CharteredGuidance - A Guidance blog for CA students

The Change is Near!!

SavvY — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 00:20:23 +0000

Well the things have been extremely slow on this blog and I plan to get the rocks moving. I hope my visitors will find the new articles quite beneficial once I start posting them.

Btw the exams are approaching so best of luck with your studies.

I got some books for myself!

SavvY — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:28:41 +0000

Funny as it sounds as a few days ago i had posted how ‘more than enough’ time i have for the preparation of pcc exam and tonight my post is about how less the time seems. Three months only before the exam to be held on May, 2011.
But the good news among all the other things is that i bought myself a few good books. The books are – Advanced A/c (corporate) by Sehgal & Sehgal, Cost A/c by Ravi M Kishore, Students’ Guide to Accounting Standard by D. S. Rawat. I have made a change in plan at this moment. I’m going to prepare for the First Group only. After considering my status after one month, i will consider about the second group. Oh by the way, till now it’s confirmed that the Pcc / Ipcc results for November 2010, will be declared on 5th Feb. 2011. So for all those who appeared in the exam, good luck from me. And the exam forms for the next exam are to be distributed from 7th of the same month. I guess that’s enough for tonight. .
Sweet Dreams!

CA Final Topper for November 10 & others

SavvY — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 00:31:11 +0000

Hi readers, the month of January is counting its last few days. . Time flys like anything, i tell you. Well in the beginning of the post i must congratulate Ms. Dimpi Jindal who has topped the ICAI final exam of November 2010, scoring more than 60 percent in each subject. A splendid achievement indeed, for which we all must be proud of her. Someone on www.caclubindia.com had said that Dimpi was also the topper in PCC 2008. . Bravo! Seems like she is someone who can be a perfect idol for us.
Again, friends time’s running up so get your gears ready to the Icai challenge for the month of May – 2011. There is no substitute for hard work. In last 3 months the ca students must have the do or die attitude. If necessary, think of ICAI as an oppressor and your self as a revolutioner. . I mean whatever u need to do, you gotta do to succeed in this battle!

Er. . . Struggling to keep my promises.

SavvY — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 04:04:42 +0000

So i’m back again, a little later than what i promised. Its all because of the xmas / year end / new year stuff. Also had a outing with family at a nearby forest resort for two days. And i have read some novels (all classics, mostly victorian). But now i’m back and i mean business . . Grr.
So now that less than 4 months are left before the Ipcc/Pcc exam to be conducted by Institue of Chartered Accountants of India, there is no more time for fooling around i guess. Here is what i wish to cover in my studies this week – Accounts – the entire corporate accounting part.
Auditing – company audit 1, company audit 2, verification of assets and liabilities. Law Ethics & Communication – company law, contract act.
Income tax – salary, house property, deductions.
Well that will be enough for this week i guess (or is it more than what i can handle? Only time will decide). So i’ll be back with the report of my success (hopefully) in the next week. . Till then, ciao. . .
P.S – btw, whats ur plan for the week?

Week 1: Study progress for Pcc May 2011

SavvY — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 13:59:06 +0000

So as i had promised to you all, i’m back with the first week of my study plan. Its well, the middle of the week and i have complete the following for 1st time -
Accountancy – Hire Purchase, single entry, average due date. I know Hire Purchase has already been asked in ca Pcc – november 2010. But then i though. . “wth let’s get on with it. . .”. Besides its not going to hurt since till there is considerable time available. However i should mention that problem regarding conversion of lease to hire purchase has been asked only once in recent times by ICAI. . So in my opinion, you should also give some attention to it, since it may be revised once more. Nothing new about average due date to share. Simple sums with quick solutions. However care should be taken about the rules of calculating ‘number of days’ in special circumstances. Single entry is easy but lengthy. I have to work more on the time management issue regarding this chapter.
Law Ethics and Communication – this is one of the biggest papers in Pcc / Ipcc level. Still struggling to complete the Indian Contract Act, 1872. I hope to complete it within this week.
Auditing and Assurance – learnt the chapter ‘Basic Concepts in Auditing’. This chapter contains a lot of Standards on Auditing. I guess i have to get back to it in no time.
Costing & Financial Management – this is the bulkiest paper. Honestly i am sacred to start it. But tonight i have decide to start with ‘Material’. Wish me luck.
Income Tax, Service tax and VAT – Not started yet since yet i have not purchased the new edition of Tax reference book. I hope to start it in next week.
Information Technology & Strategic Management – well i have never found information technology to be a tough deal. Though not yet started i plan to complete ‘Internet’ this week. And regarding Strategic Mgmt., i have learnt the first chapter ‘Business Environment’. The chapter itself has nothing typical. Porter’s Five Forces Model seems to be the celebrity question. *****
Those subjects which i’ve not yet learnt, i’ll write a post bout them on this weekend.
Do you think, i’m leaving/forgetting something? Have your say in the comment form!

