Get in-depth information about the B.Com Syllabus

Bachelors of Commerce or B.Com. is a three-year undergraduate degree that is mostly pursued by students inclined towards Business and enterprise management or intending to become a Chartered Accountant or a Company Secretary. However, this is the perfect field for even those aspiring to build their own business and start-up.

The eligibility criteria for most B.Com. courses is to have studied Commerce stream with/without Mathematics (depending on the university/college applied for) in grade 12th and passed the examination with a minimum of 50% marks. Most colleges give admission on a merit basis, however, some colleges like Banaras Hindu University or Indraprastha University conduct entrance examinations for the same.

The entire degree course is divided into three years. In each year, there are two semesters; thus, in total, there are six semesters with a set of predetermined core papers and some selected elective courses. These days another related degree with even more emphasis on specialisation has become prominent and popular. It is called Bachelors of Commerce (Hons.). An Honours degree of Commerce focuses on a critical understanding of some core subjects over others. 

Several universities now even offer intense specialisation within B.Com. including the University of Delhi in subjects such as Finance and Banking etc. There are even integrated courses with MBA or LLB, or CMA for a duration of 5 years. At the end of these, one gets a Master’s degree as well in addition to a commerce undergraduate degree.

The various reputed colleges that offer this degree course are 

• The University of Delhi
• Indraprastha University
• The University of Mumbai
• Christ University, Bangalore
• The University of Calcutta
• Banaras Hindu University
• Jain University
• The University of Rajasthan and many more

An average salary received by a B.Com. graduate begins from Rs. 3 Lakhs per annum. Upon completing the degree, one is eligible for every and any field; however, one must pursue post-graduation in business management or a related field to be able to utilise this degree to its fullest.

B.Com Subjects

The various subjects of B.Com. are 

• Taxation
• Financial Accounting
• Auditing
• Corporate and Business Law 
• Cost accounting
• Management Accounting
• Macroeconomics
• Microeconomics
• Marketing
• International Business
• Insurance
• Investment among others. 

A brief overview of all of them has been discussed in the subsequent years of their study. These require intensive and extensive study and critical analysis of commerce.

Below is a list of the various subjects provided in the three years and in six semesters of the Bachelors of Commerce degree.

B.Com Syllabus - 1st Year

Semester 1

There are certain mandatory subjects to be taken up by all students. These include Environmental Studies and languages like English and Hindi. The University Grants Commission calls these mandatory subjects AECC (Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses). This pattern is followed by all those colleges affiliated with UGC.

In addition to these subjects are Skill Assessment Courses that students can take up alongside their regular theoretical studies. 

The core papers of the first year and first semester are Financial Accounting and Business Organisation & Management. The first subject is related to the field of accounting and analysis of financial transactions. The second subject is related to skill and knowledge development of business management. 

There is a choice offered to students in the general elective between Principles of Microeconomics and New Venture Planning.

Semester 2

The second semester has language as the compulsory course. The core papers include Business Laws – discussing the legal aspect of businesses and enterprises – and Business Mathematics and Statistics – discussing the quantitative outlook to businesses. You must decide from Principles of Macroeconomics and Economics of Regulation of Domestic & Foreign Exchange Markets for your general elective. Macroeconomics deals with the economics at the national or global, or collective level while Domestic and Foreign Exchange Markets discusses the mechanism of international and national markets such as BSE or Wall street etc. 

B.Com Syllabus - 2nd Year

Semester 3

There is no AECC from the second year. However, there are Skill Enhancement Courses which include Banking & Insurance and Financial Analysis and Reporting. These are courses that promote vocational education among the students. The core papers are Company Law and Income Tax Laws dealing with the individual organisations’ legal aspects of working. There even are discipline-specific electives which are – Indian Economy, and Financial Markets and Institutions.

