How Does a B.Com Degree Help in Becoming a Certified Chartered Accountant?

The finance sector requires professionals who possess not only conventional skills but also the ability to tackle modern challenges. Consequently, many students choose to pursue the CA (Chartered Accountancy) program.

As a CA aspirant, you likely conducted extensive research on the course, including inquiries such as "How to become a CA?" or "What is the career path for a CA?" You may have also come across the role of a B.Com degree in becoming a CA.

If you're curious about the significance of a B.Com degree in pursuing the CA certification, this article will provide answers to your questions. However, before delving further, it is important to have a comprehensive understanding of the CA course. The following links will assist you in acquiring the necessary knowledge.

Also Read: All You Need to Know About the CA (Chartered Accountancy) Course

1. Is B.Com Compulsory to Become a CA?

Many students have a misconception that the Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) degree is one of the compulsory requirement for the CA course. So, to clear your doubts, No. B.Com degree is not compulsory to become a CA if you are applying through Foundation Route. But, if you are applying for the programme through the Direct Entry route, you will be required to hold at least an undergraduate degree. You will be considered eligible with a bachelor’s degree in any discipline but a B.Com or similar degree would help you understand the CA subjects better.

2. Should I Pursue CA After 12th Class or After B.Com?

To answer this question, you will have to take a number of factors into account. Here are some factors that will help you make a decision.

• Duration: You must know that through Foundation Route, you will be required to dedicate at least 4-5 years to the programme whereas, through Direct Route, the programme might take only 3 years. But, you will also have to take into account the fact that you will be required a bachelor’s degree for the Direct Route which, in total, will cost you a minimum of 6 years.

• Opportunities: College period is an important part of one’s life. When you are in college, you learn a lot about life and are exposed to new experiences every day. You explore your talents that you were not even aware of, learn new skills or enhance the already existing ones with the help of extra-curricular activities. So, if you are psyched about getting these experiences then pursuing CA after B.Com would be a better option for you. But, if you feel otherwise, go for the CA course directly after Class 12.

• Options/ Alternatives: Having an alternate career option is a smart thing to do. When you are in your college life, you will be involved in a number of co-curricular activities that might lead you towards a different career interest. This way, you will have an alternative, just in case CA does not work for you. Also, if your interests ever get drawn towards government jobs like UPSC, you will not be considered eligible with a CA degree as it is not accepted as a degree by the UPSC. However, if you are 100 per cent sure about the CA course and are ready to give your heart and soul to the programme then doing the course after 12th would be a better fit for you.
  
  Also Read:A Career as a Chartered Accountant (CA)

3. Should I Pursue CA After B.Com or Along With B.Com?

First of all, if you were not aware of this rule then let us inform you that you can do CA and B.Com together provided, you are eligible for both the programmes, separately. Secondly, whether pursuing both programmes simultaneously is a better option or not, is a matter of your discretion. Many students suggest that one should pursue CA along with B.Com but, it is not an easy task. Although the topics included in the first and second year of B.Com syllabus are almost similar to the CA Foundation course, the difficulty level of the topics in CA is much higher. But, if you are a dedicated and hardworking student then managing both the courses would not be very difficult for you.

However, you must ensure that when you are pursuing your 3-years article-ship as per the ICAI rules, you are not involved in a regular stream for graduate studies. The timings of the article-ship would not cope with a regular degree course. The upside of pursuing CA along with B.Com is that you might score very well in B.Com as you will simultaneously be mastering in a much-advanced study of the same topics.

4. Are There Any Similarities Between CA and B.Com Syllabus?

Yes. Many topics included in B.Com syllabus are similar to the syllabus of CA Foundation Course. In fact, some topics from CA Intermediate and Final course also match the B.Com syllabus. But you must know that the topics in CA programmes are much advanced in comparison to B.Com. some of the common topics that are included in both CA and B.Com syllabus are:

• Business Statistics

• Financial Accounting

• Business Mathematics

• Business Law

• Commercial Knowledge

• Auditing

• Economics

• Income Tax Laws

• Financial Management

• Indirect Tax Laws

Also Read: CA Vs B.Com - Which is Better?

5. Does a B.Com Degree Help in CA?

Keeping all the points (that are discussed in this article) in mind, it would be safe to say that B.Com degree has its own benefits in the CA course. Getting a bachelor’s degree opens up a number of job opportunities. Also, due to B.Com being a subset of CA, you will not have to put in double efforts into similar topics. Instead, you can use that time to focus on other topics included in CA.

So, now when you choose to select a programme, keep the above-mentioned points in mind. Whether you do CA after B.Com or after 12th or along with B.Com, it should solely be your decision. Analyse all the outcomes, factor all the points affecting your decision and then finalise what will be your next step. Hope the mentioned points helped you. If you still have any questions, you can ask away through our Q&A section. Our education experts will answer your questions soon.

Stay tuned with CollegeDekho for more such content.Good Luck!