Examinations - Oh my God

This is probably not the right time to write this article, as majority of you would be busy preparing for exams.  However, I still thought it might be of use to those who happen to take a break by visiting the web-site.

Examinations are the time when all your efforts are put to test to check how much oil (hard work) you have put in the machinery (yourself). It is indeed the time when everyone starts believing in variety of beliefs which probably would not have made any sense at the time when one was not preparing for the examinations. And rightly so, since everyone wants to get over with the examination and proudly carry the tag of a ‘chartered accountant’.

At this juncture, the idea of writing this article is simply to put in some words of wisdom which might be of use whilst you are preparing for the examinations.

First, there is absolutely no need to panic as it would create more restlessness and anxiety. Whatever preparations have gone and the level of efforts you have put in are excellent and one should now only think of capitalising them.  It is very important that we should not try to grasp more and more at this point at the cost of not remembering whatever we have studied in the past. I remember my days when I gave my CA (Final) examinations in 2002 when my father told me to just relax and take it easy during the exam days. 

Second, keep your FOCUS. It is important that you keep your ‘FOCUS’ right and keep revising whatever you have studied.  I always tell my juniors that keeping a Focus on anything creates value and helps you gain tremendously.  I always narrate this incidence that if you take a magnifying glass, keep it above a piece of paper in sunlight and focus the sun-rays on the paper, within no time the paper burns. This is the power of FOCUS.  Keep focussing on the target that you have to clear your examinations and don’t think of anything else.

Third, never discuss the paper which got over. Lot of students have this habit of discussing the question papers with their friends and then getting bogged down with the fact that probably they have committed some error in that paper. Let me tell you that it is not necessary what your friend mentioned was right as there is a strong likelihood that even what you wrote could probably make more sense to the examiner. In addition, whatever has happened would not get changed even if you thread-bear the questions with your friends. That cannot be changed now, so why un-necessary mull over it.

Fourth, don’t start believing in un-necessary rituals or beliefs which have nothing to do with the efforts you have put in and the ultimate results.  Please note that the result is directly proportional to the efforts put in by you and rituals and beliefs have nothing to do with it.  Had that been the case, every CA student would have spent majority of his/her time in temples chanting religious hymns rather than at VG Sir or Praveen Sharma Sir’s classes. 

In the end I would like to conclude that if you sincerely believe that you have put in the right amount of efforts and have given your best short, the nature also helps you in achieving your goal.  After all, you can only fool others, but not yourself.

All the Best!

Nimish is a Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretary and has more than 10 years of experience. He has worked with E&Y and KPMG in Europe and with Pwc, Mumbai.  Nimish now runs Promaynov Executive Trainers LLP, a boutique training and recruitment firm for fresh/newly qualified CAs which provides technical and soft skills training to new CAs and also helps them with jobs through their private campus. He can be contacted at nimish.goel@promaynov.com