Semester 4

The fourth semester has current topics such as E-commerce and Investment in Stock Markets as Skill Enhancement Courses. The Discipline-Specific Electives are HRM (Human Resource Management) and Industrial Laws dealing with the internal functioning of enterprises. Again, the core papers are very detailed and self-explanatory - Indirect Tax Laws and Corporate Accounting.

B.Com Syllabus - 3rd Year

Semester 5

There again is a continuation of SECs – Computer Applications in Business and Advertising. These are the two key components that lead to the scaling up of businesses and help them reach wider audiences.

The core subjects learned in this semester are Auditing, Corporate Governance and Cost Accounting. Both of these are very intensive and critical subjects that require a fundamental understanding of auditing and accounting.

The Discipline-Specific Electives are Principles of Marketing and Training and Development

Semester 6

While the core papers are two - Fundamentals of Financial Management and Business Communication – dealing with running and smooth functioning of enterprises and companies, there are several choices offered for Discipline-Specific Electives. These are listed below –

1.      International Business – Dealings in the international forum: their laws and legislations.

2.      Consumer Affairs and Customer Care – The front-end of businesses and assisting customers.

3.      Entrepreneurship & Small Business – Running small start-ups on one’s own.

4.      Organisational Behaviour – Hierarchy within the organisation and roles they play.

5.      Indian Polity and Governance – A seemingly political science elective, this discusses the national framework and atmosphere for commerce.

6.      Office Management and Secretarial Practice – Office Management, as the name itself defines, is how the organisations manage themselves and practices aid in its smooth working.

7.      Corporate Tax Planning – Taxation is a very big issue for all companies and businesses. This subject involves studying how corporates plan about taxation, minimising costs and maximising profits.

8.      Fundamentals of Investment – Finance is a very crucial aspect of Commerce. This gives a brief overview of investment basics.

9.      Management Accounting – Accounting of management of businesses.

There are two choices given for skill-based subjects – Personal Selling and Salesmanship and Cyber Crimes and Laws. These subjects diversify students' understanding of the field of commerce and acquaint them with the problems businesses may encounter.

B.Com Specialisation Syllabus

The specialisations offered by various colleges include BCom in Economics, BCom in Accounts and Finance, BCom in Investment Management, BCom in Taxation, etc. 

Here is an introduction to the syllabus of BCom Specialisation courses

B.Com. in Insurance and Banking – Theoretical and practical knowledge of the functioning of the banking and financial sector. The subjects for this specialisation include

1. B.Com. in Accountancy – Specialisation in expressing or presenting financial data of businesses and managing them. The subjects in this are

Semester 1	Semester II
Marketing and Services Management	Banking Law and Operations
Indian Financial System	Retail Management
English	Foundation Course
Financial Accounting	Advanced Financial Accounting
Indian Financial System	Retail Management

Semester III	Semester IV
Financial Management	Principles and Practice of Auditing
Public Relations and Corporate Communication	Cost Management
Corporate Accounting	Business Regulations
Business Ethics	Business Taxation

Semester V	Semester VI
Income Tax	E-Business and Accounting
Advance Accounting	Stock and Commodity Markets
Entreneurship Development	Advanced Corporate Accounting

2.  B.Com. in Insurance and Banking – Theoretical and practical knowledge of the functioning of the banking and financial sector. The subjects for this specialisation include

Semester I	Semester II
English I	English II
Principles and practice of Banking I	Insurance law and Practice
Second Language I	Second Language II
Principles of Insurance Physical Education	Financial Mathematics
Value Education	Environmental Studies
Business management	Principles and Practices of Banking II

Semester III	Semester IV
Business Economics	Services Marketing
Financial management	E-Commerce & E-Business
Workshop on Numerical skills	Workshop on Reasoning Skills
Company Accounts I	Company Accounts II
Non-Major Elective	Non-Major Elective
Workshop on Numerical skills	Workshop on Reasoning Skills
Legal Regulatory Aspects of Banking I	Legal Regulatory Aspects of Banking II
	Institutional Training

Semester V	Semester VI
Financial Statistics	Business Communication
Business Environment	Project
Income Tax	Management Accounting
Cost Accounting	Auditing
Campus Recruitment Training III

