If you have failed in CA many times

7 min readApr 26, 2020

CA as a course had come to my rescue at a point of life when I was quite crestfallen. My childish immaturity led to me taking up Science in Class 11, besotted by the IIT+IIM -> Investment Banking and 1 crore salary dream. 2 years was a long time for me to realise that somehow Science wasnt my cup of tea. I did qualify in exams like CBSE AIEEE ( AIR 7264 and WB State Rank 108) and WBJEE ( Rank 3101). But I shifted to Commerce in 2003. To opt for CA in the campus of St Xavier's College, Kolkata comes so naturally. My uncles and sister were also CA. So kind of jumped on the bandwagon. Was fortunate enough to clear the exams with AIRs and get the coveted 2 letters in front of my name ( writing CA Anurag Singal wasnt in vogue then)

Now coming to the point of discussion — If you have failed in CA many times. I dont have first-hand experience of failing in CA. But what I have experience of is the emotional turbulence multiple failures cause in the mind of a student. I have experience of counseling

Someone who has taken 9 attempts in CA Final to become a CA and doesn't land up with a job because companies filter candidates in MS Excel basis attempts
Someone who took 5 attempts just to clear Group 1 of CA Inter. Now calls me up to figure out if there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Someone who has turned 29. Appearing for CA IPCC since 7 years , unable to clear . Family members tell her that she is not sincere and must study hard. It was Papa’s dream that she become a CA
Someone who is stuck in CA Finals. One group left. turned 30 in the process, is married , has a kid/kids who would eventually aspire for a quality lifestyle — but the job market considers him as “semi-qualified”

and so on……

There are so many of such cases that i am privy to, because I speak to so many people.

CA is also like IPL in that we can draw analogies in the main actors on the stage

a) The Regulator

ICAI and NFRA control the profession, the examination process , the degree. Its like BCCI whose fiduciary responsibility has been to promote the game and over a period of time has become rich. Earns 893 crores in revenues and 2062 crores in Reserves and surplus and Earmarked funds. (Source Annual Report 2018–19). They play a pro-active role in ensuring that the game reaches out to the wider audience — organise campus placements and ensure that the flag keeps flying high

b) The Coaches

CA creates crorepatis out of the coaching centre owners. They are akin to the foreign coaches who charge exorbitant sums of money and who make the students dream big. They sell the great Indian CA dream in the form of 10k-15k pen drives. And exhort to you to continue in the struggle endlesslessly. They keep teling that Rakesh Jhunjhunwala are all CAs. They quote Rata Tata — I need MBA’s to run my business but i need CA’s to teach them how to do it ( a statement which we officially clarified that he never made)

For them, M&A deals are also common. Its a market worth hundreds of crores and synergies must be explored.

They also often work like Pied Pipers. They often tell you that you are failing again and again because the answer scripts are not being evaluated properly. So you think them as your Messiahs. Clearly they have an interest in reforming the industry and cleaning up the mess.

They will tell you that MBA except from IIMs takes you nowhere. And you must struggle here because you are from lower middle class

c) The Successful Players @ IPL

At every auction, the bid for these players just gets higher and higher.

Young CAs who land up as Investment Bankers in big-bulge , Mutual Fund Managers, management consultants at Mckinsey and Bain, Leadership program participants at FMCGs like HUL, P&G and conglomerates like ABG and Bharti Airtel. They start their career at 20 lacs p.a. and higher . CAs who become NRIs settled abroad in exotic locations — UK, USA, Canada, Australia.

For them CA became the gateway to a super life. And eventually when you see them starry eyed, you get all the more motivated that one day you will rub shoulders with them.

d) The Successful Players @ Ranji, State, District etc

CAs who clear in upto 3–4 attempts, articleship from a mid-sized firms. They are the ones who land up in a Big 4 firm, a KPO, a cement plant, a CA firm and aspire that one day they will move to the next level.

e) The Supporting Cast

These are the thousands of students who appear for CA exams again and again. They landed in the sport with the dream of being the stars but ended up being the players struggling to play even District/State/Ranji

Every year, ~100,000 or so aspirants enter the arena.

My humble appeal is to this Category that beyond a point, there is simply no merit in just being a struggling participant in the arena because its simply not worth it.

Someone who has taken 9 attempts in CA Final to become a CA and doesn’t land up with a job because companies filter candidates in MS Excel basis attempts
Someone who took 5 attempts just to clear Group 1 of CA Inter. Now calls me up to figure out if there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Someone who has turned 29. Appearing for CA IPCC since 7 years , unable to clear . Family members tell her that she is not sincere and must study hard. It was Papa’s dream that she become a CA
Someone who is stuck in CA Finals. One group left. turned 30 in the process, is married , has a kid/kids who would eventually aspire for a quality lifestyle — but the job market considers him as “semi-qualified”

and so on……

There is a concept of Stop Loss that is to be applied in the stock market. Those who dont know when to quit ended up rubbing shoulders with zero.

So what could be life without CA? Yes after 11 attempts — there is certainly that temptation to attempt one more time and maybe Lady Luck with smile. But then after so many attempts, your entire stock portfolio cannot be concentrated in a risky stock.

You have to hedge your portfolio . How?

In college, we often fall in love. If you have a breakup, does it mean life has ended? There is often arranged marriage.

You can become a Company Secretary, Cost Accountant, CPA, CFA, US-CMA, Actuary etc. — all correspondence programs
Get skilled in Data Analytics, SAP, Python, Financial Modeling etc.
Complete M.Com, appear for NET and become an professor.
Get selected in the FPM program, pursue Ph D
Join a CA firm and become the lead who manages the entire show but just doesnt have the signing power.
Join a KPO — there are so many of them today as India becomes the world leader here
Appear for Government Exams like CAG
Pursue entrepreneurship — even if you open a startup in Accounting/ Book-keeping, Digital Marketing, Website Design, Financial Planning
Harness talents like photography and film-making — I have interviewed such people also
Appear for Banking Exams — SBI PO etc.
Appear for PSU exams like Indian Oil ( there are Golden Opportunities)
Maybe take the big bet — MBA from a college https://www.sbi.co.in/web/personal-banking/loans/education-loans/scholar-loan-scheme