- Today we are sharing an article by Parth Arora – This article is to help other Chartered Accountant interns clear their doubts about Industrial Training.
- Parth is a Chartered Accountant from ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) and a Company Secretary from The Institute of Company Secretary of India.
- He is originally from Himachal Pradesh (India) but shifted to Chandigarh (India) to pursue his studies. Parth has done his Industrial Training at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd in Chandigarh, Punjab (India).
How Can You Apply for Industrial Training
You need to have clarity about what you want before applying for industrial training.
I was doing my articles for a mid-sized firm so I always wanted to go for Industrial Training. Around Sept’16, I applied for my Industrial Training at Indian Oil and after a few days, I was called for an interview. All went well and I was selected.
Indian Oil was the only company I applied to, however, you could apply to as many companies as you can.
I got to know about the Indian Oil – Industrial Training opening on the ICAI website. Post that I gave the interview and spoke to a couple of senior interns to know the work culture at Indian Oil. I also enquired about the stipend before considering them.
Industrial Training is NOT for you (in my opinion) if:
- You want to – Start Your Own Practice
- Want to join another Chartered Accounting firm
- Intend to join a Big 4 / 10 Accounting Firm after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant
- Already working in a Big 4 firm
- However, if you still apply you will learn to network and make good connections and of course, you will understand how corporate functions.
- In short, it all depends on your goals.
Ways To Apply For Industrial Training
The ICAI website – Different companies from different regions publish their requirements on the website. So keep a watch on the ICAI website.
- Through reference – People working in different organizations may refer you when they come up with an opportunity for a trainee.
- You can apply through some previous senior article who is working in companies that offer Industrial Training,
- Sometimes visiting the nearest ICAI branch could be a good idea as companies may also approach them to list their openings.
- If you DON’T HAVE ANY CONNECTION, then do not worry, you could refer to the following websites to get emails of the designated people: CA Club India, Chartered club, LinkedIn.com (Search keywords ‘Industrial training’ and go to the content section, you may find various post regarding vacancies), and of course our very own ICAI Portal (content section, you may find various post regarding vacancies).
Difference between Articles and Industrial Training
Both are totally different – It is like you come out from a Taxation and Audit world into an actual corporate world. It is an environment you could have experienced only after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant. But if you are an article from a Big 4 / Big 10 Accounting firm you won’t find much of a difference. For me, it was great learning.
I got an opportunity to handle big transactions. When I was at Indian Oil I worked on ethanol payments worth INR 1500 crores. So that was a big exposure for me. I was able to witness the preparation of the Financial Statements of a company whose turnover was worth INR 4 lakh crores.
I worked in an office where there were around 15 Chartered accountants so I was able to learn different things from them. It was an opportunity of a lifetime.
“Would I Recommend CA Industrial Training?”
Well, in my opinion, it would be a – Yes and a No. So it all depends on YOUR GOALS. I am listing the challenges and advantages so you can decide for yourself.
Challenges
- Industrial Training can be very hectic.
- I got only 30 days of exam study leave and was hardly able to attend any coaching classes.
- In fact, I did not clear my CA Final on the 1st attempt because of a lack of leave.
- Also, there is no option to take a Transfer once you have started your Industrial Training. So there is no turning back (unless your principal under whom you are registered gets transferred, which is very unlikely to happen!)
Advantages
- All of this still made sense to me as I knew I had to move from a mid-sized firm to a big organization to achieve my career goals. So if you have a particular career plan in mind then you could consider Industrial Training.
- All those who want to move to the industry or find corporate jobs after qualifying as a Chartered Accountant could apply for Industrial Training.
- Having industrial training exposure on your resume does make a big difference during ICAI campus placements.
- Also if you are in need of money during articleship then industrial training pays a better stipend.
- It will count as ‘actual work experience’ since most companies do not consider articles as work experience.
- You will improve your skills – Be in Communication, Inter-Personal Skills, and Computer skills mostly in Excel, PowerPoint, and SAP.
“Exam Leave During Industrial Training?”
- As mentioned above I had only 30 days of study leave.
- So when opting for Industrial Training the best way is to – Study continuously.
- If you do not study continuously and on a daily basis, then clearing CA Final exams will get difficult.
- Big and good companies only allow 1 month of exam study leave.
- Also, the work pressure is so much that at times you will have to come to the office even during your study leave.
- Most of the time the study leave is unpaid.
- Certain companies like Hindustan Unilever, and P&G give study leave for 3 Months while companies like JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, etc give only 65 days as study leave
“Interview and Resume Tips?”
- The interview pattern changes with every company.
- The interview at Indian Oil was purely a question-answer round.
- They were testing my Taxation and Corporate Law knowledge.
- I am good at taxation so I did not prepare much. Also, most of my questions were based on my practical exposure.
- Most of all – Be precise and correct when mentioning details in your resume, Try not to confuse or manipulate the interviewer.
In Conclusion…
- Self-study and daily study is the only way to clear your exams.
- Teachers’ work is only up to 30% rest 70% depends upon your hard work
- Try studying daily for 2- 2.5 hours before the study leave.
- A min of 3/4 months of study leave is surely needed to clear CA Final exam.
- One could face a lot of challenges as well but I haven’t faced any thanks to the great support here at IOCL.
- I got a stipend of INR 18000 along with some concessional food benefits and tea-on-the-table service.
- But other big bull-like JP Morgan may pay you around INR 50,000 pm along with job security. So try to choose the best option available. Don’t be in a hurry.
- Be stubborn about your coaching classes as your first priority is getting the CA prefix
- Don’t be a part of office politics as you are there for only a few months so be friendly with everyone
- Anyone can apply for Industrial Training even if you take more than 1 attempt to clear CA IPCC – he concluded.
You can connect to him on Linkedin – CA Parth.
