On April 22, 2012, residents of Kararian locality reported to police of stinking smell coming out of a house rented by Mr. Tariq Mehmood. Police arrived to witness a triple murder scene as Tariq Mehmood, 55, Tabasum Tariq, 45, and son Saad Tariq, 19 were found bludgeoned to death inside their house.
The circumstances led police to believe that the victims were hammered to death around four or five days back and the killer(s) hid the bodies in a windowless room. After examining the evidence obtained from the scene, police concluded that nobody other than the residents of the doomed house came inside to commit the crime and hence arrested Waqas Tariq, 22, who is a college student. Waqas had claimed in his initial statement that two persons had entered the house, murdered his family and also injured him.
According to the police, Waqas confessed to killing his brother and parents and told that his parents used to scold and taunt him due to his repetitive failure in CA (Chartered Accountancy) examinations, so on Thursday evening he hammered his father to death and then proceeded to kill his brother and mother. City Police Officer (CPO) Azhar Hameed Khokhar was quoted saying:
“All evidences had been washed by the accused and the bodies were dumped in a room which was tightly closed. Had any enmity been the motive behind the triple murder, the suspect would have also been killed or injured but he remained unharmed.”
ASI Shaukat Mehmood, reached the crime scene before anyone else, he said:
“As I entered the room, I saw clothes and other household items scattered inside and bed mattresses lying on the floor. As I removed the mattresses, I found the bodies inside.”
It is court’s job to decide whether Waqas Tariq was guilty of the horrendous crime or he recorded the statement to escape the typical questioning techniques of our police, but let’s analyze the problems faced by CA students and see whether the demands of a professional course are depressing enough to depress someone to an extent to commit such crime.
Chartered Accountancy is considered as one of the most prestigious qualifications in Pakistan. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan governs Chartered Accountancy in Pakistan, it was established under The Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961 as a self regulatory body and it operates under the CA Bye Laws 1983. CA consists of 6 modules; Module A,B, C, D, E & F. Module A & B are termed as Foundation; C & D as Intermediate and D & F as Final. A student has to pass all modules and complete a mandatory training period (normally referred to as articles) of three and a half years from a CA Firm to become a Chartered Accountant. The demands of professional studies and commitment required in a qualification like CA are far treacherous than the level of commitment required in Intermediate and A-Levels, thus most of the students find it extremely difficult to adjust their timetable to match the level of hard work required in the field. Thus, a large number of students fail in the foundation stage and leave CA to pursue education in other fields which demand or are considered to be demanding lesser commitment than CA.
As the students get mature and they progress beyond the foundation stage to the intermediate, the prospect of joining a firm starts to become a reality and eventually converts itself to a motivation as students start working hard with a newfound energy to secure training contract in a reputable firm and finally qualify as a Chartered Accountant.
What cannot be seen or felt by anyone other than the person pursuing Chartered Accountancy is the dilemma of repeated failure. Imagine you have been an above average student throughout school and college the possibility of failing has never been a real threat to you and having worked considerably harder than in intermediate, you fail in your very first attempt in Module A. The effects are disastrous, students get depressed and parents become outrageous without embarking on an effort to explore the reasons behind the failure.
The problem is compounded by the fact that most of the colleges/ RAETs (Registered Accounting Education Tutors) offer no system of guiding students or helping them identify their mistakes and focus on them to pass their examinations. The only solution advised by teachers is to take classes again and solve past papers to ensure success in examinations, the fact that the student might lack in a particular skill is totally ignored and hence any subject become a source of humility and depression for the student. Appointment of Teaching Assistants have started in various colleges, but usually TAs are senior students who may be able to explain some topics but lack the skill of acting as a mentor and problem solver for students working hard and still facing failure. Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan organizes different seminars and workshops to help students understand examination techniques and understand important areas in the syllabus but the identification of problems and specific guidance is not provided, hence the failure rate. It is recommended that ICAP should appoint certain persons as counselors and require RAETs to appoint full time counselors to help students identify and finally resolve their problems. Moreover, ICAP should communicate such decisions to Foundation and Intermediate students in an appropriate manner to ensure that every student knows the existence of such counselors.
