Chartered Accountant job description template (India, 2026)
A Chartered Accountant job description written for Indian companies: responsibilities, requirements, CTC and notice-period framing, five screening questions, and the full text to copy or post on ofper.
Last updated 3 September 2026. Competitor pricing and plan limits are re-verified against each vendor’s own pages.
What does a Chartered Accountant do?
An Indian company hires a Chartered Accountant in-house when compliance complexity outgrows what an external firm can handle at arm's length: multiple GST registrations, significant TDS and international payments, transfer pricing, a group structure, investor reporting, or simply a volume of notices and audits that needs someone inside. The role is technical and judgement-heavy; the CA decides positions, documents them, and defends them.
In an SME the CA may also be the Finance Manager. The job description should be clear which it is: a technical tax-and-audit specialist, or a finance head who happens to be a CA. Candidates from Big Four or mid-size firms are strong on technical depth and may need to adjust to the hands-on, everything-at-once nature of an SME; the posting should say what the first year looks like.
Chartered Accountant responsibilities
Written as work the person does, not qualities they have. A responsibility a candidate can picture is one they can decide about.
- Own direct tax: advance tax computation, tax provision, income-tax return, TDS compliance and returns, and responses to assessments and notices.
- Own indirect tax: GST compliance across registrations, input credit optimisation and reconciliation, annual return and reconciliation statement, refunds where applicable, and departmental audits.
- Prepare the statutory financial statements under Indian GAAP or Ind AS as applicable, with notes and schedules, and manage the statutory audit to sign-off.
- Decide and document technical accounting positions — revenue recognition, leases, provisions, related parties — and maintain a position paper for each.
- Handle Companies Act compliance with the company secretary: board and AGM matters, ROC filings, related-party approvals, and any secretarial audit.
- Run or coordinate internal audit and control reviews, and close findings with the business.
- Advise the founder and leadership on tax-efficient structuring of transactions, contracts, cross-border payments and, where relevant, fundraising and ESOPs.
- Manage relationships with the statutory auditors, tax advisors and, for funded companies, investor and lender reporting requirements.
Chartered Accountant requirements and qualifications
Keep the required list to what you would actually reject a candidate for. Everything else goes under nice to have — a long required list mostly filters out the people you wanted.
- Qualified Chartered Accountant (ICAI) with 3 to 8 years post-qualification, in industry or in a firm's tax, audit or advisory practice.
- Strong working knowledge of income-tax and GST law and practice, including assessments, notices and the portals.
- Experience preparing or auditing financial statements under Indian GAAP; Ind AS experience where the company requires it.
- Able to write a clear position paper and defend it with auditors and authorities.
- Comfortable with Tally, Zoho Books or an ERP, and with Excel at an advanced level.
- Willing to be hands-on in an SME — the role includes preparation, not only review.
Nice to have
- Experience with transfer pricing, international taxation or cross-border payments, if relevant to the company.
- Experience with funded-company matters: investor reporting, ESOP accounting, due diligence.
- Experience with a specific industry's tax treatment — export of services, SEZ, e-commerce operators, manufacturing.
Salary, CTC and terms for a Chartered Accountant in India
State a CTC range. Postings without one get fewer and worse-matched applications, and the range is the first thing an Indian candidate looks for. Say how the CTC is made up — fixed, variable, and any statutory components — so the in-hand figure is not a surprise at offer stage.
- State the CTC range and its split. CA candidates benchmark against firm salaries and industry peers; a posting without a range gets fewer qualified applicants.
- State whether the role is a technical specialist role or the finance head, and the reporting line. This decides who applies more than the CTC does.
- State the scope of complexity honestly — number of GST registrations, group entities, international transactions, investor reporting — since it defines the role's seniority.
- Notice period is commonly 60 to 90 days; plan the joining date around the tax and audit calendar.
Chartered Accountant job description template
Replace every [placeholder]. Cut anything that is not true of your company — a generic paragraph is worse than no paragraph.