I’m back!

SavvY — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 03:33:55 +0000

Hi dearest readers,
so i’m finally back from the long break that i took. Honestly i never intended to take such a long break of almost one year. However the some personal situations went so critical that i had no way to concentrate on ca. After one year a lot has changed in the institute. Ipcc has replaced Pcc, articleship transfer has been restricted and what not. I know its going to be be a long ride till i catch up with all that’s happening around.
Sadly due to the personal situations, could not sit in the exam for 2 terms because of lack of preparation. However from now on i’m fully dedicated to Pcc May,2011. This Blog will also be continued regularly (hopefully). Besides sharing articles and notes, i’m going to keep u all updated bout my weekly study schedule from now on. Also i would be glad to invite anyone who wishes to collaborate with me in this Blog. And i hope to be more active on www.caclubindia.com too. . . Take care

Notes on Value Added Tax for IPCC / PCC

SavvY — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:33:07 +0000

I have uploaded quick easy to remember notes on www.squidoo.com/vatforipcc I believe this is the easiest of the notes available online… The note is not yet complete… But i intend to complete it if u like the first part of it.. So check it out and give your responses.

Click here to go to the notes page

Basic Concepts of Income Tax – I

SavvY — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 03:33:16 +0000

Taxation, on of the most interesting and tricky subjects in the syllabus of Chartered Accountancy is actually more about the concepts than the learning. Like all other subjects, if it is studied with an easy and happy approach, its going to be as simple as water. But the students mainly go wrong while starting the subject. The directly move to the ‘Heads of Income’ before studying the basic concepts of taxation. As a result their foundation in this particular subject remains weak and they become prone to making mistakes during exam. Sincerely the first few days should be given to basic concepts about taxation (though I must say that there won’t be any direct question from theses parts in the examination).

What is Tax?

Tax is that part of our income which the Government of India takes from us for providing us numerous facilities like, water and drainage system, protection against internal and external enemies, developing infrastructure.

In simple words Tax is a source of revenue for the Government. There are two types of taxes –

1. Direct Tax

2. Indirect Tax

Let us discuss these in brief:

Direct tax is the tax which can’t be shifted to others. Income tax is a direct tax (and we all try to save it to the best possible limit!) Now while talking about tax saving, three relevant concepts are tax planning, tax omission & tax evasion that we will discuss later.

Indirect Tax on the other hand is a tax that causes rise in the price of goods and is ultimately borne by the customer. That means, if I and Mr. Ambani enjoy Parle- G with the morning tea, both of us are bearing the same amount of tax (that’s soo unfair, isn’t it!). But still we don’t crib about it because the amount of indirect tax can’t be seen by us, the customers. And this is one of the reasons why, Indirect tax is the main source of revenue for the Government.

What are Tax Planning, Avoidance and Evasion?

The Government has given us some provisions to reduce the tax on our income. Proper use of those tools for reducing the tax is called Tax Planning.

The CAs try to find out the loopholes within the provisions of Income Tax Act, and work within those loopholes to save taxes for their clients while the Income Tax department just keeps on staring. It is tax avoidance.

When you compute your income tax returns according to your own whims giving no care whatsoever to the Income Tax laws, its called Tax Evasion and is an offence.

Who are liable to pay Taxes?

“Every PERSON is liable to pay TAX”

We have already briefly discussed the TAX part of the above statement. Now we will discuss about PERSONS liable to pay tax.

