CA and Depression: How to Mentally Approach the CA Exams

• CA Shreyans Mehta: She interacts with a lot of CA students on a variety of topics: how to get a rank in CA, how to tackle exam stress, what are the career opportunities for CA, etc. That is when he realized that many CA students are depressed. His only message is to “study hard and stay positive.”
• He finished his CA Final in November 2008 with a 37 All India Rank and used the techniques listed below to stay positive and on track. He has also completed his Masters in Management (Finance) from ESCP Europe and studied across Paris, London, and Boston.
• At present, he is a partner at Alpha Alternatives, a proprietary investing and asset management platform that invests capital in multiple asset classes. He is an avid sportsperson and the founder of CXC, the Cricket Extreme Club, a cricket club for amateur cricketers. He is very active on Quora (link here).

Mental Approach of an Aspiring CA Candidate

I work with a lot of aspiring Chartered Accountants to help them get a CA rank or pass the CA exam. I find it extremely disheartening to see how many young guys are inching towards “depression” in pursuit of conquering this exam.

I thought of collecting all my thoughts on this topic in a small note that I could share with all the young guys. It may help someone out.

There is way too much cynicism and negativity around the CA exams. I just had a conversation with a young CA Final student (I do that a lot on Quora); he is “depressed,” and he is not the first one I have spoken to; there are many like him.

I tried to find out what made them depressed or got them so fearful, as most of them have the same academic trajectory: brilliant in 10th and 12th grade. smart, dynamic, and fell into depression while taking the CA IPCC (2nd level CA exam).

15 minutes into the conversation, I realized that the primary reason for “depression” is the presence of the following people:

• Qualified CAs: Making jokes about how it is acceptable to fail CA!The likes of “Where there is will, there is a way; after November, there is always May.”
• Failed CA’s in their second/third attempt: Unknowingly passing on the fear and frustration to new CA students in libraries/articles.
• Senior semi-qualified: Some of them try to create the impression that it is impossible to clear CA because the exams or ICAI are not fair.
• Professors: scaring the hell out of students because, well, they need to run their businesses (not all do; I know some great professors as well).

Seven things to ruminate on (based on my personal experiences)

1. Do not hang out with CA students who are negative.

• Help them out, but do not imbibe their negativity.
• Most of the CA students who have failed generally have an underlying negative tone to whatever they say.
• They may have failed due to a combination of reasons—lack of preparation, poor study ethics on exam days, bad writing skills, etc. But they rarely talk about these things.
• Instead, they just pass on the negativity and fear to you. Take the lessons if you wish to, but do not make someone’s failure your failure as well. In a way, you are doing a good thing for both yourself and them by not indulging in any negative study talk.
• My experience: During my exam preparation, if I met a similar character, I would always smile and change the topic. If they have any doubts, assist them. But I never encouraged a negative conversation and spoke about cricket, movies, etc. Anything but CA!

2. Avoid isolating yourself from the world.

• Do not “jail” yourselves in libraries or study in isolation all day long. Study at home if you can! Your family, friends, even TV, can help you stay real, positive, and sane! If you study all day long in a library, at the end of the day, interact with close friends, family, etc.
• Do not take study breaks and get stuck on WhatsApp, Facebook, etc. Instead, interact with your family and friends.
• Let normal life flow around you. No abnormal curfews, restrictions, etc. on yourself Fight with your siblings, argue with your mom over food, watch TV shows that you generally watch with your family together, etc. These are small positive reinforcements that you need to keep battling the CA exam.
• Keep the sanctity and discipline of your study hours, and let the remaining time be like your normal life.
• My experience: I lived in a modest house. But I always studied on my balcony, overlooking a playground. I played cricket with my brother every day at home. This kept me real. I never isolated myself from real life.

3. Almost one year before the exam, start building a happy, positive vibe.

• Be excited that you will be appearing for probably the last exam of your life. Be encouraged that it is a good platform (all-India level exam) to demonstrate your abilities.
• Of course, you will be nervous, panicky, etc. But let that be temporary. Let the underlying emotion be a strongly positive one. You must build that. This is a part of the preparations.
• My experience: I was a mad guy. I would roam around Narsee Monjee College (NM College) telling friends and strangers that I wanted a rank, and people used to laugh at me. But it kept me positive. It was part of my preparations. My dad insisted on me being like this and I am so grateful to him for that.

4. Get new books.

• Pls! Please get new books if this is your second or third attempt. Your earlier markings are subconsciously reminding you of your failure. It is depressing.

• My experience: I have never used a second-hand book. Saving the money is not worth it. The book has to invite you to read itself. When there are excessive markings and they remind you of failures, the mind never focuses well.

5. Do not fall into the trap of criticizing ICAI for checking, etc.

• Believe me, it is a waste of time and energy. No point worrying about something that you do not control, right? Your criticism does not change ICAI today. The only way, perhaps, you can change ICAI is by becoming a qualified CA—and for that, you need to clear the exam!
• My experience: Whenever any of my friends would complain about how the marking system was faulty and prone to errors, I would just say, “That is great; maybe they will give me 15-20 extra marks by mistake.” There is still hope even if a paper goes bad? Basically, I did not let it affect my preparations, even at a subconscious level.

6. You need to believe that “passing the CA exam” is not a big deal.

• Yes, you have to believe that you can pass too!
• You cannot put the exam on such a pedestal that it is out of your reach. Do not idolize people who have just cleared Learn from them, sure, but do not mentally start to feel how you can never be like them. Believe that you will do better.
• My experience: I always took it as a given that I would clear the exam. That is how we all approached school or college studies.I found no reason to change the mental approach in CA. I would always say that out of 100 students in any room, I am good enough to be in the top 10—not a lot of people can beat me at a combination of hard work, focus, positivity, and intellect. It cannot be so difficult!

7. You need to believe that failing the exam is not a big deal.

• Yes, you really have to! In fact, the more you feel that failing the exam is a big deal, the higher the chances are that you will fail. Absolve yourself of this fear of failure.
• You are in your early 20s. There are at least 40 years of working life ahead of you. This degree is only going to influence the first 1–3 years of your career, max! That still leaves a humongous 35+ years for you to make your career.
• Do not make this a question of life or death; it is not! If CA does not work out, something else will; it always does.

In Conclusion…

I hope the above helps. I would also urge all my fellow CAs and the people associated with the CA fraternity to keep it simple, real, and positive for all the kids.