As an officer trainee of IA&AS, I can tell you why you should choose IAAS above IRS and vice versa.
First let me list the benefits of being in IRS.
- Greater social recognition
- Perceived nuisance value
- Retirement avenue of being tax consultant
- One of the strongest associations
- State of the art training facility in Nagpur.
Cons of IRS
- You are pretty much confined to studying and implementing a single law throughout your career.
- Taxmen are respected more out of fear rather than genuine utility.
- The higher cadre size means the service is pretty bottom heavy. This means there is very little chance you will rise to the top unless you enter the service at the right age.
- Not many overseas opportunity.
- Tax laws are very specific to a country which means you are limited geographically.
- Increased computerisation means your discretionary powers are increasingly lost, which would result in higher loss of nuisance value for “power seekers”
There is also the perception that IRS is a corrupt service as compared to other Civil Services. Among Civil Services, it is usually said that in other services you have to put in effort to be corrupt while in IRS you have to put in effort to remain honest. While I say this in no way to tarnish the reputation of IRS, I am just pointing you to the general perceptions.
Why IA&AS
- The most chilled out and professional of all civil services in India
- Almost Zero political interference in your job.
- **Timely promotions (**at par with IAS and faster than all other services)
- Audit being a universal function, IAAS officers have a lot of avenues post retirement.
- Wider Exposure than any other civil service in India. You get to work in any field of your choice.
- Knowledge based service. Audit being a function which requires in depth knowledge of the domain, you have to gain expertise in the domain of your auditee.
- Wide exposure to financial concepts.
- Better creature comforts than IRS. Almost every major city has exclusive IAAS colonies which is not the case with IRS. IRS officers often compete with Central pool for accomodation.
- International exposure. In this area, IAAS almost beats all other services except IFS. You get to audit Indian Embassies, UN Bodies etc. There are opportunities to get absorbed into these organisations. We also have overseas offices which is quite unique.
- The Alma Mater (National Academy of Audit and Accounts is located in Shimla) and you will be living in a colonial bungalow that was home to many giants including Muhammad Ali Jinnah. No other academy accomodation can pretty much match the “treatment” you will get in Yarrows (the OT Hostel). This includes LBSNAA, NPA, FSI , NACEN and NADT. You will simply fall in love with the place.
- Posting in capitals.
- The Respect within the government: IAAS officers are very well regarded within the government setup. There is no other service where you will get to network and build contacts as much as in IAAS. Your interaction as a DAG (4 years into the service) when you head an audit party is usually directly with the Secretary of a department who will be many many years senior to you. No other service gives you those kind of opportunity.
Why not IAAS
- IAAS has almost nil interface with the public. This means you will not be immediately recognised by many people. Here IRS beats IAAS by miles.
Honestly, I can’t think of any other cons for IAAS when compared to any other service now. If you have any specific doubts, you can ask them in the comments and I will be more than willing to oblige.
Don’t hesitate to select IAAS if you are writing UPSC. I can assure you that you will not have to regret that decision.