As employers increase hiring of Chartered Accountants (CA), Company Secretaries (CS), and finance graduates, AI is simultaneously raising the bar for what they expect from entry-level talent. This creates a paradox in India’s campus hiring market. Employers claim they want more finance-qualified graduates, yet for many students emerging from India’s colleges and professional programmes, getting that first job often becomes challenging.
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Aon’s 2026–27 campus hiring study shows 56% of companies surveyed plan to increase hiring of CA and CS graduates — the highest share among the qualification groups covered by the report. Financial institutions and global capability centres (GCCs) are among the sectors driving this trend. However, the stronger demand for CA, CS and finance graduates is not automatically translating into easier employment. So, while qualification still matters, it is increasingly being treated as the starting point rather than the proof of market-readiness.
For decades, a CA qualification meant competence across accounting, audit, taxation and financial reporting. A CS qualification provided a foundation in corporate law, governance, compliance and regulatory frameworks.
Those skills still matter, but the job roles for which these graduates are being hired are changing. A finance professional starting out at a bank, multinational corporation (MNC), or GCC may be expected to analyse data, work with digital systems, communicate with business teams, interpret regulations, automate repetitive processes, or use AI-enabled tools. Can an examination result demonstrate the candidate’s ability to tackle all these tasks and apply knowledge to real-world business problems? The question is becoming even more vital as AI changes the nature of entry-level work.
As technology takes on routine tasks, eases workflows, and makes them faster, employers have fewer reasons to hire graduates who can perform those tasks manually. Instead, they are looking for graduates who can define the problem, validate outputs, exercise judgement, and turn information into decisions. All of this is a very different proposition from being only a degree-holding graduate.
Beyond basic qualification
The traditional campus résumé may read like a list of credentials: degree, professional qualification, marks, certifications, and extracurricular activities. But in a skills-focused market, recruiters want to know what students can actually do with those credentials. The idea is not to collect dozens of certifications but to create credible evidence that finance knowledge can be converted into workplace output.
“The job market is skewed towards rewarding judgement, reliability, and adaptability of finance graduates, as routine compliance work is now handled by automation effortlessly. While modelling, AI tools and spreadsheet applications are easy to acquire and list on the resume, problem-solving skills and adaptability are still valued the most beyond basic qualification,” said Harsh Kumar Agarwal, 21, CA finalist who cleared CFA Level 1 and holds a B.Com degree from St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata.
Given the large population of finance/commerce students, the degrees and qualifications are still the primary differentiator. “AI has bridged the access gap for skills; hence, employers’ expectations of a diverse skill set have increased. There are speculations that the new CA syllabus will integrate AI into the curriculum, while the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) programme is including practical exposure to concepts with technology. However, I have not yet seen such major revamps in the curriculum. Colleges should include practical skilling (like Excel, AI, PowerPoint etc.) as a mandatory credit. Even after getting the degree, I felt the need to upskill to be better equipped for the industry. Degrees, along with qualifications and skills, get your foot in the door, but your communication and leadership skills help get you selected,” he added.
Yash Saraogi, 20, also from the same college, who cleared CFA Level 2 and is pursuing B.Com, notes that the entry-level market has changed. “Routine tasks that freshers once started with are shrinking hence, companies assume new hires will use their time well and contribute from the start. That means having adequate knowledge of their field and knowing which work can be automated, and which needs their own time and judgement. Keeping up with recent developments in the AI space and learning the skills required to stay in line with changing industry standards takes steady effort, and alongside the CFA programme where I have cleared Level 2, it can be quite demanding,” Mr. Sarogi said.
Due to recent developments in technology, skills like data analysis, some level of prompt engineering, knowledge of the relevant AI tools, basic API integration, and making detailed presentations are highly valued. “I have done basic API integration to pull live stock ticker data from the NSE website, which keeps analysis current without updating prices by hand. Qualifications like CA, CS, and CFA still give credibility, but a degree is now the minimum entry ticket, and skills decide who gets shortlisted and hired,” he added.
Moreover, internships are the main entry route for students since companies want to see how a person works before committing to hire them. “It lowers their risk and training cost, and many full-time roles are now filled through pre-placement offers. Colleges are moving in the right direction, but finance and commerce teaching still needs to become more practical. Case studies, live company data, financial modelling and valuation should be part of the regular course and not optional extras. Industry professionals should be involved as guest faculty, and syllabi should be updated more often. The remaining gap between industry demand and classroom teaching is mostly a gap of application,” Sarogi added.
Placement trends
Students should approach placement preparation as a combination of knowledge, skills, experience, and professional presentation. “First, they should understand the organisation and the role they are applying for rather than approaching every interview with the same mindset. Secondly, they should be able to demonstrate application of their knowledge through internships, projects, case studies, competitions, or other experiences. Developing proficiency in tools such as Excel, data analysis, and relevant AI applications, while strengthening communication, presentation, problem-solving, and teamwork matter,” C.S. Pawan G Chandak, President of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), said.
