The demand for chartered accountants (CAs) seems to be growing rapidly in the face of the fast changing requirements of the corporate sector. Changes in regulations, including the proposed introduction of IFRS, listing requirements, need for better corporate governance and so on, have necessitated the need of larger number of CAs in all sectors of the industry.

More than 1,300 candidates (newly qualified CAs) have already got job offers through the recently concluded Icai campus placements this year. As many as 87 companies from different verticals visited the Icai campus across 16 cities.

During the February-March campus as many as 1,032 jobs were offered, which significantly was higher than the corresponding period of the previous year (which was 510).

The latest campus placement organised in different phases in cities such as Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Ernakulam, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi and Pune, got over on September 25.

Clearly, the demand for CAs is increasing consistently. In 2007, there were around 2.7 lakh students who were pursuing chartered accountancy course, whereas now over 6 lakh students are pursuing this course, Amarjit Chopra, president, Icai told media.

The best offer of Rs 21 lakh per annum was made by Tolaram Corporation to three candidates for international posting. For domestic posting best offer of Rs 15 lakh per annum was made by Abhishek Industries. Companies such as Britania, ITC and Bharat Petroleum offered salaries of more than Rs 10 lakhs per annum to the candidates.

Chopra said that the CA course offers equal opportunities to those who opt for a job or start their own practice. A recent study of the members enrolled after January 1, 2009 for the membership shows that more CAs, about 80-85 per cent, are opting for jobs, he said.

The institute, through its Committee for Members in Industry (CMII), organises campus placement programme twice every year. The CMII allows employers to interact with fresh CAs and thereby providing a cost effective mode of recruitment. From this year, the institute has started organising placement for experienced CAs also.