THT report : CA, Counted among the best

SURENDRA TANDUKAR

Kathmandu

A highly prestigious and globally acclaimed course, Chartered Accountancy (CA) is getting popular among Nepali students. Sketching a decade and a half long history in Nepal, Chartered Accountancy (CA) has become one of the most preferred professional courses for students.

Instead of any university in the world, the CA programme is entirely regulated by the institute of Chartered Accountants of the country.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN), established in 1997, is the only authorised institution, which has been regulating the

programme since its introduction in 2000.

ICAN has around 1,000 CA members including only around 300 CAs produced by the institute itself. However, there is a high demand for professional CAs in the domestic market as the available number of CAs is not sufficient for the market.

“Few years back students were unaware about the CA course but these days CA has become one of the most preferred courses among students,” said Pushpendra Singh, Technical Joint Director at ICAN stating that almost all the institutes that have acquired accreditations to run CA courses are overcrowded with aspiring students.

So, what is the reason behind the growing popularity?

“It’s a professional course and the cost of education is also cheap,” Singh, said pointing out students could easily refund their investment during their studies through articleship. “Speedy career development is another reason for the popularity of CA,” he added. “Previously students had to go abroad for the study but today they are getting the same degree within the country,” he informed, stating that it has reduced the flow of students for CA education abroad by more than 50 per cent.

Except for Fine Arts students, anyone who has passed plus two or equivalent level in any faculty is eligible to join the CA foundation course, Chartered Accountancy Professional 1 (CAP1).

However, a management graduate securing 50 per cent marks in aggregate can directly join intermediate level (CAP 2) while a non-management graduate should have aggregately secured 60 per cent marks.

Though registration is open throughout the year, students should be aware that they can only appear in the CAP 1 and CAP 2 exam-inations after strictly completing the one-year course in each. The exams always fall on June and December.

According to Bijaya Pathak, Director of CIMA, CA is a practical-based five-year course that gives a wide range of professional knowledge about the CA job. “Besides management students, students having science

background are also equally attracted to the course,” he said, adding that the students are informed about the scope of the subject. “As compared to studying CA abroad, studying the subject in the country is cheap,” he said, adding that it costs around Rs 300,000 to pursue the course in Nepal.

“Unlike other subjects, in CA, students must pass all the subjects of a group scoring more than 50 per cent marks in aggregate in an attempt to get promoted to another level,” said Deepesh K Thapaliya, Programme Director at Chartered College of Management and Accounts (CCMA), stressing that thus CA students need to pay attention to studies. “By the time students complete their studies, they become a CA professional,” said Thapaliya, adding that students get to learn practically about the profession through three-year articleships under a CA firm.

Singh added that since ICAN has been a member of The International Federation of Accountants, the CA education in Nepal has also international recognition.

He stated that, however, one has to receive membership of the chartered accountancy institute of the country to work as a CA professional in the country. Recently, ICAN has also signed a membership pathway agreement with CPA Australia opening the gateway for Nepali CA professionals to work in the country.

ICAN has been urging the government to remove the VAT being imposed on the CA institutes and to treat them like other educational institutions.