3.      B.Com. in International Business – Accounting and finance analysis with a global perspective. The subjects in this specialisation include

Semester I	Semester II
English	English II
EVS	Indian Heritage & Culture
Second Language	Second Language II
Business Organisation and Management	Financial Accounting, II
Financial Accounting, I	Human Values and Ethics
Basics of International Business	Business Laws
	International Business Environment

Semester III	Semester IV
English	English
General Elective	Corporate Accounting
Second Language	Second Language II
Corporate Laws	International Marketing Management
Advanced Accounting	Direct Taxes
Business Statistics

Semester V	Semester VI
Data Analysis and Visualisation	Management Accounting
Cost Accounting	Overseas Project Management
Foreign Trade and Documentation	Financial Services
Financial Markets	Corporate Governance and Business Ethics
Indirect & Customs Taxes	Entrepreneurship
	Financial Management
	Logistics and Supply Chain Management
	Multinational Business Finance
	Customer Relationship Management
	Research Methodology and Project Work

4.      B.Com. in Information Technology – A combination of business and technology and their infusion for proper enterprise management. The subjects include

Semester I	Semester II
Economics	Management Accounting
Information Technology	Auditing
Business Management	Advanced Business Statistics
Financial Accounting	Communicative English

Semester III	Semester IV
System Analysis and design	Business Laws
Auditing Tools	Macroeconomics
Management Information System	IT Architecture

Semester V	Semester VI
System Development	Marketing Strategy
E-Commerce	Workforce Management
Applications of IT	Commercial Programming

5.      B.Com. in Foreign Trade Management – Knowledge about international business combined with that of the marketplace. The subjects taught include

Semester I	Semester II
English Language	Entrepreneurship Development
Basic Computer Technology 01	Language and aspects of Development
Hindi Language	Basic computer language 02
Management Accounting	Management Economics
Shipping, Insurance & Documentation	Indirect Taxes
Income Tax Law	Foreign Trade Relation

Semester III	Semester IV
English Language	Market Dynamics
Elements of Export Marketing	Environmental studies
Hindi Language	Language and Temper
Corporate Accounts	Principles of Management
Statistics	Financing and Procedure
Environmental Studies	Cost Accounting

Semester V	Semester VI
Financial Accounting	Business Mathematics
Basics of Foreign trade	English Language and Indian Culture
Entrepreneurship	Business Organisation and Communication
Business Law	India’s Foreign Trade
Accounting	Development of Entrepreneurship

Best Books for B.Com

Given Bachelor of Commerce is a research-intensive and concept-extensive study, it requires a lot of reading and learning. Thus, mentioned below is a list of all the reference books one can refer to for ease of access – 

1.      Financial Accounting: For B.Com by S.N. Maheshwari and S.K. Maheshwari

2.      Cost Accounting: Theory & Practice, 3rd Ed. by Nirmal Gupta, Chhavi Sharma

3.      Corporate Accounting: Theory & Practice – 2nd Ed, by Nirmal Gupta

4.      Corporate Accounting - Dr. S.M Shukla

5.      Financial Accounting - Dr Anil Kumar

6.      Business Research Methods - K.Ramachandra

7.      Business Law - M.C Kuchhal

8.      Business Communication - Pooja Khanna

9.      E-Commerce - K.C. Lauden

10.   Cost and Management Accounting - M.N Arora

11.   Tax Laws - Dr Vandana Bangar

12.   Advanced Financial Accounting - D.K Goel

Conclusion

Bachelors of Commerce is a prestigious degree specifically for those keen on building brands and businesses of their own. Despite this course being a beginning block to learning commerce and business studies, this is a fundamental block and a step to prepare for the future of enterprises and their management. This course will let you explore and widen your horizons and open new avenues simultaneously. Furthermore, the flexibility of this program enables you to participate in part-time related courses and certificate programs to provide an impetus to your career and future progress.