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At a time when most people struggle for years to find a job after graduating from universities or colleges, many around the country have achieved successful careers after becoming chartered accountants (CA).
Job candidates with a CA degree are advancing by nearly 10 years in their careers compared to others without CA degrees, according to industry people.
There is a high demand for CAs in the corporate sector to ensure financial accuracy and they are often recruited to senior positions in the company against handsome salaries.
Nowadays, CA has become one of the lucrative professions for many in Bangladesh, considering the opportunities both in domestic and global markets and the respect they draw.
However, despite the opportunity to have a bright CA career, many students do not feel encouraged to pursue the profession due to several challenges during the learning period and a lack of positive branding and awareness among the candidates.
Industry insiders say that the situation will only get better through proper positive branding and resolving the challenges quickly.
Talking to The Business Post, recent CA graduate Towhid Tanvir Tonoy said this profession is the best option for those who want to shine in the corporate sector in the shortest time.
“Fresh graduates sometimes have to wait five years to get selected for a government job. Many also get bored with dropping CVs at corporate offices. But there is no one with a CA degree who is unemployed.
“Even if they don’t work as CAs, they manage to find different jobs after passing the CA exams,” he said.
With a CA degree, one can join any company in senior positions with a high salary while the minimum salary for a CA can be six digits, he added.
Md Moniruzzaman, the newly elected president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), said, “This profession is the easiest way to reach one’s dreams within the shortest possible time.
“Those who want to pursue a stable life with a bright career abroad must pursue this profession because there is high demand for CAs in developed countries and there are not enough of them there.”
Job opportunities
The services of certified CAs are now highly demanded in Bangladesh thanks to the expansion of the economy and the need for companies to remain compliant with regulatory authorities.
It is now mandatory for public, private and foreign companies to submit financial audit reports through professional CAs to run businesses.
The highest demands for CAs are in the private sector and they have significant demand in the global market as their services are witnessing gradual growth.
Until November 2022, there were 2,77,442 registered public, private and foreign companies and firms in Bangladesh, according to the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC).
The country needs at least 20,000 chartered accountants to meet the demand of these companies. But, there are around 2,200 certified CAs across the country and only 412 of them work as professional CAs.
Former ICAB president Md Shahadat Hossain said that financial audits are a must when there are transactions and that is why CAs are highly demanded by profit-oriented commercial organisations.
ICAB Chief Operating Officer Mahbub Ahamed Siddique said, “Monetary benefit, position and social value all are in favour of the CA profession. CAs can get recruited to the senior position of a company, including CFO and head of department while the salary begins at Tk 1,50,000-2,00,000.”
“CA should be the first choice of the top students from universities, especially for the business faculty students,” he added.
Senior positions
The number of students choosing to become CAs has risen in recent times as the profession has become more recognised globally.
Talking to The Business Post, some of them said that the CA degree has helped them advance significantly in their careers as they were recruited directly into senior positions.
Naim Uddin Chowdhury was a student of Dhaka University’s accounting department. After completing their BBA and MBA, many of his classmates entered the job market. But he decided to become a CA after being inspired by one of his teachers and aiming to seize quick career growth.
“I received multiple job offers right after graduating as a CA. When many of my friends got recruited at the entry-level, I joined as a manager of a company for a handsome salary,” Naim told The Business Post.
“In general, those without the CA degree would need at least 10 years to get promoted to manager after serving as a management trainee, assistant manager and deputy manager. But I was appointed manager directly because of my CA degree.
“Being a CA helped me advance my career by at least 10 years more than my competitors in the job market,” he added.
The CA exams
Many think it is difficult to pass the CA exams. But the conception is dissipating through ICAB’s promotional activities that include awareness building through different mediums, signing MoUs with different universities and making CA education decentralised.
As a result, more and more students are now choosing CA as a profession and the number of articled students is gradually growing along with the pass rate.
In 2020, ICAB saw 1,155 articled students and 1,198 in 2021. And in 2022, ICAB witnessed a record number of 2000 articled students.
A very good indication that the sector is getting a lot of tailwinds is the rising number of CAs with Certificates of Practice (CoP). According to ICAB, 30 CAs received CoPs in 2020.
The number was 35 in 2021.
However, ICAB issued 50 CoPs to young professionals in the first nine months of 2022, and the institute is optimistic that the figure would be 100 by the end of this year as many applications are currently being processed, sources said.
Industry insiders said nearly 75 per cent of the CA education is practical and 25 per cent is theoretical. While they study for the exam, a candidate also has to work at a CA firm for three years.
Naim Uddin said it’s not difficult to pass the CA exams if one is determined and prepares properly. “Each of the students who passed university admission tests is capable of passing the CA exams. They just have to continue their studies and stay on track.”
Asked how he managed to pass the exams and become a CA in 2.7 years, he said he used to study for at least three hours every day and worked at a CA firm for nine to 10 hours daily. “All these helped me prepare and tackle the challenge head-on.”
Challenges and steps
Despite the high demand, the number of CAs in Bangladesh is not increasing equivalently due to some challenges, including insufficient facilities during the learning period and a very low pass rate.
Industry insiders said that candidates have to work nine to 10 hours at the CA firms daily while they are offered only Tk 4,000-5,000.
Over the years, ICAB came up with different initiatives to deal with the challenges including providing financial support and loan without interest to underprivileged students.
Former ICAB president Shahadat said that they have raised awareness among at least 7,000 students and signed MoU with 13 universities in recent years to give the profession a boost.
“CA is a noble profession. We are focused on increasing the number of CAs in the country without compromising quality,” he added.
