Commerce@career

The Commerce stream is not for everybody. But if one has good communication skills, is ready to adapt to new methodologies and has practical business acumen, a career in this field can be lucrative, says ASHWINI BHAVE

lot of students face the dilemma of what to choose after Class XII. One option is Commerce, a fundamental academic programme which is about understanding business or trade, nature and fluctuations in market, basics of economics, fiscal policies, industrial policies etc. To check if one has an aptitude for pursuing a career in this field, answer the questions given below:

Do you have good computing skillsIJ

Do you have analytical skillsIJ

Do you have practical business senseIJ

Do you give utmost importance to precision and accuracy at workIJ

Do you enjoy office environmentIJ

Do you have computing and interpreting skillsIJ

Do you read budgets, business news and economic reviewsIJ

Are you ready to learn and adopt new methodologiesIJ

Do you have organisational and administrative skillsIJ

If you have answered ‘yes’ for most questions, you can pursue the Commerce stream.

Subjects offered

Here’s what one can look forward to in colleges with Commerce stream:

Business economics: This covers concepts like laws of demand and supply, law of returns, elasticity, theory of pricing under a different market.

Financial accounting: This subject deals with the preparation of profit and loss statements, balance sheets and final accounts of a company, knowledge of Indian and international accounting standards, calculation of depreciation and valuation of shares and goodwill of a company.

Cost accounting: This includes process, job and contract costing, costing of overhead, standard and variance costing and budgetary control.

Income tax: This encompasses the basis of income tax, tax planning, tax deduction, incomes not taxable etc.

Auditing: This deals with vouching, valuation and verification of transactions, assets and liabilities. It will also include studying the auditing of different organisations like clubs, hospitals and charitable.

Business finance: This include in its scope financial analysis as a diagnostic tool, the management of working capital and its components as well as capital structure leverages.

Business law: This subject covers the different laws in India relating to, among others, the Companies Act and the Consumer Protection Act.

Marketing: This subject deals with products, pricing methods, promotion, channels of distribution, logistics etc.

Business communication: This subject focuses on the art of business correspondence, letter writing, memo writing, notices etc.

A commerce student can pursue a wide range of courses at any of the colleges molding the country’s future in the coming years.

Career Options

Some of the career options in Commerce are as follows:

• Banking: Retail/personal banking, corporate banking, merchant banking, treasury group, rural banking, product management, loans executive.
• Economist: They can work in three basic areas: Academics, business and Government.
• Accounts: Chartered Accountant, Cost And Work Accountant, certified financial analyst, certified financial planner.
• Insurance: Actuarial science, insurance and risk management, insurance surveyor, insurance surveyor, insurance agent
• Investments: Equity research analyst, investment banker, mutual fund executive, stock broker, capital market manager, forex dealer, venture capitalist and real estate.
• Management: Financial management, business development management, international business management, market research management, retail management, marketing and sales management, technology management, disaster management, education management, operation and logistics management, export management, family business management, material management
• Finance: Certified Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Financial Planner (CFP).
• Company Secretary.
  
• Computers: Software development, system architect, web developers, multimedia designer, system/IT manager, database administrator, data processing assistant/data entry operator, servicing and maintenance technician, technology management

Employability Skills

• Genuine interest in working with numbers and better computing skills.
• Ability for analysing numerical data.
• Good communication skill.
• Ability to work with and lead the team.
• Organisational and administrative abilities.
• logical thinking.
• Accuracy and neatness.
• Creativity and high intellectual capability.
• Ability to work hard and readiness to work for long hours.
• Flexibility and willingness to learn new things, technologies and adaptation of new methodologies at work.

Students who wish to take up the commerce stream should keep in mind that this subject is not an easy alternative as compared to science. Both Science and Commerce are complex study areas in their own ways and do not stand to comparison.

(The writer is head psychologist, www.careerco.in)