Interviews

Roohi Agarwal is an all India topper in CA Final Examinations 2011 for which results were announced recently. She has shared her preparation strategy and experiences with www.indiavidya.com for the benefit of aspiring Chartered Accountants. Roohi Agarwal suggested CA candidates not to get disappointed with small mistakes in the preparation and in the examinations. Following is the interview of Roohi Agarwal:

1) Question: Congratulations Roohi ! Let us start with your education and family background..

Answer: My native place is Delhi. I completed my education till 12th in Delhi (CBSE syllabus). In 12th I was Delhi topper with 96.6 percent marks. My subjects in 10+2 were Economics, Maths, Accountancy and Business Studies. After that I gave my entrance exam for CA i.e in Delhi in June 2008 in which I got All India 5th Rank. I prepared for 2 months for CPT.

Then my family shifted to hyderabad and I joined for artilceship training in Hyderabad and simultaneously went for coaching for PCC Exam. My attempt for PCC exam was in May 2010 in which i secured all india 20th rank. after dat i started preparation for Final Exam and gave attempt in Nov 2011.

2) Question: How did you prepare for the CA examinations?

Answer: My preparation strategy was listening with full concentration in classes to the teacher and understanding the concepts instead of mugging up. When u study any subject by knowing what, when , how and specially “why” of a particular topic, it develops your interest in the subject. Try to apply whatever u study in real life. This nullifies the chances of forgetting and enables u to answer any type of question asked in the exam. I used to revise every day after comin from office whatever i studied in the class..so around 5-6 hrs of study including class time for around 8 – 10 months. Then during preparation leave, i focussed on regular revisions and following the same book. I made a proper plan to divide my time into difficult and easy topics and important and less important ones.

3) What is your suggestions to the aspirants of CA career?

Answer: The main mistakes are getting disappointed with a few things you are not able to do properly. I wud suggest that u shuld find out which things you are good at and practice them more and be perfect with that. After that with the available time, try to find out solutions for difficult topics. So dat gud marks in positive areas can cover up less marks in others. Studying can be done with articleship if u manage ur time properly.

4) How much time did you spend for the preparation at the time of exams?

Answer: During exam time, I used to study for 14-15 hours. I took coaching from spellbound at Malkajgiri (Hyderabad), Shastry sir and Wizard Coaching Center at Nallakunta (Hyderabad). Mostly I followed the coaching material itself. The major books are for Isca – ICAI study material, for DT – Vinod Kumar Gupta or Manoharan and for IDT – Bangar

5) What kind of attitude students should have to succeed in CA exams?

Answer: Interest in the subject, goal orientedness, conceptual learning, lot of motivation and passion for doing CA and all this resulting into Hard Work. CA as a career option is very good as you learn time management and self discipline, communication skills and most importantly the exposure you get in articleship training helps you to develop many qualities and knowledge about the corporate world and how various organisations are managed.

6) Your message to the CA candidates?

Answer: Dream it, Do it, Enjoy it !!!

The Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship scheme was started in 2008 to support promising and talented Indian students with financial need. The fellowship will be administered to the candidates who get admission to the Stanford MBA Program and will be based on merit. The Fellowship program is a generous gift from Reliance Industries Limited, the largest corporate business brand in India. The idea of this fellowship has its roots in RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani, who is an alumnus of Stanford Business School. The Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship covers costs such as tuition, course-related fees, living stipend, and travel allowance with an estimated total value of US$170,000 per Fellow. Here is an excerpt from the interview of the winner of this esteemed fellowship, Nitish Bandi from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

Educational background (SSC onwards):

I have done my schooling in Veeramachaneni Padayya Siddhartha Public School Vijayawada from 1986 to 1998. Post this, I joined Sri Chaitanya Junior College Hyderabad for IIT coaching. I got selected in IIT in 2000. My engineering in IIT Kharagpur was a dual degree program from 2000-2005 which comprised of a B-Tech Agricultural and Food Engineering and an M-Tech in Water Resources Management. After engineering, I joined i2 technologies in 2005 as a supply chain consultant and worked for 3 years. I traveled to China, Singapore and Philippines to work with clients helping them strategize their supply needs and implement them.

Next I joined a network driven private-equity group called 7 Avenues, which has interests in Retail, Agri business, services and Internet businesses in India. I was involved in the Agribusiness venture called BIG INDIA FARMS based in central India. This is a food supply chain company involved in the strategic sourcing of agricultural products across central India, and building the foundation for a modern food supply chains that will span across India. This includes Farming, Processing, storage and marketing of food products. I was managing the operations of the company, along with business development to operationalize the food supply chain concept.

Now to work further in the sector and understand the business principles I wanted to do an MBA. A global MBA will allow me to learn about International Business and put to practice the learning’s for development of the agriculture sector. I planned to apply to the Stanford MBA and the initiative by RIL seemed to be a perfect fit for my career goals. Hence, I applied for the Dhirubhai Ambani Fellowship and got selected for it, and also got admitted to Stanford.

Screening Process of candidates – selection procedure- written test, interview and GD:

We have a written application which was to be filled and submitted. After this, some candidates were short listed and invited to the interview. Intellectual vitality is the primary requirement. They test applicants to gauge their leadership potentials, understand their personal values, the diversity that they bring to the institute and their commitment to society

Any special preparation required:

You have to get selected for the Dhirubhai Ambani scholarship and also get admitted to the Stanford MBA program. There is no special preparation needed. The fellowship is administered by the University and they pay the fellows each semester.

Future career plans after study at Stanford:

After Stanford, I would like to gain some global exposure by working with a worldwide corporation. This will allow me to learn about International business and global trade practices. In the long run, equipped with the knowledge learnt at Stanford and the global experiences, I would like to return to India and work in the agricultural and food sector. This will enable me to contribute to the growth of my country and also our help our farming community.

Advise to the aspirants of this Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship?

Right now, there are lots of opportunities available in many fields. I would tell the students to choose what is more interesting and appealing to them. Please pursue it wholeheartedly and put in the hard work needed. Always remember that failure is the best way to learn. So don’t get disheartened by failures.