Accounting Reviews

Making a successful career in his life is the ultimate aim of a student. From the starting of his education, a student starts planning about his career goals and aims he need to achieve. Medical, engineering, doctors, scientists, biotechnologists, etc are the careers which one can opt for post completing his studies in the science field. After science, be it medical or non- medical, commerce is the field which attracts students. Many students have been seen opting for career in accounting or commerce after passing their secondary school examinations.

Career in accounting or finance becomes the goal for the student’s pursuing studies in the field of sciences. The different fields to which the commerce subject is divided are: 1.)Accounting. 2.)Banking. 3.)Finance. 4.)Computers. 5.)Business studies. 6.)Economics.

After completing his senior secondary education, commerce students mainly opt for business management, computers or accountancy courses as their graduation subjects. The most popular course which has become the career goal for almost every commerce students these days is career in accountancy. Accounting Job involves the responsibility of maintaining the accounts of the organisation, analysing it and further adding on to the economic development of the company.

The three different fields or courses available in the field of accountancy are:

1.)CA- Charted Accountancy 2.)ICWAI- Cost Accountancy 3.)CS- Company Secretary

All these courses are provided by special institutes and have their individual regulatory bodies, governing the course structure and further career developments in the respective fields.

Charted Accountancy: Charted accountant is the person responsible for few of the most important functions required to run a smooth functioning of the organisation in term of its monetary funds and finances like accountancy, auditing, taxation, etc. The Institute of Charted Accountants of India (ICAI) is the organisation responsible for the regulation of charted accountancy profession in India. The students for becoming a member of this institute, has to go through a series of examinations, appearing before which, he has to register himself with the statutory body of ICAI. There are three levels of CA examination, i.e. CPT- Common Proficiency Test, PCC- Professional Competence Course, and then is the final exam, which has to be cleared, after which the student becomes a members a member of ICAI and can practise his profession in charted accountancy. The minimum time required to do this entire course is 3.5 to 4 years, which is in very rare cases, because the examination is very tough and it consumes years to pass one level.

Cost Accountancy: In this field the person responsible, is required to manage the cost related functions of the company in an organised way, he needs to collect, analyse and assemble all the cost related departments. He also needs to check, the utilisation of the funds is done in the right manner and in the productive direction. The institute responsible for application of the job responsibilities of cost accountancy in the country is The institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India. For taking admission in this course, students needs to clear three levels of examination, conducted by ICWAI, and registration for examination can be done after passing the senior secondary exam. The students having passed out all the three levels of ICWAI exam, other than working as cost accountant in public and private organisations, can also opt for working as a consultant in the field of finance management.

Company Secretary: This is another field which can be opted by the accounts or commerce students after passing their 12th exams. It is regulated by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, which takes examination of the students applying for the course of CS, there are three levels for the same, after which the student can apply for CS in different companies and industries. As the name suggests, the job is not of a clerical or secretarial job, the CS is responsible for all the legal, board, trustee, managerial and corporate level decisions are taken with reference to the Company Secretary.

Forensic accounting incorporates the elements of accounting, auditing and investigation for analyzing information that forms the basis of legal discussion, debate, and at times, dispute resolution. Various legal issues, like employee theft, insurance fraud, securities fraud, and such others may require this investigation.

Here are a few of the important questions, and there answers, in this regard.

What are the tasks involved in the proceeding? The chief responsibilities of a professional forensic accountant are as follows –

Investigation and analysis of complex financial evidence and development of computerized applications for it

Preparation of documents (reports, exhibits, etc) for communicating the findings

Assistance in legal proceeding (preparation of visual aids, providing testimonial at court, etc)

Which cases may require such services? Various types of legal issues may require this:

Criminal investigations

Business or other insurance claims

Business or employee fraud investigations

Shareholders or partnership legal disputes

Matrimonial disputes

Who needs such services? Lawyers, government agencies, police forces, courts, banks, insurance companies, businesses and such other entities may need to get forensic accounting investigation.

How does the professional approach the investigation? There are certain steps involved in the procedure. However, the specific details depend on the assignment the professional is handling. Here are the details.

Meeting with the client – is necessary to understand the parties involved in the case, the facts and the issues of dispute.
Assessing conflict of interests – is required to assess whether they are representing two entities with adverse interests.
Performing an initial investigation – is essential to get the foundation of the investigation right.
Developing a plan – based on the initial investigation, this is necessary to assess the objective and the way to attain it.
Getting the relevant evidence – may involve finding documents, individuals, and such other essentials related to the case.
Analyzing the evidence – involves tasks like tracing assets, calculating economic damages, performing sensitivity analysis and so on.
Preparing the report – is necessary to communicate the findings of the investigation along with other details like scope and objective, tools and techniques, and so on.

How do you find such a professional? It is wise to let your lawyer find and appoint such an accountant, as he/she is more aware of reputed and reliable professionals for the task. The key considerations are, however, quite simple – qualification and experience is all that you need to look out for when choosing one for the job.