- Who will be more successful? someone who cleared CA in the first attempt and has zero soft skills, or someone who has cleared CA in a number of attempts but has soft skills?
- Hi, I am Farzan Husain, a qualified chartered accountant from India.
- I took almost four attempts to pass my CA final exams. It was depressing back then, but that did not stop me.
- Despite passing CA on the fourth attempt, I received a good profile because what matters is your technical and soft skills, not just passing on the first try!
- Here is my story of how I cleared CA after multiple attempts and am still doing well for myself.
How Did I Land in California?
I clearly remember that while still in class 12, I randomly told all my extended family members that “I wanted to become a chartered accountant!”
However, I was discouraged because they remembered their friends who pursued CA but never made it due to very low passing percentages!
Fast forward to 12th grade results day, where I casually asked this close friend of mine what he intended to do. And he said “chartered accounting.”
I was inquisitive and enquired about all the relevant details, and within a few days, I had applied for the CA course at the ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India).
To put it simply, I chose CA because I saw a close friend pursuing it; I thought to myself, “If he can do it, why can’t I?”
And here began my amazing journey.
Extra tip: In hindsight, it was quite a fluke decision but a crucial and good one. I must point out that career guidance at the right time is key to a student’s success, and I still feel very little is done on this front.
Timeline of my six-year CA journey
My CA journey has been priceless. It taught me so much about myself.
To help you understand, CA from ICAI has three levels: CPT (PE-1), IPCC (PE-2), and CA Final. It also includes 2.5–3 years of article training.
Failing PE-1 in the first attempt
- I had failed my PE-1 exam (the first level CA exam; previously, CPT was known as PE-1/Foundation course).
- It came as a big shock to me since I had never failed an exam before. Also, I failed PE-1, which was considered the easiest level. So the failure was even more impactful.
- I did not give up. I worked hard and started preparing to study again for my PE-1 exams.
- I cleared the CA PE-1 exams in my second attempt with really good results. This made me very confident, and I started to believe in myself.
Passing PE-2 in the first attempt
- I kept the same momentum going; I studied hard and cleared the CA PE-2 exams in my first attempt (PE-2 is the 2nd level CA exam, now known as the IPCC, which consists of 2 groups: Group 1 and Group 2).
- After PE-2, I had a three-year internship at a chartered accounting firm to begin.This is known as an article.
- After completing 3 years of articles, I was eligible to give the last level of CA exams from ICAI, the CA Final exams.
- Once I cleared CA Final, I would be a qualified chartered accountant from the ICAI.
Starting my 3-year articles at a CA firm
- Fortunately, I was able to begin articles after finishing TYB.Com, so I didn’t have any college-related responsibilities.
- Articleship is a great journey in itself, since we are very young and this training molds us.
- I would highly recommend working on soft skills early on.
- As CA students, our studies will definitely make our technical skills good, but in order to get ahead in corporate life, soft skills will go a long way.
- To understand more about articles, read here.
Taking on Challenges in the CA Final
- Following my articles, I became very complacent and casual with my studies, and it showed: I passed my CA Final on my fourth attempt.
- Failing exams is a very negative phase, and it takes a lot of energy to remain positive and motivated.
- Support from family and friends is key to getting through the rough patch.
- Identifying weak areas and strengthening the strong areas will be good.
- Solve and comprehend past ICAI question papers; time yourself as if you were taking the exams.
- Surround yourself with strongly motivated CA students and eliminate distractions while studying.
Did I join any coaching classes?
- Yes! I joined the most famous class back then. I took coaching for all three CA exams: PE-1, PE-2, and CA Final. It was a huge help in my studies. Their notes were very well explained.
- Coaching vs. self-study? I would say that it depends on the student. Coaching classes definitely shorten the learning curve and quickly get you up to speed. Self-study will surely get you there, but it may take some more time.
- However, I believe it largely depends on the student’s preference, as both choices have one thing in common: discipline.
Starting my career as a CA Fresher and later moving to Dubai
After qualifying as a chartered accountant, I started my career at Deutsche Bank as an analyst. I worked there for almost 3 years and later moved to Dubai.
