Getting articleship opportunity with Big 6: How I cleared the interview at BDO & Grant Thornton

• Wondering how to get into big accounting firms for your CA articleship?
• Meet Abhishek Garg who pursued his articles training with BDO and later with Grant Thornton LLP.  
• Here is his advice to CA students and tips for landing interviews at the Big 6 for an articleship.

Pursuing Chartered Accountancy

I was born and raised in Bahadurgarh, Haryana.

My intention was to study at Delhi University after 10th standard. However, I could not get an admission to Delhi University due to a low score.

That is when my family told me to consider becoming a chartered accountant, as that did not require any required percentage or marks, and CAs earn well globally.

The First Step: My CPT Journey

Honestly, I was not very keen on pursuing it, but I still went ahead and registered for the CPT exams (1st level CA exam) just one day prior to the registration closing deadline.

I wanted to join a coaching class to prepare for my CPT exams, but most of the coaching classes had completed their admission process by then.

Luckily, I found a tutor who guided me and showed me the way.

Since I was studying half-heartedly, my results for the mock tests were negligible.

One day, while interacting with my CPT tutor, I realized that I could either quit CA right away or give it my best shot.

My mind told me to leave the course, but since I had already paid my CPT fees, quitting meant wasting my parents’ hard-earned money.

I came from a lower-middle-class family, so every penny mattered. That was when I decided to at least give my best. In those few days, I prepared as much as I could and went for my exams.

Luckily, I cleared my CPT exams with 150–200 marks. I was surprised and excited.

My advice: Give as many mock tests as you can and do not get demotivated if the test scores are low.

My IPCC Journey after CPT

It was crystal clear that even I could pass the CA exams.

After clearing CPT, I was no longer scared of CA.

The next exam was the CA IPCC (ICAI’s 2nd level CA exam). This has two groups (Group 1 and Group 2).

I decided to give only IPCC Group 1 on my first attempt. If I had decided to give equal weight to both groups, I would have had to study for at least 6-8 hours per day, which I knew I couldn’t do.

The first exam, “Accounts,” of IPCC Group 1, my favorite subject, unexpectedly did not go well. I was thinking of skipping other subject exams, but my tutor told me to go for the exams even if I was going to die.

I took his advice and gave him the remaining papers. Fortunately, I received high marks in all of my papers, including Accounts, and passed IPCC Group 1.

In IPCC Group 2, I lost 7 kg due to overthinking and study pressure.

All day long, I would just think about clearing CA IPCC Group 2. I again gave my best and cleared IPCC Group 2.

My advice

1. Write your answers in a very presentable form. Practice as many MTPSs and RTPs as possible, as well as papers from the previous five years.
2. Don’t skip any of your exams, even if your friends are skipping them. The worst that could happen is that you fail. But at least you will know where you stand, and you can prepare well for your next attempt.
3. Many of my friends enrolled in both groups and later just gave one group a try; however, my intention was clear right from the beginning to focus only on Group 1. So be sure of what you want to do right from the beginning.

Starting with my articles at BDO 

After clearing the IPCC, the next step was to start my CA articles. When it was time to start my articles, everyone kept telling me to try getting into “big accounting firms.”

I was not sure if I could get into such big firms, and I always told them this: “Yaar, naa Mujhe English aati hain dhangse aur naa mere paas reference hain” (I do not speak English well, nor do I have any reference to get into these big firms)… But I guess destiny had something else in store for me.

One day I randomly decided to apply to all the Big 10 accounting firms and see what happens. I got interview calls. I attended interviews at EY, PWC, KPMG, Lodha & Co, etc. until the partner round; after that, no one from the firm contacted me. No reply means rejection!

After a lot of rejections, I finally got selected at BDO in the Audit and Assurance Department. Getting into BDO made everything so worth it.

Every rejection was a stepping stone to success. So if this is your story, all I can say is, “DO NOT GIVE UP.”

Different interview rounds for an article assistant at BDO?

