An
increasing number of CA graduates these days prefer to join corporates than set
up their own practice, as real estate and infrastructure investment costs
spiral. Data with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)
indicates that this year, the number of working CAs will, for the first time
ever, surpass the number of practising CAs in the country. Many believe that
with increasing employment opportunities, practising CAs will be 20%, while
working CAs will be 80% by 2020. The number of women CAs will increase to 30%
in next decade from current 16% (see table).
There
were 82,931 working CAs in the industry till February 2011, a notch below the
83,664 practicising chartered accountants. "Financial year 2011-12 will
see working CAs overtake their practising colleagues. There will be more CAs in
the corporate sector as they get good job opportunities. It is important to
provide adequate talent to the industry. Practising CAs will get more
opportunities," says ICAI president G Ramaswamy.
Bipinbhai
Shah, a chartered accountant from Vadodara, was happy when his son Jinal
cleared the CA exam in 1999. He had pinned his hopes on Jinal joining the
family firm, established in 1968. Jinal, however, had other plans: he joined a
multinational information technology company. Shah was convinced when Jinal
explained to him the high starting salary and global opportunities.
There
is a huge demand for CAs in the manufacturing and financial services sectors.
Fresh graduates get a minimum package of Rs 6 lakh per annum, which is
attractive for a 24-year-old graduate. "Investment in setting up office
and related infrastructure is huge. Also, one has to work hard to find clients.
Setting up one's own practice may take three to five years, a reasonably long
period. Naturally, most young CAs prefer to work for industry, where they get
lucrative salaries without any capital investment," says Sanjeev Shah,
past president of the Vadodara branch of ICAI, who runs his own firm.
In
the early 1980s, the total composition of CAs was 80% in private practice and
20% employed. "Post-1991, things have changed dramatically. Eighty per
cent of CAs will be working for industry by 2020. Over the past decade, 90% are
in jobs and just 10% are in private practice," says TN Manoharan, former ICAI
president.