Why Dubai? Since I am from Mumbai (India), Dubai is only 2.5 hours away by flight, making it very close to home. It is convenient and easy to travel to Mumbai multiple times in the year to meet parents and friends! At the same time, I am able to get international exposure. Also, the good part is that you will always end up knowing someone in the UAE, and they will be happy to guide you during the settling process.
In Dubai, I started off as a sales analyst and later moved to the corporate banking segment.
My role involved making “business proposals for corporations,” intending to obtain finance, and a huge component involved credit analysis. (I would say that I’m able to take advantage of the financial management and accounting knowledge that was learned in the CA curriculum.)
“How to find a job in the UAE as a young accountant?”
There is no definitive way to say how to land a job in the UAE. Here are a few tips:
- The UAE job market tends to rely more on references than a simple online job application process.
- If you intend to move to the UAE, try to speak to as many people as you can, both in India and in the UAE. People are generally helpful when pushing CVs.
- Also, try to do some research on the expected salary levels for the job role and seniority.
- A lower salary in the UAE can be very frustrating because everything, like rentals, transportation, food, and lifestyle-related expenses, gets expensive. Interestingly, salaries in India have increased substantially in the past 5 years, and I feel that it is fast bridging the gap when it comes to international salaries (keeping in mind the savings aspect).
- The UAE is an expensive place to live due to its world-class infrastructure and high standard of living.
- One suggestion: If you are getting interviewed for a specialist role, ask the interviewer what the future scope of the job role is, i.e., how will it help you grow in your career?
- People, in general, move to the UAE primarily for the money, but as a CA, you also keep in mind future career options and career growth possibilities.
“UAE after VAT?”
- Any new tax regime will bring new opportunities for CAs. Work for tax firms has definitely increased in the UAE.
- Keep in mind that the VAT is a very simple tax structure, unlike India’s complicated tax regime, so it’s not necessary that only CAs can do work related to the VAT; even a B.Com. graduate or an equivalent can do the same job. So they, too, can consider working in the UAE with a VAT profile.
- Fintech firms are also big beneficiaries of the new VAT regime.
- Having said that, VAT is still very new to the UAE, so be on the lookout for opportunities related to it.
“Think beyond typical roles for CA.”
- Audit and tax are good career choices too, but there are a lot of other specialist roles like mine.
- As a chartered accountant, one becomes flexible by qualification and can branch out into various complex job roles because these days corporations have become quite complex with their organizational structure and their product offerings.
“Seek guidance before deciding what qualification to pursue.”
- Before taking up CA or any professional qualification, I would suggest students get career guidance from the right and relevant people.
- Do CA or any other qualification because it will help you achieve your career goals in the future, not because everyone else is doing it.
- A company secretary with a law degree is powerful, especially with the current climate regulations being imposed by governments all over the world.
- CA tends to become the default career choice in the Commerce stream, mainly because a student ends up specializing in many aspects of commercial studies.
- MBA Finance is also a good alternative to CA for those who do not intend to work in taxation or statutory auditing areas; however, with the plethora of MBA institutes, it becomes all the more important to pursue MBA from reputed institutes that offer placement options.
- Having said that, I would like to reiterate that guidance is key, so try to speak to or reach out to as many relevant people as possible when it comes to making a career choice; don’t just follow one person’s advice.
“Network with other CAs to understand the opportunities.”
- After taking up CA or any professional qualification, speak to other qualified and working CAs. Try to understand what kinds of job roles people hold.
- This will help one understand what kind of career path to take in order to grow in the future.
“Work on your soft skills.”
- Most importantly, work on soft skills. I cannot emphasize this enough.
- They’re harder to quantify than hard skills like programming, writing, or accounting, and they’re also more difficult to learn formally.
- Many students think that getting a job is all about qualifications and technical skills. Those don’t hurt (indeed, they’re essential), but things like how well you work in a team, how well you communicate, and how well you understand other people’s emotions are just as important.
- So work greatly on your soft skills.