BDO has three rounds of interviews, which are as follows:

Questionnaire and HR round

• The receptionist handed over a page full of questions to be filled up by me (these were not technical questions). The questions were like: Why do you want to join BDO? Why not any other firm? Which field do you want to join?
• I guess the purpose of the questionnaire is to give HR an idea about yourself and your areas of interest.
• In my case, luckily, the HR restricted himself to the answers that I wrote on that sheet of paper, but one needs to be 100% sure of what one is writing in the questionnaire.
• The HR also asked me about my proficiency in Excel. I honestly told him, “I only have basic knowledge of Excel,” as I stated in my questionnaire. I remember the same question being asked to another candidate who was attending the interview with me, and she replied that she had practical experience in Excel! So HR asked her to apply a shortcut to insert a pivot table, and she was unable to put the formula in; she got rejected in that round itself.
• That’s when I realized one has to be honest when replying to questions. Don’t try to influence HR with false talk, as he or she faces such candidates on a daily basis.

Managers round

• The second round is an interview with the manager. This was more of a technical round.
• The manager asked me to name a few accounting standards (AS) in detail. I discussed AS-2, AS-6, AS-9, and AS-19.The next question was the methods of valuation of inventory as per AS-2 (as I spoke about AS-2 earlier!).
• The other thing the manager asked me was about deferred tax liability, auditing standards, and statutory provisions in respect of employer contributions to the provident fund.
• They question us about what we tell them in the CV or while speaking to them. So one needs to be confident when deciding what to say.
• So, friends, please brush up on your IPCC academics before going for the interview. Also, be sure about what you are going to say in the interview, as every next question depends on the details you provide.

Partner round

• Luckily, I cleared the manager round, and the partner round was scheduled two days later.
• The partner round lasted for only 10 minutes.
• This round had no technical questions. In fact, it was so relaxed, I felt like I was talking to a friend. The partner asked me questions regarding my family structure, my aspirations in life, etc.
• All went well, and I was informed that I was selected.

How was my articleship experience at BDO?

My first day at BDO was March 7, 2017. With so many questions in mind, I walked into the shininess of BDO wearing my formal clothes. A laptop, ID card, biometric access, and stationery with a BDO tag are what I received on my very first day.

Along with other newly joined articles, the HR department introduced us to our assurance team, IT staff, and administration department. I got assigned to my first audit in a few days.

BDO Life

Audit life is so cool. Even though I was a fresher and knew nothing about corporate life, I used to get so much respect from clients. It was very fascinating at first. Gradually, I realized that when you are a statutory auditor and visit your clients, getting this kind of respect is normal.

Though I was in BDO for a few months (as I took a transfer to GT in the Indirect Tax team), I learned so much about conducting myself well by observing and interacting with others around me.

What did I learn?

I improved my speaking and presentation skills. Personally, it helped shape my personality. I learned email etiquette and how to conduct myself professionally. As the months passed by, I realized that I was getting mature enough to handle various professional challenges that showed up.

Stipend

An article assistant gets paid well in BDO, but that would also mean working late hours, doing monotonous vouching activities for months, etc.

But the icing on the cake is the fancy off-sites, the various infrastructure facilities, and the grooming and learning that one experiences at such a young age that make it all worth it.

I am very thankful to BDO for teaching me the way the corporate sector works.

Taking a transfer from BDO to Grant Thornton

With all the hype around Goods and Services Tax (GST), I had this inclination towards it and always wanted to make a transition to Indirect Taxation (IDT). Through LinkedIn, I applied for an opening at Grant Thornton (GT) in the IDT team and luckily got selected.

After 8 months of great experience at BDO, I accepted a transfer to Grant Thornton (GT) because of an opportunity in Indirect Taxation.

Generally, big firms like BDO have a very good policy. They don’t want you to stay if you aren’t willing to.

But friends, don’t take this opportunity for granted; instead, consult a trusted senior member of the firm (who can mentor and guide you) before planning to take a shift.

