91. Chartered Accountant (CA)

A CA is a professional accountant who has met very high standards for professional knowledge, judgment and integrity. The designation is earned through training and practical experience obtained while employed with a firm of Chartered Accountants engaged in public practice or with the Office of the Auditor General. The program includes a formal education program with a national Uniform Final Examination. Chartered Accountant (CA) is the title used by members of certain professional accountancy associations in the British Commonwealth countries and Ireland. The term chartered comes from the Royal Charter granted to the world's first professional body of accountants upon their establishment in 1854. Chartered Accountants work in all fields of business and finance. Some are engaged in public practice work, others work in the private sector and some are employed by government bodies.

The CA designation offers considerable flexibility in choosing your career path and your place of residence. Opportunities are available in public practice, education, industry, and government. All Chartered Accountants have experience in public practice, since a period of practical experience with an approved training office is required before becoming a Chartered Accountant. The large majority of these training offices are Public Accounting firms. The Office of the Auditor General is the other training office. A Chartered Accountant, with his or her expertise in business, accounting and administration, experience in public practice, and educational background, is much sought after to fill a large variety of positions in industry.

There are many employment opportunities for a Chartered Accountant in all levels of government service. Various federal and provincial departments and publicly funded organizations regularly recruit Chartered Accountants for such positions as treasurers, auditors, senior financial officers, financial management officers and financial analysts. A Chartered Accountant who is attracted to the field of education finds the CA designation highly useful. Chartered Accountants often instruct specialized courses at universities. Chartered Accountants are prominent in the Commerce and Business Administration faculties of Canadian universities, and others serve in administrative posts within this sector.

In India, the profession of chartered accountancy is regulated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, which was established by Parliament under the Chartered Accountants Act of 1949. The ICAI is responsible for examinations and licensing of it members. ICAI is the second largest body of Professional Accountants in the world with nearby 150,000 registered members. Members are awarded the CA designation. The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 was passed on May 1. The term Chartered Accountant came to be used in place of Indian Registered Accountants. In this case, therefore, the term "Chartered" does not relate to a Royal Charter as in the case of the UK or Australia, as there is no Royal Charter in the Republic of India. A person shall be awarded the CA after passing the relevant examinations and completion of three and a half years of articleship training (apprenticeship). This is to ensure that trainees have a mix of theoretical and practical training before they become members.