A lot of CA students have got some free time with the CA exams being postponed to November 2020. In case you are thinking of how best to utilize this free time, here is a quick post on what you should try to do. Read on...
A Chartered Accountant specializes in Accounting, Auditing & Assurance, Tax, Finance, etc. But with economic development, the scope of of the work CAs handle has increased to a lot of allied sectors - investments, portfolio management, M&A, etc. So it becomes important that all CAs and CA students work towards enhancing their skills and knowledge base.
My experience is that we CAs are excellent when you talk about bookish knowledge, but don't quite give it a fight when it comes to general affairs or expert knowledge in a particular field. We are so engrossed in our course books all the time that it seems difficult for us to develop other skills and knowledge of other interesting areas.
Let me tell you some tips in this regard, which I hope would help you overcome this shortcoming most CAs and CA students have...
Read a good business newspaper - In today's day and age, it is very important to be aware of what is happening around us, specially in the fields which are direct of concern to us. Pick up some good business newspapers of your choice or even download the app and read e-papers. It could be Economic Times or Mint or Business Standard or Financial Express. But definitely, one among them. Many people here would say that they get their daily dose of information from social media. But I would only request them to make sure that the information they are getting is unbiased and unsponsored to the greatest extent possible.
Stay updated with what is happening in the profession - ICAI regularly conducts seminars (now webinars) to impart the latest developments in the CA profession to all CA members and aspirants. It is important that you are aware of the new opportunities opening up in this field.
Read the ICAI Journal - The ICAI Journal is something most of us subscribe to but ignore to read. It is one mini-storehouse of knowledge, latest developments, opinions and insights from professionals and experts from within our CA community. All that is needed is to log on to the ICAI website and browse the latest monthly Journal uploaded. Who knows, we might be privileged to read one of your articles published in the Journal someday !!
Develop your skills - There are a plethora of FREE online courses available nowadays, on various websites like Coursera, LinkedIn, etc. These are the best sources to sharpen your skills and develop new ones. I have already written at length on some of these courses and enlisted them here: Which online courses can I pursue with the CA exams postponed to Nov'20?
Improve your vocabulary and public speaking skills - CAs have a very negative image because most of us lack very badly in these two skills. While GMCS was launched with the objective to address this weakness in CA students, we know what the reality is. It is therefore, essential that CA students consciously and seriously improve their public speaking skills and overcome stage fright. You will see a marked change in the confidence with which you speak and give interviews when you have worked on developing this skill well. A small tip here would be to try and speak in professional and technical language, which will not only be well perceived by the audience, but also put you in good light and positive impression.
i sincerely hope this post will get you thinking on what knowledge areas and skills you want to prioritize and start working on from now on. My objective is just to make you conscious that the course books will simply get you the entry to the last bench of the classroom called Chartered Accountancy. The real struggle will start once you become a Chartered Accountant.
Thanks for reading!!
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