Students passing CA Inter examinations are faced with the dilemma to find a firm for articles, once again guidance is not available if they don’t have a family member or close friend who can help them find and choose firms. The Pakistani culture of ‘reference’ rules the day when it comes to hiring in any reputable firm and hence those without reference have to wait for months before finally recognizing that they should start looking for articles in smaller firms. ICAP should take the responsibility to place all students in firms after completion of CA Inter.
Passing exams become really hard after CA Inter as students join different CA Firms for articles. Trainee students can give exams not earlier than 18 months after commencement of their training period; hence a long break destroys the momentum built by years’ hard work. Except a few large firms, trainee students are treated merely as animals of work without any regard to their professional studies and career. According to ICAP’s instructions, the Partner (of the firm in which the student is registered as a trainee student) should act as a mentor and guide students towards professional excellence, but this seldom happens. Students are required to work extremely hard in their treacherous three and a half years of training period, late sittings are a norm and students are not allowed to take classes as they are expected to sit late and complete extraordinary amount of work. The misery of trainee students is compounded when they are not granted sufficient leaves and after a break of more than one and a half year without appearing in any exams, students find it very difficult to complete the course and pass exams due to difficulties in attending classes as stated earlier.
Another problem face faced by students is lack of standardized study material for CA students. ICAP has failed to produce text books for students and instead recommends a number of books as recommended for exams. ICAP should recognize its responsibility and arrange the preparation of self-designed textbooks for CA students and ensure that examiners follow ICAP’s own textbooks while preparing question papers. CA trainee students are probably exploited more than any other trainee pursuing a professional education. Trainee students are paid a meager sum of Rs. 6,500 for their monthly work which normally includes sitting late, missing classes, reporting to office on weekends and holidays. ICAP’s regulations state that students should be paid reasonable over-time for their work but this regulation is blatantly ignored by firms as they continue the exploitation of trainee students. During five and a half years of pursuing CA (which are usually extended to 7-8 years), 3.5 years are spent as a trainee student in which phase most of the students move to their mid twenties. Those belonging to middle class families, especially those who leave their family residence for training face severe financial difficulties as families start expecting that after 4-5 years their son will start contributing some money to support the family. The expectations fall to ground when trainee students can’t meet their expenses and cannot even think of paying tuition fees for taking Module E & F classes. A minimal increase in the stipend will be applicable from July 2012 which will see stipend increase to about Rs. 8,000, which is still insufficient for an outstation student who has to bear expenses such as bills, food cost, tuition and examination fees.
Although the council members of ICAP are partners of firms and will be directly affected by the decision of increased stipends, but ICAP must take the responsibility and increase the stipend to a level where trainee students can sustain themselves without any financial help from their families.
The problems faced by students pursuing Chartered Accountancy may be huge, the results may be depressive and taunts unbearable… but great gains require great pains. The act of Waqas (if he has done so) cannot be justified but ICAP should take its responsibilities seriously and take the steps recommended earlier.
The author, Bilal Mahmood Sulehri is a CA trainee student and can be reached at [email protected]
Very well written article which has also addressed almost all problem of a CA student.
I hope and pray that ICAP take immediate steps to address our issues.
Is it really hard :'(
the small audit firms shall be reluctant to pay Rs. 8,000/. such grievances are common but one has to live with it in the given circumstances.
ICAP is the monopoly of few people so there is always shortage of CA's and rates keep increasing
You are a good writer Bilal! Good luck on your future in writing!
