How this Cost Accountant & CS went from working at a BPO to running a successful practice

• Hi, I am Prasanna Venugopal, a Cost Accountant and Company Secretary from India.
• I was born into a lower-middle-class family and pursued my education against all odds. In fact, I am the first qualified professional in my family.
• In 2013, at the age of 29, I quit a well-paying job at Bosch to start my own Cost Accounting Practice – Prasanna & Associates. 
• Here is my story of how a boy born in a lower-middle-class family went on to start his own Cost Accounting practice and now has a team of 15 and serves 40 clients. 

Taking Up Cost Accountancy against all odds

I was born in a lower-middle-class family where even providing basic amenities for my family’s sustenance was a major hurdle. In 2004, while still in college, I started my professional career as an audit assistant. During this time, I had the personal trauma of losing my father. I was now the sole breadwinner of my family with the first payslip of INR 850/- per month ($20). With meager earnings, I was able to provide my family for their sustenance…it was quite a challenge for me, but I firmly knew that it was not the end of the road. While working at the audit firm, my dream was to start my own firm and engage and support big corporate houses in areas such as cost control, develop dedicated tools for cost reduction measures. In 2003, my exposure to management theory was a game-changer in my life. SWOT analysis became an everyday exercise and in due course, it became a ritual to every facet of my life. My inquisitive urge to understand “How cost-effectiveness will impact one’s life” fueled my passion to pursue a cost accounting course. When the situation was bleak and the future was unknown, I persevered with passion for cost accounting and enrolled for the CMA course from The Institute of Cost and Work Accountants of India in 2004. This is how my journey started.

Working full time & pursuing professional courses like CMA and CS

Fast forward two years later, in 2006, after graduation and passing the foundation course of Cost Accountancy, I joined a BPO firm. This time I managed to add a little respect to my payslip…a sum which was quite substantial for my mode of living! I was now juggling my studies and work. Another two years later, after completing my CMA Intermediate level in 2008, I enrolled as a student with the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. I took CS to shift gears to legal & secretarial matters. Simultaneously, I completed an MBA in 2008 through a correspondence course. This helped me get my first break into a manufacturing company (BOSCH Ltd)…a bright opening in my corporate career. My interest in costing was soaring as ever and in a short time of 8 months, I accomplished greater results for the company. I also upgraded my skillset by learning SAP especially the FICO module (which later paid me the extra dividends in my practice, more on it later!). I faced many challenges during my entire cost accountant study. I was never given a special grant to attend my exams and neither did I bunk my workdays for it. Finally, I qualified as a CMA in 2012 & CS in 2013, an 8-year long journey…which usually takes roughly 2.5 years, from the date of enrollment.

Taking an entrepreneurial leap and risking my livelihood

I was never fond of Big 4 firms and moreover the need for cost accountants in those days was extremely limited. Also, I knew the corporate culture and the nuances of how it functions. It requires incredible luck and time defining moments to showcase your skills to get recognized in the system! All of this instigated me to step into my practice, putting my financial status back to square one and that was a concern that I had to focus parallelly. Considering this scenario my appetite to take risks at the moment was low but I knew I could pull this off by taking a “calculated risk”. However, I was yet again put in a spot when my company gave me options to revisit my plan. They increased my perks and offered a pay hike of 60% more than the salary drawn, close to $25,000, which was way ahead than the industry standards. I took a firm stand on what I wanted and was relieved reluctantly from my company but this created a lot of opposition from my family and friends, as they did not want me to struggle and start all over. But I knew it was time to look at the wider picture and I was sure this risk would pay off eventually in the longer run.