Meet Kalpesh Jain whose sheer dedication, perseverance and brilliance have propelled him to secure an impressive second All India Rank in the prestigious CA Final exams. His unwavering commitment to excellence, coupled with countless hours of hard work and determination, has set a remarkable example for aspiring Chartered Accountants.
We had the privilege to interview Kalpesh Jain, who secured an exceptional AIR 2 in the CA Final May 2023 exams. Here's a glimpse into his inspiring journey and valuable insights.
Good afternoon, Kalpesh. Congratulations on securing CA Final AIR-2!
Thank you so much!!
So, how is the feeling of being CA Kalpesh now? What was your reaction?
It's kind of an unreal feeling right now.
I couldn't still come to the terms that I cleared CA and secured All India Rank, that too in a single digit and it's kind of a very surreal feeling right now.
I could not still believe that now I have cleared the course that too with an All India rank. It kind of really feels surreal. Even at this point in time, things are not really settled down because just one day before, these two letters (CA) were not before my name and within a span of less than 24 hours, the prefix of CA is actually right before my name. So, I am really very happy!
Ok. That's so nice to hear. Were you expecting a rank?
I was not expecting a rank at all. I just wanted to cross the line and get on the other side of the shore and I did not want to come back and study for another four months. That is all I wanted. I just wanted to get 400 out of 800, which is the passing mark and I just prayed for that.
And fortunately, on the result day, I got a call from the President of ICAI and he told me that I have secured AIR 2. So I went numb for a few moments and thought if someone is playing a prank on me. Later, when I checked my result, I was so overwhelmed to see my marks and that feeling is yet to sink in.
So, Kalpesh, tell me how you prepared for your exams. You're studying for 12 hours or 14 hours? How was your preparation mode? How did you plan your day?
So, initially, when I got four months of examination leave, my plan was pretty much simple. I did not complicate it. I was like first reading in the first two months from scratch - The base level work I will do and I'll read all 8 subjects.
It took two months of time. I wanted to complete the first revision in one month and the 2nd revision in the next succeeding month. So this was 1:1 versus strategy and I back-calculated how much time it would require for me to put each day so that I'm able to complete the course in the given timeline. So, my average study schedule was around 9 to 10 hours per day. I would start my day around 10:00 AM and end it by 10:30 PM (max).
I was not a person who you know, woke up at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning or who went to sleep at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning. I ensured that during the peak day, I put my heart and soul. I sat around for 9 to 10 hours each day. I did not really put in 14 or 16 hours throughout these four months because I felt it was not possible to have the same kind of energy throughout these months.
I kept it very simple and planned my schedule this way and made sure I did not have any distractions.
Ok. That's very nice. With social media and other distractions today, how did you overcome that? Were you all active on social media or how?
I was active on WhatsApp, Twitter and Telegram.
Instagram - I went off for the obvious reason that it is just going to ignite my agony that other people are enjoying and you're sitting in your room and studying for consecutively four months. So, Instagram was off, but I was available on Twitter, WhatsApp and Telegram. And even in WhatsApp, I archived lots of groups where my friends were there. So I was just in touch with only four or five people like my friends and family.
I surfed Twitter for 10 to 15 minutes at the end of the day to really know what is happening outside and over. I did not really want to get disconnected. So it was like from 7:00 AM in the morning to 9:00 PM in the night, my phone used to be at DND mode, so even if any notification or any calls popped up, it would not show any signs of notification. So, only if I went inside and see what is there in an app I would understand if there was any message.
So, I was there on social media but I kept it in more of a hybrid native mode so that I am not getting this factor because we understand a simple concept of attention - The moment you get a notification you run towards it. So I just want to kill the root cause of that distraction.
So, yes, I was there on social media in a very inactive mode, rather, I would say passive mode. But, I was actually there till the last day of my exams.
That's very nice. So who was your inspiration to do CA?
