- Hi, I am Chetan Shah.
- Many people believe that quitting Chartered Accountancy means the end of their career.
- However, I proved them wrong by working with international companies, including roles in Qatar, Uganda, and China.
- Here is my journey of perseverance and not giving up.
Backstory
I was born into a middle-class family. My siblings were brilliant in their studies, whereas I was very average right from the start.
I never scored a 60% in my life. I took science in 10th grade and managed to get only 50%. As I scored poorly, I shifted to Commerce in 11th grade.
Due to my low percentage, I could only get admission to Gujarat College, which was a blessing as the professors there were amazing. I loved accounting right from the beginning but hated theoretical subjects, thus scoring only 51 percent in 12th grade.
Life after graduation
Moving on, after my graduation, I joined a company as a store assistant. I did not like that job as I just had to maintain stocks, so I quit it in a month.
Then I told my father that I wanted to become a company secretary (CS) so that I could get a better job in the future.
My father was very clever, but due to poor financial conditions, he just completed his M. Com. and took up a government job.
He advised me to pursue Chartered Accountancy (CA) instead of CS, and here I started my CA journey.
CA Inter journey
- At that time, we had to start with articleship immediately. So, during the day, I worked and then studied in the evening.
- I did not join any classes for CA Inter Group 1 (CA Inter is the 2nd level CA exam consisting of 2 groups: Group 1 and Group 2, now known as IPCC).
- Then in November 1999, I cleared CA Inter Group 1 and finished my articleship as well.
- For CA Inter Group 2, I joined the coaching class only for one subject, which was very boring: FEDP (Fundamentals of Electronic and Data Processing).
- I cleared my CA Inter in November 2000.
CA Final journey
I was working at a place for Rs 2500, and now it was time to decide whether I wanted to continue with my job or go ahead with CA Final (the last level of CA, consisting of 2 groups: Group 1 and Group 2).
I took the decision to leave the job and start my preparation for the CA final exams.
It was a trend back then to give only CA Final Group 2 and then CA Final Group 1. I also did the same thing and started preparing for CA Final Group 2 only. Now again, all my other friends opted for classes, but I decided to self-study and only go for tuition for MICS (it was a subject similar to ISCA).
I did not pass after a few attempts and finally got an exemption in one subject, but the entire syllabus had changed by then!
After the syllabus changed, I still gave CA final exams until 2005, when I gave up.
Life after quitting Chartered Accountancy
I got married eventually and a lot of responsibilities fell on me. My father had also retired by then.
I started working in a CA firm with a salary of Rs. 2500 per month. After a year, I joined an FMCG as an executive internal auditor with a salary of Rs. 6000 per month
After 2 years, I changed jobs and got a job as an accountant with a salary of Rs. 10,000 per month.
Now see the job hopping came with a very good salary hike. I am talking about the years 2002 to 2006.
During that phase, there were a lot of problems in my company, and my team would always send me for tough audits because they knew I would handle them with perfection.
In 2007, I decided to start my own accounting and tax consulting firm.
When I first started, I was earning $2,500 per month on average. Within a year, due to my good service, I started making an average of INR 20,000 per month. Life was good. But I always had this desire to work outside of India.
What now?
My international career journey
It seemed like destiny was finally looking up.
Middle East:
In 2008, I was given the opportunity to interview for the position of Accounts Manager in Qatar.
During the interview, the group finance manager told me that he was not very interested in my CV but liked my confidence and was sure I could handle all the responsibilities well.
And with this job, my international journey started. In Qatar, I was only in the accounts department, and I had to report to the group finance manager in Abu Dhabi.
There was an audit by KPMG going on, which I handled really well and received a lot of appreciation from the CPA of KPMG.
Africa:
I then relocated to Uganda, East Africa, to be closer to my family. I worked there as an accounts manager, and again, my work was appreciated. I was handling a team of five people.
From there, I came back to India due to the health issues of my son.
Then again, I applied for a senior management position in South Africa, but my CV was rejected by the management. They stated that they conducted numerous other interviews but did not enjoy any of them. Then, at the consultant’s request, they called me in for an interview and hired me as a finance manager in a middle management position.
However, after joining, I realized that the CFO had quit and they were also searching for his replacement.
After 3 months, the group MD trusted me, gave me all the responsibility, and promoted me to group finance manager.
When I left (because there were a lot of restrictions on movement and also because my son couldn’t play and move freely), the Group MD made sure I got an amazing farewell and told me I could join them whenever I wanted.
China:
After that, I went to China, where I started working as an account manager. The accounts were a mess, and the director told me clearly that if I could not manage things in 3 months, they would send me back to India.
However, gradually he realized I knew my work very well, and I became a hero again there.
Starting up after failing CA
Later on, I moved back to India (in China, education was very expensive) and started working in a KPO.
However, due to an unusual work schedule, I decided to restart my own consultancy (we provide bookkeeping services to a variety of domestic clients in addition to other services). We also help our international clients get their bookkeeping outsourced to India at a reduced cost.
Along with it, I also started a recruitment firm. The first six months were tough, but later on, I earned way more than my salary.
I am also in the business of selling anti-aging, skin care, and healthcare products.
Wrapping up
If you stay positive and keep negativity at bay, everything will come to you at the right time.
Each of us has the power to chase our desires.
Our true strength lies within; nothing can diminish the light that radiates from within us.
