Rank & Number of Attempts in CA Examinations

The impact of the number of attempts that a student takes to pass the CA exams remains a mystery to many, which sometimes results in students appearing for exams even when they are not adequately prepared. We discuss below the short term and long-term benefits of securing an All India Rank (“AIR”) at both the intermediate and final level.

Intermediate Examination

Students who achieve an AIR at the intermediate level get preference while recruiting at CA firms (including the Big4) for the mandatory 3-year articleship. The number of attempts a student takes to clear the exam is also of equal importance in this regard as it is used as close proxy for assessing capability of the candidates. While one may come across students interning at Big4 firms without securing a rank or clearing exams in the first attempt, it is essential to understand that those cases are generally exceptions rather than the rule.

In the long term, even if one fails to secure a CA Final rank, a rank in the intermediate exams is considered as a strong proxy when students are applying for full time roles after qualifying or later in life when applying to business schools (as explained below)

Final Examination

The importance of an AIR increases multifold for CA Final exams because it is used by many recruiting firms and corporates as a metric for shortlisting candidates.  

AIRs also play a key role when CAs decide to pursue further education, including business school in India and abroad. In India, for instance, many top business schools including IIM-A invite CA rank holders for an interview even if they score a relatively lower CAT percentile. Many business schools in the US also give importance to securing a rank in the CA examinations and is widely used as a strong proxy for academic excellence.

The number of attempts in CA Final is equally important as many corporates put an upper limit on the number of attempts (usually two or three) while shortlisting CVs for both on and off-campus recruiting. Beyond three attempts, CA graduates may find it hard to get shortlisted for roles with larger corporates across industries.