What is the interview procedure at Grant Thornton?

So at GT, there are 4 rounds:

1. HR round
2. Group discussion
3. Technical Round (Manager asks various technical questions)
4. Partner round

However, since GST implementation was happening during my time, everybody was busy with client engagements, and I was interviewed directly by the manager (direct technical round).

The manager asked me the following questions:

1. As I had an audit background, I faced the much-awaited question, “Why Indirect Tax and not Audit?” I was well prepared for this question and responded honestly: “That taxation was always my dream, but I took it up because I got to join the audit division after a long wait. However now if given a chance I would love to take this opportunity and go for Indirect Taxation.”
2. The next question the manager asked me was, “What do you know about GST?” I replied, “Composition scheme” (like that time, GST was at the introductory stage; I read basic things about GST and studied the composition scheme in GST in detail). Luckily, I was able to explain the composition scheme well to him, and he was happy with my answer.
3. Advice to all: Friends, here again, I would like to highlight: be sure of your answers when you reply. Now, when he asked me what I knew about GST, I said the composition scheme. His immediate next question was to explain the composition scheme in detail. So every question is interconnected, so reply appropriately.

Finally, I got a call informing me that I was selected at GT. Again, I just had a technical round as the partner was busy with client engagements back then.

Interview dress code (for boys)

Usually, as per various firms’ policies, the following dress code may be suitable:

• Formal trousers and shirt
• Necktie of a sober colour (can be ignored in summer)
• Well-groomed beard
• And the most important thing: be yourself. Don’t get nervous or overly cautious. Many candidates lack confidence. So, whatever your background, being confident (but not overconfident or oversmart) is a plus.

Are you eligible for articles training at Grant Thornton?

1. Must have cleared both IPCC groups (there is always an exception)
2. Either have finished regular college or are pursuing a bachelor’s degree via correspondence.
3. You should have positive influencing power (if you can influence the interviewer, the number of attempts hardly matters).
4. You can get selected easily without a reference (at least in my experience at the GT NCR branch). I didn’t have any references and still got selected.
5. How do I apply? They have a very good communication medium. One can connect with the HR department, firm employees, and trainees through Linkedin or their website.
6. I am personally very thankful to LinkedIn, as I was able to get interviewed at many big firms by connecting with various seniors and HR on the site.

How was my articleship experience at Grant Thornton?

• The well-set floor, the warm attitude of the HR, the cool administrative staff, and much more were what I experienced on my induction day.
• The life of an Indirect Tax Professional is very different from that of an audit or assurance professional.
• The deep study of the provisions of the GST Act, the advisory to clients, and the relaxed work are all that I was looking for and I got the same opportunity in GT.
• I learned the importance of reading my emails at least five times before sending them to any of our clients, as every word in them carries value.
• In big firms, even though we are restricted to a particular field, deep analysis and learning compensate for that drawback.

ICAI transfer policy

The ICAI has a transfer policy in place that says, “Transfer of article clerks is permitted without any restriction during the 1st year of articleship.”

There is no restriction from ICAI in the first year of your articleship, so technically you can take more than one transfer in the first year of your articleship (please confirm).

I guess the main purpose of this is to help articles understand their area of interest.

So from my experience, my advice to all is:

1. Choose your CA firm wisely. Avoid transfers unless it is necessary.
2. Ideally, one should work for at least 2 years after joining as an intern, and maybe in the last year one could consider industrial training (IT).
3. However, if you have decided to take a transfer, follow your gut and go ahead. In my case, an opportunity in IDT was something I could not miss.
4. Taking a transfer from one firm to another could also be a waste of time because when we shift to another firm, we again have to get familiar with that firm and its culture. Leaving one company and adjusting to a new culture may take several months.

Wrapping up

All large corporations’ HR departments are active on LinkedIn. You can also contact other articles or employees through LinkedIn, and surely somebody will help you forward your CV to HR.

All in all, take the studies for the CA Final seriously right from the beginning of the articleship.