#NewsBytesExclusive: Interview with CA Final November 2019 topper, Suryansh Agarwal

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) recently announced the much-awaited results of the Chartered Accountancy Final (Old and New Courses) November 2019 examinations.

Suryansh Agarwal from Noida and Abhay Bajoria of Kolkata shared the first position (New Course) this time.

In an exclusive interview with NewsBytes, Suryansh talked about the CA exams, preparation strategy, and also gave some tips for aspirants.

On securing AIR-1 in CA Final, Suryansh said, "It feels really good. It feels like all the hard work in the past 2.5-3 years has finally paid off."

When asked if he was expecting to be among the toppers, he said, "To be honest, no. The exams went well...I was very confident about clearing them. But I didn't expect to top...at the all-India level."

Suryansh scored 603 out of 800 marks, securing 75.4% in the CA Final examination. He had completed his schooling from Delhi Public School, Noida, and later pursued BCom (Hons.) from the prestigious Shri Ram College of Commerce, Delhi.

Notably, Suryansh had also secured the all-India first rank in the Company Secretaryship (CS) Professional Programme examination held in December 2016.

Suryansh also talked about his preparation strategy for the CA Final. He said, "Basically, the preparation started around three years back... along with articleship."

He added, "I took coaching for several practical subjects during the course of my articleship. In the last 3.5-4 months of the preparation leave that we get (during articleship), I used to put in 14-15 hours a day into studies."

Talking about the challenges he faced, Suryansh said, "There were a lot of challenges during the course of preparation. There were times when I felt low and...that the entire preparation wasn't going in the way I wanted."

"I got guidance from my seniors and teachers to focus on the right things, which is important, and not to worry about what's not done," he added.

At present, Suryansh is serving as an Article Intern at EY (Ernst & Young) in Gurugram.

Asked about his future plans, he said, "Currently, I am serving the last six months of my articleship with EY, after which I will have to see if I want to continue there or if I get a chance to join some other industry."

Signing off with some advice to CA aspirants and NewsBytes' readers, Suryansh said, "At the time of preparation, it's very important to stay focused. Avoid distractions...I stopped using social media in the last 1.5-2 months (before exams)."

He added, "Rely on the ICAI's revision/mock test papers...they help evaluate where you stand and give you a lot of confidence before appearing for the examination."