Chartered Accountant — [Company name], [City] Employment type: Full-time | Location: [City] / [On-site, hybrid or remote] | CTC: [range] per annum | Experience: [years] About the role An Indian company hires a Chartered Accountant in-house when compliance complexity outgrows what an external firm can handle at arm's length: multiple GST registrations, significant TDS and international payments, transfer pricing, a group structure, investor reporting, or simply a volume of notices and audits that needs someone inside. The role is technical and judgement-heavy; the CA decides positions, documents them, and defends them. In an SME the CA may also be the Finance Manager. The job description should be clear which it is: a technical tax-and-audit specialist, or a finance head who happens to be a CA. Candidates from Big Four or mid-size firms are strong on technical depth and may need to adjust to the hands-on, everything-at-once nature of an SME; the posting should say what the first year looks like. What you will do - Own direct tax: advance tax computation, tax provision, income-tax return, TDS compliance and returns, and responses to assessments and notices. - Own indirect tax: GST compliance across registrations, input credit optimisation and reconciliation, annual return and reconciliation statement, refunds where applicable, and departmental audits. - Prepare the statutory financial statements under Indian GAAP or Ind AS as applicable, with notes and schedules, and manage the statutory audit to sign-off. - Decide and document technical accounting positions — revenue recognition, leases, provisions, related parties — and maintain a position paper for each. - Handle Companies Act compliance with the company secretary: board and AGM matters, ROC filings, related-party approvals, and any secretarial audit. - Run or coordinate internal audit and control reviews, and close findings with the business. - Advise the founder and leadership on tax-efficient structuring of transactions, contracts, cross-border payments and, where relevant, fundraising and ESOPs. - Manage relationships with the statutory auditors, tax advisors and, for funded companies, investor and lender reporting requirements. What we are looking for - Qualified Chartered Accountant (ICAI) with 3 to 8 years post-qualification, in industry or in a firm's tax, audit or advisory practice. - Strong working knowledge of income-tax and GST law and practice, including assessments, notices and the portals. - Experience preparing or auditing financial statements under Indian GAAP; Ind AS experience where the company requires it. - Able to write a clear position paper and defend it with auditors and authorities. - Comfortable with Tally, Zoho Books or an ERP, and with Excel at an advanced level. - Willing to be hands-on in an SME — the role includes preparation, not only review. Nice to have - Experience with transfer pricing, international taxation or cross-border payments, if relevant to the company. - Experience with funded-company matters: investor reporting, ESOP accounting, due diligence. - Experience with a specific industry's tax treatment — export of services, SEZ, e-commerce operators, manufacturing. Compensation and terms - State the CTC range and its split. CA candidates benchmark against firm salaries and industry peers; a posting without a range gets fewer qualified applicants. - State whether the role is a technical specialist role or the finance head, and the reporting line. This decides who applies more than the CTC does. - State the scope of complexity honestly — number of GST registrations, group entities, international transactions, investor reporting — since it defines the role's seniority. - Notice period is commonly 60 to 90 days; plan the joining date around the tax and audit calendar. How to apply Apply with your resume through this page. We reply to every application, and shortlisted candidates hear from us within [number] working days.
Opens a free ofper workspace with the title, description and screening questions filled in.
Screening questions for Chartered Accountant applicants
Five questions is the ceiling on ofper, and it is the right ceiling: a form that asks more than that costs applications. Use them for the things that decide a shortlist, not for anything the resume already says.
| Question | Type | Knockout | Why it earns a slot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Are you a qualified Chartered Accountant (ICAI member)? | Yes / No (pass: Yes) | Yes | The role is defined by the qualification; CA Inter or Final-pending candidates need a different posting. |
| How many years of post-qualification experience do you have? | Number (pass: 3+) | Yes | Post-qualification years, not articleship, is what the interview will be built on. |
| Have you personally handled income-tax or GST assessments and notices, including drafting responses? | Yes / No (pass: Yes) | No | Not a knockout, but the difference between a compliance CA and one who can defend positions. |
| What is your current notice period, in days? | Number (pass: 0 to 90) | No | Plans joining around the compliance calendar. |
Questions, answered straight
When should an SME hire an in-house Chartered Accountant?
When compliance complexity — multiple GST registrations, significant TDS or international payments, a group structure, frequent notices, investor reporting — needs someone inside the company deciding and defending positions daily. Below that, an Accountant plus an external CA firm is usually enough.
What should a Chartered Accountant job description specify?
Whether the role is a technical tax-and-audit specialist or the finance head, the complexity scope (registrations, entities, international transactions, investors), the reporting line, the systems, and the CTC range. CA candidates decide on role type and scope before anything else.
How many years post-qualification should I ask for?
Three to eight years is the practical band for an in-house SME role: enough to have handled assessments and audits independently, not so senior that the hands-on nature of the role is a mismatch. State post-qualification years explicitly, since articleship is often counted as experience on resumes.