Can CA students call themselves SARVAGUN SAMPANN (possessing all the qualities) after clearing CA? Let's do a quick check...
This article most likely will be an eye-opener for some. Both present and future CAs pride on this profession, and it is only imperative that we all work towards keeping the flag of our dear profession flying high always.
The CA course provides a unique opportunity for the students to develop holistically - gaining both theoretical knowledge and its practical application. However, the course lacks on developing the soft skills of the student beyond a certain extent. Let me stretch this a bit further and talk about the major skills and qualities a CA student should develop along with studies:
Etiquettes: One of the most neglected quality by any CA student is learning the correct etiquettes or mannerisms which befit a profession like ours. There are times when I feel that CA students and young qualifieds really need to improve their dressing sense and personal grooming. A CA student is the representative of the profession and it is upon us to ensure the value of the profession is not degraded.
Presentation skills: This is a major skill lacking in CA students and also qualified CAs at large. We are experts in playing with numbers, but when it is the turn to present the analysis through PowerPoint or a presentation, we develop cold feet.
Communication skills: CAs are assumed to be introverts and not good performers when it comes to public speaking. Be it our body language or even the speech delivery, we score much less than the other professions (e.g. MBA). Then how do we improve this? One of the ways to deal with this shortcoming is Toastmasters, or any other similar forum which provides you the opportunity to come and minimize stage fright and other inhibitions.
Out of the box thinking: The general perception of a CA is that we have a very strong bookish knowledge and a good grasp over the subject matter. But when it comes to idea generation or out of the box thinking, we falter badly. What is needed is more application-oriented thinking with a broader analytical frame of mind. This is one of the major reasons engineers score much higher on consulting roles than CAs.
Knowledge of advanced IT: Although we have our own IT training, accept or not, we are still lacking on the advanced IT used in the industry. In today's world, knowing just Excel is not everything. Finance professionals also require knowledge of Python, SQL, VBA and Java.
Command over concepts: The industry views CAs as experts in the field of finance. But alas, the students at present are more concerned with passing the course rather gain absolute conceptual clarity. This is one of the major reasons of low salaries and lack of high profile jobs for CAs today. This attitude of "studying to pass the exams" needs to change.
In conclusion, all I would say is to learn from experiences and avoid mistakes that your predecessors have already committed. Now that you know what all skills and qualities are lacking in the CA course, get set to work on developing them. Add all these qualities to your tag of being a CA and I don't think anyone can stop your career from flying high.
Thanks for reading!
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