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- While scrolling on LinkedIn The Finance Story came across an interesting conversation sparked by Jayaprakash Kanulla, a fellow Chartered Accountant from ICAI; Should CA professionals be judged based on their number of attempts?
- Companies openly announce preferences for First and Second-attempt CAs – Is this kind of hiring practice fair?
- Isn’t this regressive? Should ICAI intervene?
It all started with a job description
In a job description posted for a Senior Finance Manager – International Division, they wanted someone with 7-10 Years of experience in Business Finance Roles.
….However, it was mentioned that a CA with 1st or 2nd attempt is preferred!
People had mixed opinions on the same.
After coming across the job description, Jayaprakash Kanulla, a CA, CMA, and Management Trainee at Haleon shared his thoughts on LinkedIn and called out the discrimination.
“It’s disheartening to see that some companies are still stuck in outdated mindsets, imposing restrictions on the number of attempts a CA candidate can take to qualify.
This practice is not only unfair but also disrespectful to the hard work and dedication required to become a CA.”
According to him, in today’s dynamic world, individuals can learn and evolve significantly within 1-2 years.
Hence, judging a CA professional based on their exam attempts is both short-sighted and toxic. It undermines the value and competence that come with experience and continuous learning.
He urged The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to take a stand against these regressive practices.
Some people supported this “Outdated mindset.”
Someone on Linkedin mentioned that “the so-called company” was among the top 100 luxury goods makers in Deloitte’s Global Powers of Luxury Goods rankings in 2023.
So you can very well expect what qualities in a Chartered Accountant they will look for.
He says we can’t simply call out Titan for being judgemental. Nor does it undermine the value and competence of a professional.
Many of those on LinkedIn agreed with his statement.
Others called it toxic
Some CAs mentioned how problematic and toxic it is for companies to discriminate.
A Finance Transformation Leader for Merger & Acquisitions at Maersk Group said,
“Surprising to see that some companies still follow the standard job descriptions like CA with 1st or 2nd attempt, MBAs from premier institutions like that.
I am also of the opinion that the years of experience should not be ignored while preferring academic brightness.”
A Risk Assurance Assistant Manager at PwC India believes that: People make multiple attempts in CA for various reasons. No one passes CA by fluke, whether it is the 1st attempt or the nth attempt – the content & quality are the same.
She added, “However, in my opinion, the candidate selection should be on qualitative factors rather than quantitative. If there is a measure for the street smartness, adaptability & integrity of the individual – that should be applied.”
Rohitt Kapur, Chief of Finance at Beumer, and Mohit Kapoor, Finance Manager (FP&A) at PayPal, based in San Jose, US didn’t pass CA on the first attempt.
One of them even took more than 7 attempts, but they did not let that define their career. They built solid careers in MNCs.
Is it fair for companies to prefer CAs with first/second attempts?
The question remains, do you have to be left behind for passing the exams after a few more attempts, even though you are as competent as the others?
Should your perseverance and hard work be overlooked? Is it not enough that you acquired the CA qualification?
Should ICAI play a role in stopping this discrimination?
All of this said – There has been a significant shift in the industry, where companies are increasingly hiring CAs with multiple attempts or even who are semi-qualified.
