Since a CA Final student has to register himself simultaneously as an articled clerk, the restrictions in relation to articled students also apply to a student pursuing the CA_Final level till he completes his articleship i.e. for a 3 year period.
For an articled clerk/audit clerk there is a restriction on the courses she/he can study during the tenure as an articled/audit clerk. An audit assistant cannot take up any other course of study or training, whether academic or professional, without prior permission of the council. The permission may be granted to an articled/audit assistant, for pursuing one additional course of study at a time during the period of practical training on submission of request in the prescribed form. (No.112 to be submit within one month of the date of joining the college or course to the ICAI.)
Timings
Since a student is permitted to continue the graduation course he/she had been pursuing already, the work timing as the articled/audit clerk is left to be decided on a case to case basis by the principal with whom the student takes up his/her articleship.
The working hours of the articled clerks coming after passing the CPT Examination, should be left to be decided by the Principal, subject to the overall guidelines that minimum working hours should be 35 hours per week excluding lunch break and the office hours should not be before 9.00 a.m. and after 8.00 p.m.
In case of exigencies of work with the Principal, an articled assistant may be required to work beyond his/her normal working hours. However, under such circumstances, the aggregate number of working hours shall not exceed 45 hours per week. The requirement to work beyond 35 hours in a week should not be a practice but only in exceptional circumstances. Further, where the articled assistant is required to work beyond normal working hours, and aggregate of such hours exceed 35 hours per week, he/she shall be entitled to compensatory leave calculated with reference to number of completed working hours, over and above, 35 hours per week.