ICAI wants entry-level salary for CAs raised

Says the rich skill-set of chartered accountants calls for a competitive package.

Companies which wish to recruit fresh Chartered Accountants (CAs) will now have to shell out more as the of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has decided to advocate a 50 per cent hike in floor salary package for new accountants.

This means, minimum pay for the freshly minted accountants will work out at Rs 75,000 per month. Last year the floor was Rs 50,000 per month

“New CAs get solid grounding while doing their article ship and are good at managing business environment. The compensation should reflect the talent they possess,” said G Ramaswamy, President, ICAI.

Of a total student strength of 5,300, the institute has placed 1,800 students so far. Highest salary at the institute has been offered to three students with an annual package of Rs 67.5 lakh offered by Olam International in Singapore.

“Keeping in mind the rich skill set and varied exposure that the Chartered Accountant students get during their article ship, they deserve a competitive package,” said ICAI vice president Jaydeep Shah.

This season the placement process are being done out of 17 cities – 11 smaller centres and 6 large cities including Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai. More than 120 companies and organisations are participating at large centres. The process would complete by end of the month.

Last year the highest salary package offered at smaller centres was Rs 7.4 lakh which has gone up to Rs 9.05 lakh this year.

“The lowest salary this year has been a package of Rs 6.5 lakh but most of the students have bagged packages above Rs 8 lakh. Considering the companies had registered with us a month ago, we are not making it mandatory this year. But next year, we may look at this arrangement,” added Ramaswamy.

This year, ITC made a job offer with a salary of Rs 13.92 lakhs. ICICI Bank offered jobs to 100 candidates.

The institute said, though banks including ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank and Credit Suisse, have recruited in the past, MNCs such as Reckitt Benkciser, L&T, Genpact, Nestle, Olam, Lanco Infratech, are also participating this year. Other companies which participated in the placements include: TCS, Indian Oil Corporation, Capital IQ ,Vedanta Resources Plc, Reliance Industries Ltd, ITC, HSBC, Infosys and Nestle.

At present, the institute’s Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, and New Delhi centres, companies which pay an annual package of Rs 7 lakh and above, are given preference on day one. On day two, companies paying an annual package of Rs 6 lakh and above to the candidates, are preferred.

Companies which participate in placements at Mumbai and New Delhi centres, pay a participation fee of Rs 3,50,000 on day one; Rs 2,00,000 on day two and Rs 1,50,000 on day three.

At Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, the companies pay Rs 2,00,000 on day one; 1,50,000 on day two and Rs 1,00,000 on day three. Besides, the participating companies also pay a service tax of 10.3 per cent.

ICAI organises placement programmes for the benefit of newly qualified chartered accountants, twice every year. These programmes provide an opportunity to employers to interact with newly qualified CAs and is a cost effective mode of recruiting freshly qualified Chartered Accountants.

The institute also organises orientation programme for newly qualified chartered accountants by providing them with last-minute technical inputs and soft skills to face the interview process with confidence. For the current year, orientation programmes have been conducted at 17 centres across India.