DIVISIONAL ACCOUNTANT (DA) JOB PROFILE

Selection to the post of Divisional Accountant (DA) is made through the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Exam conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC).

In the 6th CPC he was entitled for the Grade Pay of Rs 4,200. Now in the 7th CPC he is entitled for the Basic Pay Rs 35,400 and comes under level 7 of the following Pay Matrix Table.

See the current salary of Divisional Accountant (DA) in the following Salary Chart
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PHYSICAL DISABILITIES ALLOWED FOR DIVISIONAL ACCOUNTANT

1. OH (OA, OL, OAL, BL)

2. HH (PD, D)

NOTE: Colourblind candidates can prefer this post.

INTRODUCTION TO THE POST OF DIVISIONAL ACCOUNTANT (DA)

CAG only will allocate you the states/zones to DAs. The allocation is made to different states’ AG offices as per the position of merit and state preferences of an individual. In DA you get state cadre. That means you will remain in the same state whole of your life. But there is a provision of mutual transfer.

They (Divisional Accountants) are the central government employees but work in the State Government office coordinating with the state government officials.

Salary of Divisional Accountant comes from state treasury, so you have to be vigilant/aware enough to claim all allowances applicable to central government employees.

DA post is not in every state. In Delhi and Rajasthan there is no DA post.

NOTE: In Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, the cadre of Divisional Accountants is administrated by the respective State Governments. In Sikkim there is no separate cadre of Divisional Accountants. It does mean that Divisional Accountants under the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) are not appointed in the above states.

NATURE OF WORK OF DIVISIONAL ACCOUNTANT

You will be appointed in state public works department (road & building) and irrigation department offices, etc. located in different cities.

Divisional Accountant works with Executive Engineer. His office is called Division. They discharge the role of Financial Advisers to the Executive Engineers and ensure a measure of proficiency in the accounting of public works transactions besides serving the needs of internal audit. All the files and documents related to financial matters  will pass through your table.

There are some departments/divisions in every state like agriculture; irrigation, public health, engineering division; etc. These divisions are headed by Executive Engineers who are on state government payroll. Divisional Account has to see everything regarding expenses incurred on an item falling into his area; makes estimation of an expense to be incurred on an item and prepares budget regarding the same; and etc. The final decision is to be taken by his seniors who normally don’t make an objection on the file put by the Divisional Accountant. All in all this post is reported to be very good.

You are the signing authority and senior most member of entire division. So, you have to check each and every voucher of the contractors. Not even one bill of contractor can be passed without your signature.

DA needs to verify establishment related work also. For example, If any employee gets increment then DA will have to scrutinize whether it is according to the related norms or not.

You should be very careful while signing any document or bill. You should be well versed with the rules of Public Works Accounts Code. Huge amount of contractors’ bill can be cleared by your signature. So, you can imagine how much responsible your post is. But no need to worry. Gradually, you will master everything. Just be watchful in work.

WORK PRESSURE IN THE POST OF DIVISIONAL ACCOUNTANT

No pressure at all. You can complete your work within 2 hours and can leave the office immediately. Nobody will force you to stay in the Division if you have completed your work.

TRAINING FOR DIVISIONAL ACCOUNTANT

Just after joining you will work under a senior DA or DAO for 6 month. He may or may not be interested in mentoring you to learn the intricacies of the job. During this time period, it’s entirely up to you whether you attend the office or skip it.

After 6 months of work in the division, state AG office will call you for training. The training lasts for 10 months and in this period you will stay in the city where state’s AG office is located. You have to make all the staying arrangements yourself. No extra allowances will be provided for the said training period.

After completion of the training, there will be Divisional Accountant Grade Examination (DAGE) which is conducted twice a year. Your get confirmed if you pass this exam, in case you fail (very rare chance) your probation shall continue till you clear that exam. You are given 6 attempts. Just after passing this exam you will be allotted a light division charge but in current staff crunch scenario, a single DA is handling the charge of 2 or more divisions.

TRANSFERS FOR DIVISIONAL ACCOUNTANT

Each Divisional Accountant is entitled to transfer in every 3 year period but within the state. Preferences will be asked by the AG’s Office and if the division is vacant i.e. no DA is available in the division then you will be allotted that division. No one from the State Government or any local politician can influence your transfer before 3 years.

In DA you get state cadre. That means you will remain in the same state whole of your life. But there is a provision of mutual transfer.

SOME GOOD POINTS OF THIS POST

You can get only 3 promotions in DA. Even after the promotion, your work nature will remain the same. The next promotion for DA is for DA GRADE-II in grade pay of Rs 4600 and takes 4-5 years normally. For the promotion there is a departmental exam which is a must to be passed for that promotion. Actually this exam is mandatory to pass for completion of one’s probation period. The minimum qualifying period for promotion is 3 years. Promotions for the post of Divisional Accountant (DA) are:

1. Divisional Accountant Officer Grade-II —- Grade Pay 4600

2. Divisional Accountant Officer Grade-I (Gazetted group-B) Grade pay 4800

3. Sr Divisional Accountant Officer (gazetted group-B) grade pay 5400

Promotions are not that fast in this post. But to overcome this negative aspect of this post, a DA can give SAS exam after completion of 2 years of service. Clearing SAS exam directly promotes him to 4800 GP and he can join CAG as AAO (Assistant Accountant Officer).

DEPARTMENTAL EXAM FOR DIVISIONAL ACCOUNTANT

The name of this exam is DAGE (Divisional Accountant Grade Examination). One of the papers is on the local language of the area in which one is posted. This whole exam is qualifying in nature, one needs to get only 40% marks in each paper. This exam is mandatory to pass to clear one’s probation period.

You will be given 3 chances to clear the exam. 3 more chances can be given if AG desires so. In a nutshell, you will get 6 chances to clear the exam. If you don’t clear the exam even in 6 attempts, you will be demoted. This exam is not a cake walk. You will have to labour hard to clear the exam. But when one can clear SSC CGL exam then clearing DA exam is not a hard nut to crack.

There are 5 papers to clear the exam including the regional language paper. That means that you will have to pass the regional language of the state in which you get your posting if you didn’t read that regional language in your matriculation. For example, If you get West Bengal cadre in DA and you had not read Bangla in your matriculation then you will have to pass Bangla paper as well.

This exam is held twice a year; once in March and next time in September.

SAS Exam: You will be eligible for taking SAS Exam after 2 years of your service. Through SAS, you can directly become AAO.

AGE LIMIT
Age limit in the Combined Graduate Level (CGL) Exam of the Staff Selection Commission for this post is up to 30 years.

NOTE: Every person appointed to the cadre of Divisional Accountants will be on probation for a period of two years. If a direct recruit fails to pass the Divisional Accountants Grade Examination within the period of probation, is offered appointment as Accountant in the A&E office against a vacancy if any.