I never had an actual plan of doing CA because there was no hard-core research behind that when I did. So when the 12th exams got over, I just saw, okay, CA is one of the courses, let's give it a try. If it works out all fine, let's drop it. So because there were like two months gap between your 12th examination and your exam, so CPT was just in between. Let's try. So I gave it and simultaneously when the 12th result came in, I joined college. So the result of CPT came in. So even if intermediate does not work out, I always have a college degree to rely upon. So I was a very normal person, even in intermediate, I did not take too much stress for the course. Fortunately, the results did come out in a positive way. Both the groups I cleared in intermediate and that's when after finishing college, I took this course a little seriously because now I have cleared 50% of the course.
I started giving more attention to this course during my Articleship and Finals. And eventually, what happened is even during my Intermediate, I developed a liking for some of the subjects in the course like Accounting, Taxation and Economics. So because of the twin reason that I was very relaxed in my Intermediate, I did not have too much pressure and I developed a liking for some of the subjects. That is how actually I pursued the entire course.
Okay, who do you owe this success to, Kalpesh?
First of all, I am really thankful to the ultimate God. And secondly, my parents and younger brother. I think my parents have played a pivotal part of my success and my younger brother as well.
My parents ensured that I had a conducive environment in my house. They made sure I was not disturbed. I was untouched. They planned the study according to my comfort, according to my will, so that I was just focused on my studies and nothing else. I think my younger brother also played a big part in this. Whatever printouts, scanning, sticky notes or stationary to purchase or to write something. He helped me a lot. It was just that one message I dropped him, it would come to my study table in the next 15 to 20 minutes.
I think that was a huge part that he played in the four months of my preparation. Because without him, I would have lost a lot of valuable time. So my parents and my younger brother played a big role in this success. And of course, there was one or two of my friends who were there during the same preparation. So we used to talk a lot to each other. At the end of the day, we used to creep, we used to learn together and we used to revise together. So they really helped me.
My professors, my parents and my younger brother, really deserve the credit. So without them, today this would not have been possible.
Oh, that's so nice. So what are you planning to do next? Are you going for a corporate job or do you want to study further or do you want to start your own practice? How is it?
I want to keep all the avenues open. So basically, depending on the type of opportunity I'm going to get and depending upon the work profile, I am keeping all the options with respect to either be it practice, be it corporate industry or be it even consulting. So eventually once over the line of three or four years, when I figure out things and understand this is where I really enjoy or this is where I'm finding my comfort with and that is when I really want to decide today. So basically, I want to keep my avenues open, options open and explore a lot of things because I still have the time to take risks and evaluate options today is what I really see.
So what are you going to tell the younger generation, I mean the next CA students who are going to take up the November exams and what are your suggestions or advice to them?
Very simple things only like, first have a positive mindset, be positive, never ever doubt yourself.
Today the reason if you're here, it is only because of your capabilities and nothing else. So it's not like that I had a rank in Foundation, I had a rank in Intermediate, I never had a rank before in CA Finals. CA final was my first place in the CA course that I got a rank. So don't think that you are not capable of, you are very much capable and every person is capable of outdoing himself or herself. So have that positive mindset and be confident about yourself.
- Today it is who you are - no one is going to come and guide you. You are very much capable to put yourself in the best shoes and get the best printout of it.
- Be consistent. I made sure I was studying 8 to 9 hours every day, not 14 hours a day and 4 hours the next day. Because the moment you are consistent you will know your pattern when you are at your peak, when you are at your least peak or at what time you are not feeling so good that you can plan your schedule accordingly.
So be consistent, be positive and the only thing is if you do this, trust the process. So every day follow these two things and automatically it will form a process. Just focus on the process, for e.g. if you have to complete two chapters today, complete it. Don't think about the end result. Keep completing every day's task and automatically the result will come. Just forget about this and focus on the process. In very simple words, be positive and confident about yourself, be consistent and just trust the process.
It will eventually happen is what I really want to tell them.
Thank you. Have you heard about CA Club India? Has our platform helped you?
Yeah, very much. Even during my articleship, I used to refer to a lot of CAclubindia articles like for general, tax and audit-related matters. In fact, the first website that I used to check was CAclubindia.
Thank you so much! This means a lot for us. I wish you good luck and also all the best for your future endeavors.
Thank you very much.
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