Hello Ayesha,

First of all, both these career paths are great and it is natural that you might be confused.

The number of students that clear CA is extremely low which goes out to show how difficult it is.

What you can do is prepare for CA and simultaneously pursue a B.Com degree so that you can have to option of pursuing MBA if your aspiration CA does not work out.

You can straightaway start with CA after your class 12, however, you need to have a Bachelor's degree to pursue MBA.

The salary of a Chartered Accountant is pretty high especially if you clear it in you first attempt and it is also a very respectable career. However, MBA is great in its own way and there are a lot of students that pursue it and make a good living.

The scope of work for a CA is mainly in the field of finance and accounting whereas MBAs have a wide range of areas to choose from. Ultimately, what you pursue should purely be based on you interest.

Good luck!

Hi Ayesha!

Below is a clear differentiation between both the courses and you may see the line clearly.

CA:

1. The Institution of Chartered Accountant of India (ICAI) organizes CA

2. To clear CA 3 levels need to be cleared that takes about 4 years and more to clear successfully, these levels are CPT, IPCC and the finals. CPT is a course of 2 years, IPCC is 1 year and so are the finals

3. Each exam at each of the levels is of 3 hour duration. It takes at least 4 years to complete CA including all of the three exam levels.

4. CA focuses on business environment and concepts, financial accounting and reporting, audit and attestation and regulations.

5. CA: Public accounting, management accounting, government accounting and internal auditing.

MBA:

1. There are a number of institutes that offer MBA program. However selected MBA institutes need to be studied and applied for.

2. MBA is a 2 year course flowed by an internship program that gives the candidate exposure to the job they will pursue in future.

3. MBA is a 2 year program

4. MBA focuses on economics, accounting, operations and marketing along with a specialization that is chosen by the candidate as per preference.

5. Managers, leaders, operations and sales heads, etc.

WHY PURSUE CA?

CA gives you the leeway of working in different industries and at different designations, which means you can choose what you would like to be after you successfully complete your CA. the choice is yours if you want you can set up your own firm or join an organization as a CA. There is a lot of demand for CA’s in the Manufacturing and the finance industry. They can work as auditors and also in increasing the company’s profitability and not only stick to number crunching and working on excel sheets or numbers alone. They can do much more than just be good with numbers. They can work with Equity Research firms, perform financial modeling and valuations.

WHY PURSUE MBA?

MBA gives additional value to your existing profession. This can be the best course for candidates wanting to sharpen their business and management skills. An MBA degree is internationally recognized as it trains you in economics, accounts operations and marketing. Besides you can also choose your field of interest to pursue your MBA specialization in. The internship part of the course gives the candidate exposure to the corporate world and the culture they need to work and live in.

Choose your career wisely. Hope this helps.

Good Luck!