Opportunities after membership

Written By Moaaz Iqbal Jun 5, 2019

Opportunities after membership

Written by: Moaaz Iqbal

Many of us have wondered what happens after one qualifies or what fields can one work in or how does one progress in their career. To help you answer some of your questions, I carried out research and compiled the following information. No matter you are new to CA or currently, in the process of qualifying, this article will help you clarify any doubts.

Fields

Once you’re done qualifying, the fields you can work in somewhat depends on articleship experience. If you were rotated to different services, you can have plenty of options to choose from. But if you remained focused on a single service, you pretty much are narrowed down to that particular service (initially at least). However, there are ways to transition into different departments later on. Apart from all that, here’s a list of fields a CA can work in/for generally:

Accounting firms

Industry and other organizations

1: Business and Risk advisory

2: Financial Audit and Assurance

3: Tax consultancy and representation

4: System audit and development

5: Transactional services

6: Forensic accounting (to an extent)

7: Human Resource

1: Accounts and Audit

2: Taxation and Legal

3: Internal audit

4: Financial management

5: Human Resource (to an extent)

6: Governance (after experience)

Designations offered

The least a fresh CA can expect is an assistant manager in any of the fields I have mentioned above. Nonetheless, it was observed that in most cases they start directly from managerial/tactical positions. Examples include Manager Accounts and Audit, Manager Taxation, Head of the internal audit, etc. With the passage of time, a competent CA can reach up to CFO/Director in industry and partner in Accounting firms.

International opportunities

Arguably, ICAP is among the top 6 accounting bodies of the world. This gives access to a wider platform to ICAP members. It has been observed that ICAP members are in high demand in the Arabian peninsula and the gulf area. They are offered a competitive salary and are highly respected. Moreover, there are gateways to other institutes as well through which ICAP members can convert their membership and settle abroad. Currently, ICAP has signed MoUs with ICAEW, CA ANZ, CPA Canada and CIPFA.

Further Education

Thanks to HEC, ICAP members are now equivalent to Masters level education. This means qualified CAs can opt for further education, like MBA, if they would like. For example, IBA is offering EMBA to ICAP members with at least 3 years of post-graduation experience. This also means you can apply for CSS exams.

Furthermore, If anyone of you is wondering whether studying is possible then I have good news for you. You can pursue education abroad after you gain a masters degree from Pakistan. Simply put, do a regular MBA after CA and apply abroad on that basis. You will be fulfilling their criteria and perhaps land a scholarship.

Moreover, you can also begin another professional qualification like CIMA, CFE or CISA, etc.

Yes, you are not limited to being just CA now!