Generally we use the words ‘person’ and ‘individual’ in the same way interchangeably but this is not the case in Income Tax. In Income Tax Act, the following are all persons

1. Individual

Ram, Tariq, John, you, me are individuals. We all know about ourselves so we are not discussing it here.

2. Hindu United Family (HUF)

Hindu United Family is not defined in the Income Tax Act. The concept comes from Hindu Law. The three generation of descendents from a common ancestor, with their wives, unmarried daughters and daughter in laws form a Hindu United Family. All in the family are the members of the family though only the male members in the family may be coparceners. Coparceners are those members who have the right to partition of the property.

There are two schools of HUF –

Dayabhaga, where the decision of Karta (i.e., the head of the HUF) is ultimate. Here Karta of the family can distribute property to any person of his choice (male or female) and other members of the family can have no say on his decision. This school is applicable in West Bengal & Assam.

Mitakshara is the school which is applicable in the rest of India. Here the male member of the family has the right to partition in property from his birth.

3. Body of Individuals

When two or more Individuals join hands for common actions with different objectives.

4. Association of Persons (AOP)

When two or more Persons join hands for common actions with common objectives.

5. Firms

AOP with a registered Partnership Deed is called a Firm.

6. Company

Any person is called company if

a) registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 or,

b) declared by CBDT by a general or special order as a a company.

7. Every artificial judicial person and Local Authority

Idol of Gods, Goddesses are examples of Artificial Judicial Person where as Loacl Municipality or Corporation is example of Local Authority.

What are Tax Slabs for students appearing examination in May, 2010?

For Individuals

Tax Rate (%)	Male (below 65)	Female (below 65)	Senior Citizens
NIL	Upto 1,60,000/-	Upto 1,90,000/-	Upto 2,40,000/-
10	1,60,000/- – 3,00,000/-	1,90,000/- – 3,00,000/-	2,40,000/- – 3,00,000/-
20	3,00,000/- – 5,00,000/-	3,00,000/- – 5,00,000/-	3,00,000/- – 5,00,000/-
30	Above 5,00,000/-	Above 5,00,000/-	Above 5,00,000/-

The Format for Daily Work Diary of Articled Clerks/Audit Assistants

SavvY — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:32:56 +0000

_____ABC__________ & CO

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

MUMBAI

NAME: ___________________________________________ TOTAL DAYS: ____________

REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDED: _______________________

(CLIENT WISE)

DATE

CLIENT

NATURE OF WORK DONE

AUDIT/ INTERNAL AUDIT

VOUCHING

OTHERS

REMARKS

A/Cs

PARTNER: _______________________ SENIOR INCHARGE: _________________________ ARTICLE: ______________________

DATE: DATE: DATE:

L= LEDGER S=SCHEDULE

A/Cs= ACCOUNTS J=JOURNAL

L= LEDGER P= PURCHASE

SA= SALES C= CASH

NOTE: IN CASE OF VOUCHING STATE THE NO. OF VOUCHERS/ BILLS VERIFIED.

*** I have got the above format from the internet. So can’t say whether it is the official format. Please take care to match it with the official format if any and don’t forget to post your feedbacks.

Have a Nice Day & God Bless You***

I Appologise

SavvY — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 12:03:52 +0000

I'm Sarry

Yup! You heared it right. And I know I should be.

I should appologise to my readers because for a long time i haven’t come up with any new post. Actually I was a bit busy with some tests. So now the tests are over but the exams are coming near. So it may be possible that I may not post regularly. Therefore I have come up with the plan of slowing down a bit. I’ll from now on try to post three articles every month. That way I’ll get enough time to prepare for exams as well as to write my blog post.

Oh yes I want a favour from you guys…. Please tell me what you want to read on this blog and tell if you like or don’t like the posts. Are the posts good enough or could have been better…

And yeah .. I regularly twit . So if any of you have an account on www.twitter.com then you can follow me at http://www.twitter.com/Souveek

It would be great to know my readers / mates. I promise to follow you too.

By the way Its now the official news that the next exam of PCC, IPCC and Final will be held on NOVEMBER as per a sms sent in the name of Hon. President Uttam Prakash Agarwal.

So lets take out our books and notes now and start the mission CA… Good Luck to all of you

and yeah please pray for me too.. I need a hell lot of it.

God Bless

Souveek