Thanks
there is no matter of writing skills here.. the problem is the issue discussed in this Article…
Excellent…but i don't think so ICAP will take any of these issue seriously bcoz policy makers are the same who running these firms…"apnain paon py koi kulharee zaror maray ga??"but I must appreciate your effort to communicate these issues to these dumb people…Best of luck in future…keep it up…
Sometimes I feel ICAP works as a Secret Society of which no one knows the real purpose. Before you enter the filed, u feel ICAP is the best educational body in Pakistan. But then, u start realizing the truth – STUDENTS and TRAINEES are the least important issues for ICAP. Got one more suggestion for the writer, photocopy 500 copies of this article (which you can get for free if u are in a firm :p) and send atleast 100 copies to each ICAP House. MAKE THEM READ THIS!
As a CA student myself, I find that whatever Bilal has pointed out is absolutely correct. CA students face intense pressure to work hard and study a very tough course. Frequent failures compound the pressure and leads to severe depression and confidence breakdown.
Yet we must understand that failure is a part and parcel of CA and one must be strong enough to face those challenges when one decides to go for this tough qualification.
These things aside, killing of parents on such a pretext that they taunt or scold on failure cannot be justified under any circumstances and should be condemned in strongest terms.
Through this channel, i requested the media to please highlight the issue of mandatory aritcle ship from the Audit firms, These firms exploits the trainees and provide a penny of Rs. 8,000/- without any insurance. Many of my friends has been injuured during the recent riots in karachi but firms are so evil and does not provide any compesation. Are these trainees are not human beings??
i wana become ca as im student of fsc.premed part-2 i read ur article and it scares me of even thinking about ca it iz my passion 2 DO CA But sme frnds of mine think that ca is nt a better option for grlz bilal bhae plz suggest me whether i should go 4 it being a grl everyone bewares me nd also tell the ratio of girls who r currently doing ca……..plz help me
I think u should go for BBA aur ACCA field
hey actually i also wanna do CA but em bit scared too …plx reply me acctualy i want to know is it beneficial for girls too
indeed it is beneficial for girls too but keep in mind :
>u will have to work in an environment where you will face more males.
>during the study days u will have to b consistent and work hard on daily basis.
>u might face failure several time( if u r not hard worker or not lucky enough to pass)
>its a lengthy course , ideally u can do CA in 5.5 years but if u fail to pass every paper in 1st attempt it gonna take more dn 5.5 yrs
Nicely written 🙂
Zikar-e-ilahi is the solution of every problem.
ooo my God its terrible . bilal bhai i need your guidance …. i am in C module and i missed my four attempts bcz i was in UK for some reasons …. but i came back now and it make me shocked to know that i have just two attempts left behind …. and this article made me scared . bilal bhai can you guide me how to study and from where ……. [email protected] waiting of your feedback .
You know what is happening in Pakistan.ACCA has flooded the market with its members. AccA body earns millions of dollars from Pakistani students, but they hardly get any reasonable remuneration. In middle east the indians bangladeshi and srilankans chartered accountants are seen every where. had there enough number of Pakistani CAs they would have been there. The tragedy is that our CAs are not acknowledged else where in the world. A accountancy body ICPAP has entered in the market. Its members are getting good jobs in Middle east. Interesting a quite good number of CAs are also the members of this body,who have managed to get good jobs in Middle east.
well said bilal. your points are valid. ICAP has to think about it. because after all we are humen..
Extremely well written and precisely close to the factual situation in fact dilemma faced by CA students..Hats off Bilal..:)
i am starting c.a … but m really scared because every body is saying its difficult so plzz tell me how can i make it easy for me ???plzzz reply m so tensed
help me plzzzz…
is there any better way to make it easy n pass in all exams ov C.A .. ???
i hope it will b easy for me .. n ALLAH mere liye asani karey .. AMEEEN
BILAL bhai n other viewers plzzz tell me tha best way to make it easy … plzzzz replyy????
Just focus on understanding the underlying concepts of a subject.
Consider the recommended answers published by examiners on Icap's site. And answer the questions of a paper in same way.
Hard work is the key to success. Luck is very important as well here.
