‘The sheer attitude to handle the issue head on helps to find solution and navigate the way’

This is something I learned during my College days which helped to achieve my goals and of course in my career growth and development. The sheer attitude to handle the issue “head on” helps to find solution and navigate your way. I had limited means during my College and Professional days to the extent buying an extra book or a reference material was a “luxury and an add on cost” to the overall family budget. I had a choice to Crib about my family situation or deal with it…second choice was practical. When I finished my CA intermediate (in first attempt) I used to take classes for B. Com and student pursing CA inter.  I made some money in this process to buy books and was lucky to buy two good shirts also. Point is if you set your mind to something, you would see only the end goal...the drive and passion in you will help to overcome challenges on the way and of course “the divine support” which will strengthen your resolve. 

Well I managed to finish my Chartered Accountancy…time for next goal. Get into a good job and fend for yourself. I remember going for my first interview and I did not have a pair of shoes to wear because I could not afford. I borrowed my neighbor’s sandal and went to the interview. The interviewer looked at me and asked “why are you not wearing a shoe and don’t you have the dressing sense”? Imagine as a young boy who just finished his CA and is full of dreams getting greeted in this way. I answered with a straight face (the attitude to do something about it than to crib) …”this is what I can afford…you hire me for my skills and not for my dress.” Well he did like the answer though I did not take up the job as it did not align with my larger goals.

My career started slowly and went about doing different jobs until I landed in a good MNC. I was 32 years old and the CFO of that company told me while hiring there are 2 guys competing for my job…You and the second person is my “right hand man” who sits in the corporate office next to me. My job was in the factory 1500 kms away from corporate office. Whoever does well take the CFO job. My first reaction was this is going to be challenging…two reasons .one I am away from the big boss and he cannot see what I am doing on a daily basis and second my competitor sits next to the CFO and he has a better chance of influencing. I decided to do something about it…took up an assignment which nobody wanted to take it because it was too difficult and chances of failure was high. I made a success out of it overcoming all the challenges that highlighted me and needless to mention I made it to the CFO job within 16 months of my joining the company. Not only that, I was the youngest CFO in the group and was rubbing shoulders with senior management who were a decade older than me.

Do something about it…that differentiates you from the rest and makes you a better person. 

Srinivasa Raghavan, popularly known as Srini is a senior finance professional at HCG global

‘‘I still do big dreams”

I am Padma from a lower middle-class background, a single child with no siblings, with elderly dependent parents. A decade ago I was a girl with big dreams and no means. I still do big dreams!!

My dream was to complete MBA from Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad (IIM-A) which is a premier B school in India and top institution in the world whose entrance to MBA was and still is the hardest to crack and become a Finance professional. As the institution and course suggests, it is a prestigious one as it is expensive.

After completing my bachelors degree with flying colours amid various financial hardships, getting into any further full time studies with dependent parents was a luxury which I could ill afford, let alone an MBA from IIM-A. That did not deter me from achieving my dreams. I got a job pretty quick after my bachelors degree and within in a month of completion I started working, taking care of my parents and registered for Cost and Management Accountancy (CMA) course, an equivalent of Chartered Accountancy (CA) course. 

Doing a full-time work and pursuing higher education is not an easy task considering the effort it takes. I would work for 15 hours a day (9 hours of office work+ 3 hours of commute to and from work + 3 hours of studies every day). Yes, I worked 15 hours everyday non stop for 5 years. While I cracked the exams in CMA course split into Intermediate (2 levels) and Final (2 levels) phases, cracking the Level 2 in Final phase took 3 full years. Well, 3 years is the time we spend to get a typical bachelors degree in India on an average. 

The most difficult part of cracking these exams are overcoming the tiredness with the zeal to achieve, motivate myself every single time I failed to crack the Final Level 2 exams (that is 5 failed times and 6th time I was successful), overcoming the discouraging words of people, juggling between work, family and studies, etc. as the course is difficult to complete even for someone doing it full time!

While I could not get the path I wanted to take (IIM-A) to become a finance professional, I took the path that was available (CMA course) to become a finance and tax professional. When a person has set the destination and ready to do what it takes to achieve, one should not worry about hardships on the journey to reach the destination, as every single incident would help to strengthen the resolve of the person, how to get up every single time you fell down, teach values and lessons that no textbook can teach.

Like the good old English Poet said, “Success is not a bed of roses, it is full thorns, pitfalls. Those who wade through these hazards and hurdles could smell success”.

Aishwarya Krishnamurthy is a finance professional based in chennai.