The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has recently announced a new move that could prove beneficial for students. According to media reports, ICAI as part of its new rule has allowed students who pass class 10 to enrol with the Institute for CA Foundation course. This means that CA aspirants will not have to wait to reach class 12 to apply for the entry-level course in ICAI. However, it should be noted here that this will only be a provisional admission to Foundation course and it will be regularised once the candidate clears class 12 board exams. In this article, we bring you a detailed explanation about what the latest announcement of ICAI CA Foundation actually means for aspirants.

What is the Announcement?

A few months ago, ICAI announced that class 12 students can register for Foundation course without the result. According to media reports, students after passing class 10 exam and willing to become a Chartered Accountant, can register with the entry-level Foundation course. The change follows the institute’s regular review of the examination system to make it more contemporary. Atul Gupta, President of ICAI was quoted in TOI as saying, “This will help students to prepare for the foundation course while studying Class XI and Class XII.”

What Does it Mean?

As per the latest announcement, students who qualified the class 10 board exam can register to the course. However, admission will be regularised only if the student clears the class 12 exam. Earlier, students had to qualify the class 12 board exam and apply for the ICAI course. Under the old process, candidates could appear in CA Foundation exam in November or December attempt, after a four-month study period.

With the new rule, there are two visible benefits to students. The first one would be that candidates will get two years to prepare for the Foundation course, as they simultaneously study for class 12 board exam. The second and most significant benefit is that candidates who appear for class 12 examinations in February or March will be now eligible to appear in the CA exam in May and do not have to wait for November or December attempt. The new rule helps students to become a CA faster because of the early admission.

How to Apply for CA Foundation Course?

To appear in the CA Foundation course, students will have to visit the official website of ICAI, icai.org and submit an application course for the registration of CA Foundation. As a 10th pass candidate, he or she will have to submit important documents online, as per ICAI’s guidelines. More details under the latest announcement are awaited.

ICAI conducts CA exams twice a year—May/ June and November/ December. The CA Foundation course is an entry-level exam comprising of four papers, out of which two are subjects, and the remaining two are objective types.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 21, 2020 01:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).