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How to grab the most out of your articleship?
Sat Jul 24, 2021
The majority of articles either go with the flow and learn whatever is presented to them, or they completely disregard the learning opportunity. It's not their fault; they also have the daunting challenge of passing the CA final examinations. The most difficult aspect of the articleship is balancing the two, i.e. getting the most out of the practical training while still keeping an eye on passing the examinations.
The issue arises when a student fails to handle this effectively and instead focuses solely on completing the course and passing the examinations, assuming that they would only be able to understand the intricacies of the field once they begin practising or working full-time. It's a complete misunderstanding. An articleship allows a student to graduate as a professional and enter the real world with complete confidence and motion. As a result, articleship is a search for particular information, and it entails planning, executing, uncovering chances, and finally attaining the objective, just like any other work. The main question is how a student should make the most of his or her articleship time. Aspects to examine include the following:
These are the things you must keep in mind to make the most out of your articleship
Choose the right firm
Many articles believe that their articleship does not provide them with all of the necessary experience. In one sense, that is accurate, yet the question is phrased on a wholly false assumption. When you claim that you didn't gain enough exposure or experience during your articleship, you should examine your own judgment as to why you joined the company in the first place.
It is critical to be very clear about what you want to learn and join a company that provides that sort of training. The most important decision an article should make in the early stages of the CA course is to brainstorm to discover your area of interest and join the appropriate business to take your interest to the next level.
However, not every article conducts the necessary study to choose the finest business for them. The sheep are following the herd, and the lion has locked on to its prey! The firm where my buddy works have a vacancy, and that is how the majority of the article chooses the firm. In fact, joining a firm where you don't have a single buddy and everyone is a stranger is one of the most fascinating tactics for choosing a firm. This is the essence of stepping outside of our comfort zone and preparing us for life in the real world.Find a mentor
The time period for articleship is 3 years and that is a long time to navigate. You can become directionless in the wide ocean without any guidance. You may not know what to do next or when to do it. You need someone who has been where you are right now, done the things you want to do and excelled.
What you need is a mentor that will be your true guide for the next three years. Don't be shy to ask someone to become your mentor. Find a mentor, build trust with them, be very frank and honest with them. Have deep conversations - on a professional as well as on a personal level. All the best people in the business like Steve Jobs, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, etc. had mentors. Having a mentor is much better than not having someone to guide you through the ups and downs of your journey.
If you’re looking for a mentor, you can check out our website to find the right mentor for you!.
Understand your niche and work hard
Imagine clearing your CA exams and becoming a CA but not knowing what you want to accomplish with your life. It would be aggravating to look for a job and be willing to accept any employment as long as you were hired. This is the point at which you will kick yourself for not spending more time learning about your passion. A student must strive to identify the type of work that fascinates them based on numerous projects handed to them and begin building over it.
Consider if you passed the CA final test and the advantage you would have if you had previously spent three years during your articleship devoted to the needed area. As an employee, you will hold the magical wand of package negotiation in your hands, and as a professional entering the huge ocean of practice, you will already be giving your practice a high-speed turbo boost with crystal clear experience and expertise in the needed area.
As a result, this lovely three-year period must be used to investigate employment options. A student must strive to recognize what they genuinely like doing while reading numerous topics and receiving practical training. By the conclusion of their articleship tenure, they must have enough clarity on the field in which they desire to pursue their career.
Don't be afraid to take added responsibility. Step up for every task that comes your way. Start early, leave late. If a partner is going for a client meeting, ask if you can join. Help one of your managers/partners in preparing a client pitch. Ask a senior if you can help them with preparing a client deck. Organize a team event. Don't be afraid to take on diverse work and non-work responsibilities. Try bringing business for your firm. Try setting up a social media account for your firm. Try getting a website made for them. Try everything you can and work as hard as you can. Just step up and do more than what you’re told to do
Maintain a work-life balance
It is obvious that when you are giving so much time to your articleship, everything else in your life takes a back seat to work. Your drive to achieve professionally may cause you to put your personal well-being on the back burner. Creating a healthy work-life balance, also known as work-life integration, is crucial not just for your physical, emotional, and mental health, but also for your career. Here are a few things you must keep in mind to maintain a work-life balance.
