How to crack CA? Be consistent and stay away from social media

What is the mantra to success? For the five students who topped Lucknow Centre in the recent chartered accountancy (CA) exam, it is time management, long study hours and sobriety from social media.

In the exam whose results were announced late Thursday night, three of the top five candidates of Lucknow Centre of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) are from the city.

Yukti Agrawal, who hails from Gurugram, is the Centre topper. Kushagra Agrawal, who secured second spot in the Centre, is the city topper with 352 marks. He said he was in class eight when he decided to become a chartered accountant.

“My father, a financial consultant, inspires me. Even at an early age, I was intrigued when he used to speak about taxation and similar terms. I cleared my final exam on my first attempt. However, after giving the examination I was in a dilemma about whether I would be able to clear the group. After seeing my result, I screamed out of joy. It was no less than a dream come true moment for me,” said Kushagra.

Kushagra maintains a daily sheet to track the progress in his studies. He said this helped him to work efficiently “with full concentration”.

Shivansh Soni, from Ambedkar Nagar, won the second spot in the Centre ranking. He was followed by Vanshita Jain, who secured the second spot in the city rankings, with 340 marks. Despite living in a joint family that encountered some financial issues, her parents and friends supported her in every step of the way.

“Consistency is the key to success. After writing the examination, I was not sure of my success because some papers were quite tricky. I think studying for 10-12 hours every day for the last four years helped me. To concentrate better, I removed social media from my life,” added Vanshita.

Kratika Gupta, fifth in the Centre and third in city rankings, said that her elder sister, a CA herself, inspired her to clear the examination.

“I studied for more than 8-9 hours daily, which was a difficult task as I was doing my articleship simultaneously. I increased the number of hours for studies as the examinatios approached closer. My parents burst into tears of joy when I told them that I am now a CA. Consistency is the key to success,” she said.