CAREER CHOICES FOR NEWLY QUALIFIED CA IN NEPAL

Hello and Namaste to all young and energetic Chartered Accountants !

From my experience, I am writing this blog hoping that this will at least be useful to someone at some point. Because I used to search for many articles and comments in internet from our seniors regarding their experience hoping that I could find something to learn and shape my future. However, I couldn’t find any. I found many from Indian CAs. I even got a book authored by an Indian CA guiding on what new generation CA should focus on but none from the Nepalese fraternity. I am therefore of the opinion that we should share our thoughts, experience and opinions about the latest developments in accounting, about the existing markets, expectations from the corporate fields from young CAs, about the latest laws and its impact in the economy or any other information that is of interest to a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Accountancy students. These information are rarely available in books and mostly comes from experience, research and analysis. Unfortunately, these are not so common in the digital arena of Nepal.

Everyone when s/he clears CA final, no doubt is very very happy. In fact, who wouldn’t be right? It is the day, when their years of hard work and penance has finally been paid off. I was happy too. Everyone knows that course of Chartered Accountancy is one of the toughest. Though some of them get it cleared in the very first attempt it might not be that common and easy to everyone. Nevertheless, clearing CA final demands a very high degree of focus, dedication and consistent labour whether be it for clearing at one go or if takes more than this.

Whichever way we clear our final examination, we all come to the same ground at last i.e. a field of Chartered Accountants where competition is within us and not with other people. By then many of us will come across this stage where we can’t figure out whether to go for a job, start own audit firm or do any other business. While this is not as easy as it sounds, I would suggest that one should really think deep on this, analyze all pros and cons and really really listen to your heart. There are so many already established firms in Nepal. These would not let a single chance for a starter to take over their business.  Therefore, if you want to start practicing or set up your own audit firm, think on what you have to offer to your clients that others cannot and are not offering at present. What value addition can you provide? What is your financial status? Do you have enough cash flow to run for six months in case you end up having no clients at all? How patient can you be? Can you wait for a year before you switch to a job because the earnings are not as even as you thought? Be prepared for the worst. And if you get all these answers right and you still want to go for practice, that’s awesome. You chose to follow your heart. It might take time but you will excel in the field if you stay until the end. Remember that patience and perseverance are the key to success.

On the other hand, if you come from a different background where your family has very high expectations because their son or daughter is a CA now, you might want to consider the second option i.e. job. Definitely if your parents have invested a huge sum of their money  on you and you finally qualify as a Chartered Accountant, it is obvious for them to expect a huge paycheck coming home soon. And if you are not going to return at least some portion of it any sooner you are going to have a problem. It is difficult to change the mindset of people that easily. So in this case my suggestion is to take up a job that can provide you a decent platform for working and also meet your financial needs in return. This will not only help you build your finances but will also provide you with solid experience in client handling, managing multiple assignments at the same time, attending meetings and building up your presentation skills, delivering the request of many people at a maximum speed, being accountable to your decisions etc. While doing so you will definitely want to keep up the quality of your work as a Chartered Accountant and you will always deliver the best compared to others. No doubt, you are going to be the centre of attraction for your quality of work and your professionalism in doing it. If after one or two years in job, you decide to change the field and come into practice or set up your own audit or consulting firm or private company etc., then also you are at advantage. By then you will have developed many relationship with people of various backgrounds, which will ultimately be helpful to your business. If you chose to stay in job, who knows you may be a CEO of that organization one day. It is all about patience and perseverance. Even in the long run you are free to choose your course of action. ICAN does not impose age bar for obtaining license to chartered accountants.

Because Nepal at present does not have a very large scale of economy, and the industrialization has just begun, these are some basic options available to new Chartered Accountants. But I have a quite different opinion. We chartered accountants have that grit of doing and achieving something unlike normal people. Our in-depth training modules teaches us to survive and excel even in the toughest of the situations. I will therefore say that we should embark in the field of innovative businesses. Not the traditional and not the one that everyone is doing. We should research and find problems in the society. Then try to create a solution to that. We will have a business there because people pay for solving problems. If not, engage in creating something new. Create something so that you will add value to the Country’s GDP. Do not just engage in buying and selling, be it a stock or other goods but create something that you can sell and other want to buy. Focus your research, gather your experience and think on creating something. Our nation needs the mind and energy of youths like you. Think and act to contribute together. Jai Nepal and Namaste !