Your Counsellor Replies

Your Counsellor RepliesI‚ve just completed my Plus Two (commerce) averaging 71 percent. I‚m interested in qualifying as a chartered accountant. I‚m currently working in a cyber cafƒ©. Please advise.Muthu Selvi, MumbaiThe Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (Indraprastha Marg, New Delhi 110 001) is the sole institution in the country authorised to offer the chartered accountancy study programme through its regional offices in Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Kanpur. The institute has a board of studies which determines the syllabus for aspirant CAs. Those opting for the course immediately after completing Plus Two or equivalent have to write a foundation examination. Subsequently the study programme is completed in two stages: intermediate and final. The institute‚s rules require every student to be apprenticed to a firm of chartered accountants for a minimum period of three years as an articled clerk or four years as an audit clerk, during which period he/she is exposed to audit procedures and processes. Any articled/audit clerk who has passed the intermediate examination can write the final examination during the last six months of his articled tenure. The duration of postal tuition for the final examination (as also the intermediate exam) is 12 months. You can write to ICAI for enrollment, but you‚ll have to leave your cyber cafƒ© job and join an accountancy firm. It‚s a tough regimen and most candidates need several attempts to clear the exams. Once you qualify as a CA, opportunities are unlimited.I do business with Japanese, Korean and Turkish firms and feel the need to learn these languages. Where can I learn them?Santosh Ughade, MumbaiSince learning Japanese is very popular, there are plenty of courses offered by private tutors as well as institutes. The best place for you to enroll is the Indo-Japanese Association, Oricon House, Rampart Row, Mumbai (Tel: 2287 3027/ 2284 4772). The association offers training in conversational Japanese for two hours per week to businessmen. As for learning Turkish and Korean, there are no regular classes as there‚s little demand for learning these languages. Please contact the Korean and Turkish consulates; they will help with particulars of people who teach these languages privately.I‚m working as a procurement officer in a construction company. I want to do a correspondence course in materials management. Please advise.Ashok Patil, AhmedabadIt‚s a good idea to sign up for a study programme in materials management. It will surely improve your career prospects in your current job. The distance learning department of the Indian Institute of Modern Management (IIMM), Pune offers a correspondence course in materials management. This institute is rated among the top 17 B-schools countrywide. Anna University‚s Centre for Distance Education, Chennai (www.annauniv.edu/cdu) also offers an MBA with specialisation in materials management. My brother has just completed his bachelor of dental science (BDS) and isn‚t keen on a MDS degree progra-mme. Instead he wants to pursue a postgrad programme in health administration. Please advise which is the better option and which institutes offer a Master‚s in health administration (MHA).Munish, ChennaiSince your brother has studied…