SRI'S Blog

  A small break from my Gratitude series— This post is also in a way Gratitude to several heroes.   The Alert Award 2025 stayed true to its character of bringing out great acts of selflessness that reflect acts of kindness performed without any personal gain or benefit. From a total of 349 application that were received, to prune to less than 15 or so must have been a tough act for the Jury that did that job for the Alert Awards   Some of the acts and the awardees are listed below: The first of the awardees were the Conductor and Driver of  Kerala Road Transport who showed extraordinary presence of mind to rush a pregnant lady who nearly delivered the child in the bus to a hospital that they had just passed by. The lady did deliver the child in the bus but was taken care by the hospital staff. It was a  sight to see a Government bus in the lobby of the hospital and medical help rushing in to the bus (CCTV had captured this).   The next one is abou...

 I will be failing if I cannot thank V Kumar (another Kumar indeed). Kumar was our senior at our audit firm. When I joined the audit firm, Kumar was in charge of all the article Interns. We were about seven of us who more or less joined in at the same time and Kumar was senior to us by at least three years in the firm.  Kumar had completed his intermediate exams and as he was preparing for his final exams, he continued with our Principal who was also happy to have him transition his experience to the new joiners.  One would remember as I joined the firm,  ( Part 1 of this series ) I was surprised when my Principal immediately asked for the Registration forms to be signed. I was told to get the Forms  from the CA Institute which was around 4 KMS away. I was waiting in the reception area not knowing how to get there. I simply did not have any money to take a bus. Walking was not an option. Kumar saw me at the reception and knew my concern right away without tal...

  Well here is how I got my first job… Was it the one I dreamt off ? Not Really but it was good because I lasted in that Company for nearly 8 years.    Having cleared Chartered Accountancy in my first attempt and even before my tenure of articleship was completed , you could say I was over the moon (horns all over my head). People around me said you will be picked up in no time. Results came in July 1987 but till August end nothing happened. I was looking at the Institute’s job opportunities Board , the Saturday Hindu publication of opportunities and so on. No one wanted a Chartered Accountant. It was a stark reality that simply opportunities were not available or I was not looking at the right places.      My existing employer did have a conversation about taking me in but they offered me a Plant Accountant role in a God forsaken place ( Now God’s own Country 😊 – how times change ? ). I politely declined it. I completed my internship and from Aug...

  Well , you have to wait for the next post to find out how my career took off … 😊 Part 3 of this series raised a question – “ why was I not as confident  of clearing my final exams “ ?  There is a situational story which created that doubt. After intense preparations , I landed up at the examination center and was extremely nervous on the first day of the Seven day Agni Parikshai ( Test of fire ) .. And you would want to do the first exam really well , so that you carry that momentum to the rest of the six papers.  My Roll number was 4225 . I  was all set at my desk , 15 minutes prior to the start.  As I was waiting for the answer sheets and the question paper to be given , I noticed the person who was a topper in the Intermediate exams  walk in. And that person sat in two desks ahead of me . I was now perturbed.  I was hoping roll no 4224 would show up and sit in between and made a silent prayer that  the person should show up ! ...

  Happy New year Wishes 2025   Having finished the intermediate exams of the Chartered Accountancy course, it opened up avenues to additional learning opportunities that would suit my career ambitions. One could move in and do what is called Industrial Training with a Corporate rather than be with the CA firm for the last year of the three year training. I was never inclined to start a practice of my own and this made my decision easier (I think my father was not happy with this decision of mine). I decided to move out from my current employer and look out for Industrial training opportunities. Again, thanks to Kumar Anna, I got myself into a company with a rich heritage and legacy. The group was known for its passion, integrity and the respect that it gave all its stakeholders and how they ran their business. It has a presence in several segments but I got my training at their Abrasives division. What an experience it was …? Outstanding!  During the training period ,...