This CA lost his father and pushed through to clear CA final exams

• Vivek Tiwari from Kolkata had everything going well in his life, till he lost his Dad.
• He had to manage his CA studies as well as be the breadwinner for his family.
• An inspirational story of how one can win over difficult times.

CPT & IPCC journey

Chartered Accountancy (CA) happened to me the same way it happens to most of us; Did commerce, saw everyone do CA, and went ahead to do the same. 

I cleared CPT on the 1st attempt and IPCC (2nd level CA exam) on the 2nd attempt but was still unsure whether I was passionate about CA or not.

Articleship journey

Then came my articleship which completely changed my view toward this course.

The work I was doing developed a passion in me for this course and its practical aspects.

I did my articleship from a mid-sized firm in Kolkata and then I coupled it with industrial training in Birla Corporation Ltd which gave me work experience of a big corporate.

I always gave that little extra effort at the office during my articleship. If you enjoy your work, you are sure to do better than others – that was my situation.

Combining the practical aspects and application of bookish knowledge was exciting to me.

CA Final journey & personal loss

However, after working for 3 years getting back to that ‘ZONE OF A STUDENT’ and preparing for Final exams was not an easy task.

I was good with the conceptual aspects but was very poor with the rote learning which also plays a part in the preparations.

I somehow had my heart in the office and was not enjoying studying. But the qualification was obviously equally important as the work experience.

Problems in my personal life like losing my father to a sudden road accident came as a shock to me ahead of my finals. There was constant support from friends and relatives but the worry of becoming the breadwinner of my family ASAP added to my desperation.

This certainly did not help me prepare for my exams with a clear mind. I used to over-exaggerate at times and panic at crunch times which never helps.

It took me 3 attempts to clear CA Final Group 1 and then had to wait for 2 more attempts to clear CA Final Group

Those days of giving my best dedication and then failing miserably were denting my confidence. But how can I forget that Dad always taught me – NEVER GIVE UP.

Getting up each time you get knocked down is not easy but CA is a course that makes you mentally strong and tests your character too.

Apart from my Mother’s constant support and my close friends and relatives standing by me, some important things that kept me going were:

• SELF BELIEF that YES I can do it
• THE NON EXISTENCE of jealousy or insecurity seeing others do it before me
• CONFIDENCE that it is a matter of PERSISTENCE and once I am through there will be no looking back

The day when I cleared my CA exams was a moment of great JOY. A moment of relief and pride!

It was a feeling that all the struggles were worth it.

Wrapping up

Today I am pleased to be working as a Credit Manager at HDFC Bank, Kolkata.

Whenever I meet an aspiring CA student I stress 3 important things:

Be CONSISTENT with your efforts and do not give up.

Approach the course with the right frame of mind rather than taking too much pressure or being too casual.

Life is a bundle of failures and successes. What makes us who we are is the way we handle them.