The institute’s proposed syllabus 2027 seeks to embed awareness and application of emerging technologies, including AI, across the learning journey, enabling future professionals to leverage technology effectively in governance, compliance, decision-making and business processes.
Employers will value professionals who can turn information into useful advice and action. “AI may prepare the first draft or calculation, but professionals will provide judgement, context, trust, and strategic direction. As AI automates repetitive tasks, traditional junior positions are becoming fewer or being redesigned. This does not mean entry-level finance careers are disappearing, but the entry point is becoming more competitive and skills-based. Recruiters today prefer candidates who specialise in finance, law, and compliance, with additional know-how of data analysis, critical thinking, and business,” Mr. Chandak said.
There is a distinction between being qualified and being employable. The increase in demand for finance professionals is real, but organisations are simultaneously raising their expectations of entry-level talent.
“A qualification establishes a foundation of knowledge; it does not necessarily demonstrate that a student can apply that knowledge in a workplace. This is where professional qualifications have an advantage. CA, CS and CFA qualifications are built around rigorous conceptual learning and professional examinations. A CA who has gone through the examination process and articleship has already experienced deadlines, client requirements, documentation, Excel-based work, professional communication and the practical application of accounting and finance concepts. Therefore, the issue is not that there are too many finance graduates but the fact that employers are increasingly looking for demonstrable capability rather than qualification alone,” said Prof. Biju Toms, Director, School of Commerce, Finance and Accountancy, Christ deemed to be University, where technology skilling is integrated with finance and commerce learning rather than treated as a generic add-on at the Department of Professional Studies (DPS).
“The customised, industry-led programmes in Excel, analytics, AI for Finance and Automation, Agentic AI and related tools are designed around practical workplace application. In the recent semester, 709 students were trained across AI-focused programmes, including over 360 students from CA/CS-linked programmes. Student testimonials show these capabilities supporting internships, placement interviews, PPO conversions and workplace performance. The aim is not to turn finance students into technologists, but to equip them with the technology and AI capabilities that modern workplaces now expect,” Prof. Toms said.
For colleges, the challenge is to connect rigorous finance education with practical application, technology, communication and judgement. For students, the challenge is not to chase every new AI tool but to use those tools without forfeiting human qualities such as critical thinking, accountability, interpretation and judgement that can make the output valuable. “Students need to build proof of work, not just a resume full of qualifications. They need to read more, participate in networking and practical events; take up live projects and case studies; build financial models, analyse companies or solve real business problems and put that work on their resume,” said finance educator Aswini Bajaj and CEO, Leveraged Growth.
Placement preparation, he added, is more like preparing for a match: the qualification gets you into the stadium; but your depth, application, communication and proof of work determine what you can actually do once the game starts.
Internships as enablers
As per the Aon study, around 51% of organisations expect to increase their hiring of interns, while close to 90% want to hire interns. The study reports that roughly 80%–85% use pre-placement interviews or offers as a pathway to converting strong interns into full-time employees. Consequently, an internship is no longer an attractive addition to a CV but an extended evaluation of whether a student can operate in a real workplace.
“A degree gets you to the interview table. An internship helps the recruiter assess what the degree cannot show –attitude, communication, work ethic and the ability to apply knowledge. Companies increasingly want to test candidates before making a full-time bet on them. This explains why internships, sample projects, case studies and live assignments are becoming important signals of job readiness. But the value of an internship depends on its quality. A copy-paste or purely rudimentary internship adds little value. Similarly, if the recruiter does not invest time in the intern, the learning is limited. When both sides invest, the internship can become an extended evaluation. Companies are also giving candidates live projects or case studies and then interviewing them on their approach. That is effectively a test of whether they can apply knowledge rather than merely claiming it,” Mr. Bajaj said.
Addressing the gap
The traditional model of finance education is particularly vulnerable to a mismatch between what is taught in classrooms and what entry-level jobs now demand. Students should be motivated to regularly work with messy datasets, incomplete information, ambiguous business questions, and time-bound assignments, not just textbook problems with predetermined answers. Technology should be integral to finance education rather than a separate subject.
“We cannot expect employability to improve merely by changing the curriculum if the classroom experience itself does not change. There needs to be greater academic engagement, stronger conceptual teaching and a much greater emphasis on application. Unfortunately, in many undergraduate programmes, the teaching-learning process can become quite pedestrian—with limited classroom engagement, insufficient emphasis on conceptual depth and a tendency to treat the syllabus as something to be completed rather than understood,” said Prof. Toms.
While the classroom cannot become a replica of an office, it must increasingly become a place where students learn to apply what they study. “They should not merely be asked to calculate an answer but explain what that answer means and what a manager should do with it. Industry interaction also needs to be continuous rather than restricted to placement talks. The future belongs to finance professionals who combine deep domain knowledge, practical exposure, technology and professional judgement,” he added.
