CA industrial training: who can do it, when, and how to get a good one

This guide is for CA articled assistants who are thinking of finishing their training in a company rather than a CA firm. It covers ICAI’s rules, including the revised company criteria in force from 1 January 2026, and shows you how to plan so the move doesn’t delay your Final.

What industrial training is

Industrial training replaces the last part of your articleship. Instead of a CA firm, you train in the finance, audit or tax team of a company approved by ICAI, under a chartered accountant who works there. It counts towards your two years of practical training, so you don’t lose any time.

Who is eligible, and when

• You have passed CA Intermediate.
• You have completed at least 12 months of articleship.
• It lasts 9 to 12 months and must be the last part of your training. You cannot go back to articleship afterwards.
• You must tell your principal at least three months before industrial training starts.
• You train under an ICAI member at the company. An associate member of three continuous years can train one industrial trainee; a fellow member can train two.

Because it must come at the end, the timing is simple arithmetic. For 12 months of industrial training, you move after month 12 of articleship. For 9 months, you move after month 15. Count back three months from your move for the notice to your principal.

Which companies can offer it

From 1 January 2026, a company can be empanelled by ICAI for industrial training only if it has at least two full-time chartered accountants who have been ICAI members for three continuous years, and meets one of these tests: fixed assets of ₹10 crore or more, turnover of ₹50 crore or more, or paid-up capital of ₹1 crore or more together with net worth of ₹5 crore or more. Empanelment lasts five years and must then be renewed.

In practice that means medium and large organisations. The kinds of employers that can meet these rules include:

• Finance teams of multinational companies in India: payables, receivables, month-end close and reporting to the parent company.
• Global capability centres (GCCs), the offices large foreign companies run in India for their own finance and technology work: record-to-report, controls testing and planning support.
• Banks and NBFCs: internal and concurrent audit, credit, treasury operations and regulatory reporting.
• Manufacturing companies: costing, inventory, plant accounts, GST and customs, internal audit.
• Large Indian groups and listed companies: consolidation, tax and investor reporting.

Before you accept, ask HR to confirm that the company is currently empanelled with ICAI for industrial training, and who your training CA will be.

How and when to apply

1. Months 6 to 8 of articleship: choose your area, such as reporting, internal audit, tax, treasury or financial planning.
2. Update your CV with real work from articleship, one result per line. An example of the style: “Tested revenue cut-off for a mid-size manufacturing client and found two invoices booked in the wrong year.”
3. Apply through company career pages, LinkedIn, seniors who did industrial training, and job sites.
4. Get an offer letter that states the start date, end date and stipend.
5. Give your principal at least three months’ notice, then end your articles on Form 109, ground “joining industrial training”, with the offer letter attached.
6. Sign the industrial training agreement (Form 104) and file it within 30 days of starting. Late filing attracts condonation fees from ₹500 upwards.
7. When you finish, your training CA signs Form 105, the completion certificate, which must be filed within 30 days.

What company interviews ask

• Ind AS basics: revenue, leases, financial instruments at a high level.
• What consolidation means and why intercompany balances must match.
• GST input tax credit, TDS and how monthly compliance works.
• Internal controls: what a control is and how you would test one.
• Excel: pivots, lookups and cleaning a messy data dump.
• A walk-through of one audit or tax assignment you did yourself, and why you want industry.

Stipend: the real picture

ICAI sets a minimum of ₹15,000 a month for industrial trainees. Above that, the amount is whatever you and the company agree, and it varies widely by company and city. Get it in the offer letter, and compare it with your articleship stipend after travel and rent, not just the headline figure.

What you will actually do

• Month-end and year-end close: journal entries, accruals, reconciliations and schedules.
• Working with the statutory auditors from the company side.
• GST, TDS and income tax compliance, and the data behind each return.
• Process and controls testing, especially in multinationals and GCCs.
• Budgets, variance analysis and management reports.
• Daily work in an ERP such as SAP or Oracle.

How it shapes your placement

Industrial training shows employers that you have already worked inside a company, which helps when you apply for industry roles after qualifying. Some companies also offer roles to trainees who did well. In ICAI’s campus placement, though, companies set their own shortlisting criteria, usually your qualifications, attempts and completed training, so your Final result still matters most.

If you want a career in audit, tax or your own practice, staying the full two years in a good firm can be the better choice. Industrial training suits you if you already know you want to work in a company.

Mistakes to avoid

• Starting the search after month 12. You may be left with only the 9-month option, or none.
• Joining a company that is not empanelled, or where no eligible CA will sign your forms.
• Accepting without the dates, stipend and training CA named in writing.
• Forgetting the three-month notice to your principal.
• Taking extra leave. Any excess is added at the end and served with the same company.
• Treating it like a job you can leave. Industrial training ends early only in narrow cases: your training CA dying, resigning or being removed from ICAI’s register.