Top 6 Common Misconceptions / Mistakes of CA Students?

Journey to CA entails navigating a complex and rigorous process. The road is long, you might face obstructions midway, but the challenge is to cross them all to reach the final destination- CA. Hence, it is common to have misconceptions and make mistakes in this process, but it is also important to know the misconceptions and unlearn the mistakes.

Common Misconceptions & Mistakes of CA students:

1.  Poor levels of general awareness
   
   Ask a bunch of aspiring CAs as to how many of them read business news consistently, whether online or offline? One will be surprised with the answer; Such students will not be more than 10-20%.
   
   
2. Passing CA Exams Is Enough
   
   
   
   Several students study only with the intent to pass exams. In-fact many coaching institutes just focus on the examination. The desire to conceptually understand a subject takes a back seat. Consequently, people are in for a rude shock when they join their first job where expectations from a CA are much higher than what the newly qualified is prepared for.
   
   
3. The Role of English in your CA Journey
   
   
   
   Whether we like it or not, in a globalised world, India is leaning towards the west in terms of economic policies, fashion, way of life etc., and this will likely continue for quite some time. In this context, communication in written and spoken English will be more important than ever before. (No, linguistic pride please… this is a reality); Preparing for CA exams by attending coaching in languages other than English is not really a great idea; if one cannot comprehend subject in English, how can he / she aim to be working in a globalised environment in which the default language is most often than not English?
   

    

4.        Becoming CA is the Final Destination  

   Believing that a CA degree alone is sufficient to succeed is another mistake.

   Once CA is complete, one should be open to study further to enhance skills; It could be an MBA, or another professional course or even something on Coursera / Udemy. A Belief that CA is the peak of education in one’s life as it is tough or it took a lot of time to complete is improper.
   
   

5. Why CA Students Need Tech Skills for Success
   
   
    

   Technological changes like AI, IoT, AR that we are witnessing today will change the way of life for all of us; and accounting / finance will not be immune to this change. CA curriculum does a poor job of preparing students for this change. The students are the eventual sufferers (using FB / WhatsApp do not qualify as being up to date on technology…😊). Students neglect everything else that is happening in the world when they are studying for CA – that is a mistake.  
   
   

6.      Internships are not so important

    Not choosing internship, and instead sitting at home by preferring dummy internship or choosing an extremely small firm for internship is another big mistake. The 2 years of internship are extremely valuable; they enable one to build a network of peers, friends & colleagues, gain knowledge of various sectors, interact with people, understand the profession, and of course often give the intern a chance to travel and see the country / world - missing out on all of this is another mistake.