- Track Your Time
- Determine Your Priorities
- Set Specific Goals
- Schedule Scrupulously
- Establish work-home boundaries
- Take Care of Your Health
- Nurture Your Family/Relationships
- Make Time for You
- Leave Work at Work
- Work Smarter Not Harder
Manage time well
“The process is more important than the results and if you take care of the process, then you will get the results”
As a CA student, you must effectively manage your time. While passing the ‘CA' examinations without having the necessary practical experience is terrible, completing practical training without becoming a ‘CA' is devastating. As a result, in order to genuinely qualify as an exceptional professional, a student must strike a balance in several areas along the way. The wonderful course of Chartered Accountancy not only teaches us the topic, but the teachings transcend beyond that; the challenging life situations and disappointments along the way only serve to make us better people.
Be curious and learn a lot and excel
Articleship is a chance to learn, and it's a chance to learn practically. Obtaining academic knowledge and passing tests alone will not give the desired results. As a result, practical training is a golden moment in which you are permitted to learn while still being protected from the repercussions of making errors, i.e., your mistakes are not taken into account when determining your performance ratings or office promotions. As a result, it is critical to take practical learning seriously and never be afraid to inquire or question when in doubt. While learning is a lifelong process, it is more so while one is a student.
While it is important to learn, it is also important to perform more than you are expected to. Focus on aggressive learning. Say you are working on an audit project, apart from field training, don't hesitate to search and learn about best audit practices from the best companies around the world. The Internet has reduced the gap of access to the best domain-specific content. Learn -> Implement -> Analyse -> Repeat.
Get Ready to face the real world
Your articleship is a fictitious professional environment in which you may learn from your errors for free. The business world is a different ballgame, and you can't afford to make mistakes, and even a minor blunder may find you in trouble. Articleship is an opportunity to learn from seniors and partners who will internally rectify your faults.
As a result, a student must make the most of this learning opportunity, and at the conclusion of their articleship, they must be prepared to confront the real world and be able to stand alone and march forward in their life and career, not as a fresher, but as a three-year professional. The following are a few things that students must participate in throughout their articleship that will bring them closer to the real world:
- Attending different professional organizations' student and member seminars and industrial workshops.
- Presenting papers in front of a knowledgeable audience. It might begin with presenting papers in the office and progressing from there.
- Working closely with the senior/partner and contributing to the completion of the job.
- Participating in client talks with the senior/partner and subsequently learning to manage client interactions autonomously.
- Participating in departmental interactions with the senior/partner and subsequently learning to manage departmental officials individually.
- At the client's place, have a close professional interaction with the middle/top management.
- Take care of professional duties on your own. A third-year article student should be able to deliver on par with a newly certified CA.
- Read yearly reports, visit a plant, ask a lot of questions, and get a thorough understanding of the client's company and dynamics.
- Keeping up with what's going on in the business sector. Reading business and professional magazines and newsletters.
Network
Articleship helps you gain experience in the workplace while also expanding your professional network. Connecting with people has a 1 in 16 probability of landing a job when you become a CA, therefore networking is crucial. Articleship is the best place to meet professionals in the corporate world as well as make friends with similar interests.
Have Fun
Remember that while your three years as an article are crucial, they are not the only three years of your career. Recognize when it is appropriate to unwind. Some people are unable to cope with the stress of having too much work and studies at the same time. Also, keep in mind that you could be asked to do more than you're capable of. While that is acceptable at times, you should know where to draw the line and ease yourself, and have some fun. While this is understandable at times, you should know when to draw the line and relax and enjoy yourself.
Conclusion
The ultimate goal is straightforward. The value of articleship is proportional to the attitude with which it is approached. It all depends on whether the article views articleship as a great opportunity to get professional experience or as a necessary time cycle to crawl and reach the exit gates bypassing the final test. In a word, the objective of articleship should be to develop into an exceptional professional before becoming a "Chartered Accountant."