And i always say that u gets good luck by acting upon the teachings of islam. so u need to make ur Allah Almighty happy and do hardwork in studies as well.
and to please Allah Almighty some basic steps are to not hurt ur parents ever, offering prayers regularly and try to help everyone so that Allah help you.
And i m saying this from my experiennce
Dear
nothing to worry in CA. there is one thing that can make it easier and that is most important for it,that is " commitment" only. i read all comments about this article but it seems that you are most scared person. Mr.bilal sb is my colleague. i hope now you have passed your CA foundation or may be CA inter and realized that CA is not difficult and commitment is required..
AND NOW THE LIMITED ATTEMPTS RULE IS JUST MAKING IT WORSE.
awesomely explained Sir.
i would like to suggest all the new comers that this articles was not written to scare you off it is a just a bitter truth of the field apart from these facts CA is still the best field one could chose for himself/herself although I am himself a CA trainee student yet but i think with strong determination , diligence , hard work , patience . regular studies and the most important of all prayers you can complete your qualification and pass all the examination within due time 🙂
Last but not the least i would add that Always Pray to Allah K KABHI KISI K SATH HARD LUCK NA HO because you do required a hell lot luck along with the factors mentioned above
yar, jo likha hy bht sahi likha hy.. sometimes i feel that partner of ca firms thinks that they aré the king of the firms.. they donot care abt the students they do not provide heater in the sizzling winters and also not provide even a fan on UPS in the burning summers.. instead they only manage to provide electricity to computers in the hours of loadsheding..:-(
icap should take strict action against such firm those aré involving in serious volation of human rights..
Code of corporate governance 2012 requires composition of board including independent directors. Icap is one of the party involved in preparing the code 2012. Now the question is why icap do not appoint independent council members.
u r absolutely right bilal but i dont think so that ca will be so tough if u r mentally nd economically supported by ur family nd v should belive in ALLAH nd surely v will b successful…
i am also a C.A student what is the new attempts rule??
Aoa,is there who can help me ?i m doing CA n its my last attempt to clear module A ……….please help me
ALIA, sit and think if you can do it!
module a is nothing, nothing compared to what is ahead…..
and trust me ca is not the end of the world, go and start acca
quit dont waste your time
i can help u. my brother done it in first attempt. this is my number contact me i will help u 03347274023.
Dear
i think now you have passed your A module because ICAP has given two more attempts..so now what is your CA status.?
alia it is your last attempt but think about future modules, it is too difficult to do ca..in ca there is a quota system…………………………………………………………..in my view leave ca and do acca or mba.
Aoa,thanks for ur advice sir i have taken admission in mba too but i want to avail my last attempt also ……….so if u can help me regarding some tips for exam or some mock tests material or notes …….i will wait for ur guidence thanks
nice article bilal bhai iam also doing chartered accountancy now its my first attempt of module a!!!!
in which way can we protest against Icap policy so that icap consider our problems?
Unfortunately, there is no way except grabbing the pen and writing your heart out!
You may also write an application and get around 1,000 signs with CRN Numbers on it and submit to ICAP
bhai professional misconduct ka case hojana hai ye b yad rakhna 😛
yaha doctors wala scene nahi chalna k ham b ajaien roads pe
All should do alternate to this qualification, to attain professional certification having edge in the National and International Market excelling in Pakistan. Certified Financial Accountant Program, fast track and established according to the market requriement.
Please get details from the website http://www.soae.edu.pk
Hello brothers! I wana start ca plez give me suggestions. I have done fsc. Is it more dificult or not.
burn your ships and stop getting frustrated before joining CA.
it is tough , but nothing is impossible.
