ICAI Campus Placement Made Easy: A Practical Guide for CA Freshers

For every newly qualified Chartered Accountant who has passed their CA Final exams, the ICAI Campus Placement Program is a fantastic way to start a career journey. But the campus placement program often brings along uncertainty and questions about eligibility, documents and formalities. Here is a clear, quick guide to help you navigate the campus placement process confidently.

To begin with, the Self-Paced Online Modules (SPOM) are mandatory for applying for ICAI Membership. Without clearing these modules, candidates are not eligible to apply. In addition, completing Articleship is a strict precondition for enrolling as a member, as outlined in Section 4 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. So, attempting to obtain membership before finishing Articleship is not acceptable.

Interestingly, you can still register for campus placement even if your Articleship is pending, provided it is scheduled to be completed on or before 31st October 2025. This date serves as the cut-off for eligibility. When it comes to the Advanced Management and Communication Skills, which is formerly known as GMCS, it is not mandatory to have completed the course to register for the campus. Candidates just need to ensure that they are enrolled in a batch that begins before 31st July 2025.

The situation with Advanced ITT is slightly different. Although it doesn’t appear on the mandatory list of ICAI’s guidelines, it is highly recommended that you complete Advanced ITT before the boundaries of potential delay arise.

For candidates who are under the age of 21, participation in the campus placement drive is still possible, but it requires special permission. Such candidates will need to formally request by sending mail to [email protected] and mentioning their date of birth, exam pass-out details, and attach supporting documents.

The registration fee for the campus placement program is Rs 1500, which is non-refundable. It is worth noting that while Membership is not a mandatory requirement for campus participation, it is highly recommended. Many companies prefer or require candidates to have a valid Membership Number before considering them for interviews.

Speaking of interviews, ICAI has confirmed that they will be conducted in a physical mode. This means candidates should be prepared to travel to the designated center for their interview rounds. While the Mock Interview is optional, first-time participants are strongly encouraged to attend it because it provides a valuable experience like the real interview setting.

Similarly, the Orientation program is not compulsory but can be helpful in networking and also provide an opportunity to strengthen your confidence before the process of placement starts. If candidates face issues with validation of Articleship, even after completing it, minor date discrepancies of one to two days can usually be adjusted in the campus form without concern, as ICAI tends to accept small variations.

In case the candidate is experiencing technical glitches, such as being logged out after making the payment, don’t worry. Simply log in again and check your dashboard. If it shows “Profile Completed,” your registration is successful. If you don’t, then wait for 12 hours, then send an email to ICAI with proof of payment. For general things like the campus portal not working, try clearing the History and Cache of your browser and/or opening it up in incognito; this solves most login errors in my experience so far.

Lastly, if you decide not to participate in the current round, you can still apply in the next. Just make sure to inform ICAI in writing by sending an email to the Campus Committee and requesting a deferment.