Every year more than 1.5 million students graduate in commerce and finance in India. Out of these 4 million 2.73 lacs, students are from the state of Maharashtra. There are many job opportunities available for commerce students. In this article, we are going to discuss some of the most promising career options.
Career Options in Commerce
Traditionally commerce students had two options
- MBA/ M. Com – These are the master’s level programs available for commerce students and most of the commerce entrants fall in this category. According to some estimates close to 4 million students complete these courses every year.
- CA/CS/CMA – These are the professional-level courses for a few ambitious students who land up in commerce. CAs outperform this category.
But these days, another avenue is getting opened up for commerce students. This is an out-of-the-box option for commerce graduates. Many students are found to be staying away from the subject of Mathematics. The domain I am writing about helps the students to get lucrative packages without learning maths.
Let me explain!
Risk Management is a broader domain for commerce students which is found to be the second highest paying job. There are multiple career options under the risk domain and one of the most emerging options is auditing for frauds.
Forensic accounting is going to be a rewarding career path for commerce graduates in the coming years.
Whether forensic accounting or not the employers need third-party endorsements of your skills and this is where formal education plays a major role.
Before-2011
In India, forensic accounting has been a very volatile profession, with different players trying their luck in this profession, educating the students and aspirants. Forensic accounting was dominated by non-chartered accountants till 2011. Indiaforensic and ICFAI were two important players in those days when professionals like me entered this profession. Indiaforensic was targeting CAs in those days.
Post-2011
In 2011, ICAI itself entered the scene, it announced a course for its members. CAs suddenly started dominating the forensic accounting profession in 2017–18.
ICAI’s entry expanded the horizons of forensic accounting, but things started changing again with the collapse of NBFCs and the role of Big four audit firms and the CAs working for these firms. Though the dynamics changed, Indiaforensic remained the constant player and faced a little bit of turbulence as its core target of Chartered Accountants diminished or rather evaporated.
However, under the able leadership of CA Mayur Joshi, things changed. He is the pioneer of forensic accounting education in India. He was the real visionary who understood the importance of this profession well before anybody even thought.
Post-2018
NSE Academy grabbed this opportunity and partnered with one leader in the forensic accounting certification space – Indiaforensic.
This partnership has changed the equation. With ICFAI closing its course, and ICAI going on the back foot due to the role of their own members in perpetrating frauds, the new breed of Certified Forensic Accounting Professionals has gained the leadership.
The ICAI course on forensic accounting was restricted only to CAs. Commerce students at large not aspiring to become CA can not even think of doing an ICAI course, forget doing forensic auditing specialization after that. In such a case, the only Indian option is a Certified Forensic Accounting Professional.
In the research conducted few days back, we identified that CFAP is probably the best forensic accounting certification.
With the growing number of frauds across the country, forensic accountants are in demand. However, their services can be used for any matter pending before a court of law.
The CFAP course requires a minimum experience of three years, but to attract the students of commerce they have created a foundation examination, which helps inexperienced professionals and Bcom students to get entry into the professional world.
I have seen a lot of students in Telangana, particularly Hyderabad opting for this course to get entry into IT companies or professional services firms. They get decent packages of ₹ 3–4 lacs or more.
I hope I answered your question.