There is another problem if you pass your modules all the way to module E and have only one paper left of F no one recognizes your hardwork or CA inter certificate. Even HEC ( Higher Education Commission of Pakistan) does not recognizes it nor it gives any equivalence. If you are offered a job in any GCC country e.g Saudi Arabia their embassy will not attest any ICAP certificate untill and unless it is attested by HEC which gives strait refusal.. What is the purpose of this much hardwork and difficult study you get disappointed when your certificate is not recognized
There are certain exemptions available. Contact me at the email id given at the end of my article for details
mainy CA krna hai mujy btain k main inter midyt tk pehly kiya karu jo behtr hai CA k liye I.COM D.COM yan cat hda yan or esa kuch
general science kar lo n achay se achay grades le k pass karo to 2-3 papers ki exemption mil sakti hai
Nothing in this article has been written to discourage anyone from pursuing CA. It is a mere projection of reality to enable you to fathom the difficulties ahead and serves as voice of the downtrodden.
i think icap is a wellreputed organization. it requires a continuous hardworking and commiitment from students which i think they lack.
notable
i am 2nd year i.com student and i am ever bright stdnt i mean i hav taken 88prcntge in matric and i hav pasion to do c.a but evry1 beware me of being a girl plz gv me advice bilal bhai
well i have seen a guy whose percentage in fsc pre-eng was 88% n he also got admission in UET still in CA he failed several tyms.
likewise another guy passed all his papers in his first attempt but he was a below average student with fsc percentage of 70 somethinng.
so the point is ap chahe bright student hain agar CA ko easy lia to gae kam se han jo roz parhta hai consistently uskay liye easy hojata hai pass karna baki luck n dua ka b bht role hai.
jaha tk girl hone ki baat hai to wo apko khud pata k apki family accept kar sakti hai n ap khud face kar sakti ho agar han to phr kia dar hai
ap na tou itna dara diya ha k dukh hra ha tht y i made c.a my pasion simply pre.eng ya pre.med leti atleast dr. N engineer itna fail to ni hte nw i m totly disheart aftr readng ths article
Agar ap mehnat karen gi to is main itna darnay wali koi baat nahi
plzz do reply bilal bhai and othrx cn also gv me advice it wil b pleasure for me
You do not need to worry. If you have determination to succeed and put enough effort then you should certainly opt for CA.
Dear
in this field only FAZAL-E-E KHUDA, luck,hardworking and prayers of our parents are vital. here no place for intelligencey,and high scores achievers in past,whatever,that was past it is future.
now i am CA finalist but i dont know how i have become..it is only and only blessing of beloved ALLAH..Mr bilal sulehri sb is my colleague and also teacher,he often says that your commitment is required in CA.all students of CA can discuss their all problems freely,all querries will be answered..
you can mail me at " [email protected]"
i'll be taking the classes for CA in up coming weeks, and will start my career which truly 've upsets, miseries,tentions….. Reading your article just motivates me, as you are 100% wright on the fact that 'great gains requires great pains"……..
Welcome to the family, then 🙂
Really disappointed cox i didnt get through B mod after a lot of hard work.. now my family is not going to support me mentally or financially… I have juxt ruined my life by joining icap… totally agree with u..
Going throug the article and all the comments it seems students are not responsible for any thing and they are trying to justify their frequent failure.May be,In the begining of CA course student treat it like other previous exams and courses they attended, but simply CA demands 25 hours study out of 24 hours simply hard working is the key. However, ICAP should listen to the voice of CA students especially Trainees students they must be provided all the facilities and enought time to continue their preparation for 'E' and 'F' Module.
thats why i did go for engineering.. http://wateentv.com
i am a ca student, i ve read this article, it is good, i support the effort of author.
my opinion about ca:-
1. if a student have strong determinations he can be successful in passing ca inter, icap cannot fails you if you become guru of course, but remember the meaning of STRONG DETERMINATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2. as far as ca training is concerned the reality is that IT IS TOUGH in the terms of:
a- low stipend rates
b- long working hours
c- poor work environmental conditions in some firms
but ca is still a rewarding profession, and remember BNDAY KI YAKHNI NIKL JATI HA!! 🙂
love and prays to all students
play hard and enjoy, never give up
you ll be successful!
How much hours are required for CA daily….
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