Growing up during your Articleship days, you would have surely heard the rhetoric that CAs don't need good communication skills, they just have to be sound with their Technical Skills. That's a myth.
The discussion of "Technical skills are only relevant" was true in the times when there used to be a Limited Number of CAs & firms would line up to hire them in the interviews. Nowadays, just 15% CAs get recruited through the Campus Placements and the rest need to tap in the Off Campus route to get a Job.
Group Discussions are almost ubiquitous for all Interviews that a CA Fresher faces. One of my seniors told me once - "Group Discussions are kind of a Organised mass slaughter". Most Group Discussions have less than 25% passing rate i.e only 2 candidates out of 8 qualify for the next round. GDs in CA Interviews mostly focus on the technical & problem solving skills of the candidates. But you need command over your voice & a personality to steer the discussion towards you. Most GDs turn out to be a Fish market, there will always be that single person who's going to dominate the entire discussion and there will always be cases where the undeserving candidates get selected.
In CA Interviews, Group Discussions can be classified into 2 categories, One would be the normal Generic Topics and the Second would be Case Study Topics.
Note: Group Discussion Topics are majorly based on the Recent Happenings & Trends. I've mentioned the Topics asked in interviews held during 2016 just to give you a clarity on what to expect during the GD Round. The topics to be asked in future interviews will obviously differ from these.
1) Generic Topics
Here the firms give a either a simple looking topic or a Technical Topic to discuss
a) Simple Topics - These aren't generally asked in the CA Interviews
Goldman Sacs - Should Uniforms be made mandatory in Work Places
Olam International (Multiple GD Rounds) - Are CAs better than MBAs
Deloitte - Should India invest in Online Penetration rather than on Food & Education?
Vedanta - Apple is more about Status Symbol rather than Innovation.
b) Technical Topics - Most Group Discussion Round have a Technical Topic.
Vedanta - Role of Minining & Extraction in India's GDP (It was asked because Vedanta is engaged in the business of Extraction of Minerals)
Vedanta - Is the business model of Reliance Jio sustainable?
Other Hot Topics -
Internal Financial Control
Impact of GST
IFRS
ICDS
Role of CAs in detecting Fraud
These kind of Topics are used to judge both your Knowledge and your ability to Put across your points with Conviction. Even tough you've a Sub Par communication or English Speaking skills you can excel here, by practice & confidence. Remember, that you just need 2 Good Points to win a Discussion.
2) Case Study based Group Discussions
Most of the firms recruiting for high paying positions ( Eg - ITC, BPCL, ABG, Marico etc.) give a Case Study in the Group Discussion round instead of asking a Generic Topic. For the CA Freshers who haven't really gone through a Case Study, this can be quite over-whelming.
I have written a detailed posts on Case Studies, which you can refer to in here.
You'll get a lot of Advice floating in the web regarding how to sit during a discussion, how to start, how to conclude and everything, I am not the right person to comment on how effective they are. Here are some more practical tips which I have experienced:
Try to swim against the Flow. There was this topic of whether GST is beneficial for the Economy that was asked in Maruti Co. during Campus placements. Every one supported it saying that it will improving the GDP, a friend of mine was the only one to oppose it saying that it's impact on the Economy is uncertain as of now. Even tough she raised a weak point, having taken a opposing view helped her score more in the discussion.
Try to be creative and think out of the Box. The judges sitting out there aren't professionals, they are the directors of the company who have been listening to the same points. Feed them something different. In the ITC Case study we were asked to select the best person to lead a group of stranded passengers of a crashed flight. There was a commando among the passengers. Everyone had taken up the position that the Pilot was more experienced and should lead the group. There was this friend of mine, who was silent for the entire discussion, apart from that one minute where he went on to argue that Commandos are given guerrilla training and are known for their passion, dedication & integrity and thus that commando was the right person to lead the group.
Gain attention of the Judges - In the BPCL Interview, we were given a case study on how to chose ethics over your job security. Everyone was arguing on the same points on how to build Goodwill & how Ethics in valued in CA Profession. During my own turn, I raised the practical aspects of how this is not feasible in the real world, and we should look for a work around that is both ethical & would also save my own job. The candidates sitting beside me lauded me after the interviews for the points I had raised but when the results were out, I was rejected. The reason being I was the last one to raise my point & I was not loud enough for the judges to be attentive towards me.
Speak Up - The first candidates who get rejected are the ones who don't even speak. Take that courage and get out of your shell, and put forward your views on the matter.