAs who are running online coaching classes like to use their degrees with their name.
These are some major benefits due to which B.Com with CA is advised by experts.
Additionally, you should also keep in your mind that you will have to do good time management if you decide to pursue these both course together as you would have to attend your college as well as your CA classes. During the time of CA Articleship you will have to manage your office and college timings. No doubt that it would make your educational journey little hard but you will definitely learn many lessons for your life which will be useful for lifelong.
