Begin With Your Strength to Achieve The Excellence

This is the text of the speech which was delivered before CS students on 20 06 2011 at Nalanda School of Management, Surat during EDP Training.

BEGIN WITH YOUR STRENGTH TO ACHIEVE THE EXCELLENCE

Dear Friends

A very Good Morning to all. 

Due to facebook culture now each and every person can become a friend of other. Your Sir is also a friend of you on the facebook ! 

We live our life happily because of pains taken by our forefathers, parents, elders, professionals and above all, by our social leaders.

Whenever a person shares his experience, say of 25 years, means he heartily wishes that young generation should go far ahead of the TIME. 

But, unfortunately, this way, after knowing some blunders committed by the elders in the past, young people think  they are more intelligent than their parents and seniors in the professionals.

Today, to begin with; I wish to introduce before you  Mr. Azim Premji. He is the Chairman of WIPRO, the 5^th largest Info Company of India.

There may be a question in your mind why I have chosen his name.

The reason is – previously his company was engaged in consumable goods. At that time his company’s share were quoted at Rs. 8 i.e. at a discount of Rs. 2. Then he shifted his focus only on Information Technology.  In the year 2000 itself i.e. within a short span of 10 years, his company’s  share were quoted at all time high of Rs.11,500 ! See the performance – it ranges from Rs. 8 to Rs. 11,500.

So the message is :

ENGAGE IN THE FIELD IN WHICH YOU CAN DO EXCELLENT  i.e.  ENGAGE IN THE FIELD IN WHICH YOU FEEL YOU ARE EXCELLENT.

This Azim Premji addressed to Management Students for 15 minutes only with great sharing on action plan of Decision Making for  career building.  The one of them was focus on EXCELLENCE.  

Today I am supposed to speak more than Azim Premji because I am not Azim Premji (humour) ; nor I want to be (seriously).  

Because every person is unique in himself.  The only requirement is – TO TRACE OUT THE BEST IN HIMSELF.

To make aware the latecomers in the session, I want to tell again that today’s topic is :

BEGIN WITH YOUR STRENGTH TO ACHIEVE THE EXCELLENCE.

And be careful; going late will never results into excellence.

To begin with, I heartily congratulate you all that you have got a great opportunity to be a qualified company secretary.

LET WE TEST HOW IT IS THE BEST. 

To decide, I have covered 7 points tests.

1.      LOW COST. 

One year primary education cost of English Medium School is more than whole cost of C.S. Here I wish to thank our Government that at least professional courses in Commerce Stream are in the approach of a common man.

2.      ADMISSION

 It is easily available to all. After some years when you will get married and have some cute children; you will face a trouble to get admission for your children in a good school.

3.      DONATION

 People pay donations to convent schools as if they guarantee the career of the students. This way they make fool to themselves. Unlike medical profession; there is no room for donation in commerce stream. 

4.      GRADUATION

 You know very well about your college culture. Many students waste their 3 golden years of career. After graduation; they come to know that this graduation is not of good help for finding job of their choice.

When they come for job, I ask them to show the mark sheets.

I see no good marks and hence no happy remarks can be made thereon.

During the interview, I use to ask :

i. So you studied for 3 years for your graduation. 

ii. Have you participated in any activity in the college ?

iii. Have you achieved any of the medal in any  area – during your school days ?

iv. Students keep mum.

v. My next question which I raise before them will shock you all.

These are the marks you scored (  48 % or 56 % marks  or so)

vi. Can you say that 3 years studies fetch 48 % marks and these are sufficient to make a good career ?

vii. Students keep mum.

viii.Then I carry on :

YOU HAVE MADE FOOL TO YOURSELF FOR 3 YEARS BECAUSE THESE LOW MARKS WILL FOLLOW YOUR RESUME ALL THE TIME WHENEVER YOU GO FOR THE NEW EMPLOYMENT OR FOR CHANGE IN THE EMPLOYMENT.

5. WHY COMMERECE AS A CAREER ?

This commerce stream is really SOCIALISTIC. It accepts all the students.  Either “original” Commerce students or students “adopted” from science or arts stream.

Why science students chose CS later on ? Can you assure that by devoting just 6 hours daily, a good career can be made by science students ? The answer is a big No.

And I surprised to know that parents are ready to pay Rs.1.50 Lac for 2 years study of XI and XII in Presidency School of Surat.

I am sure still there is no guarantee of good career.

Because science students; who score average marks find no good career. Interestingly, for science students, average marks mean which are scored just less than 90 %.

These science students, with a habit of regular study of 6 hours, make a good career in commerce.

Unfortunately, “original” commerce students  don’t find easy to study for 6 hours daily as they have habit of studying only during the exam days.

If you study regularly for 2 years only for 6 hours a day i.e. only 1/4^th part of the day and a negligible part of your whole life, a guaranteed career is waiting you.

6. PASSING IS IMPORTANT BY NOT SO IMPORTANT

Why ?  Because learning is more important than passing the exams.  Students just pass graduation. What do they receive ? Students scoring 90 plus marks in Statistics, don’t know what is the practical use of Statistics.  Students scoring 80 plus marks in Economics, don’t know the practical use of Economics.

Unfortunately, Coaching Classes focus only on passing which is not suitable at all for professional courses.  Now-a-days, many fresher qualified; start coaching with no knowledge of practical application of the subjects. They argue that they passed by referring so and so, then why not you ?

Thus students come back on the original misconception of reading only and unable to develop analytical skills. This is the only reason that many students fails in professional careers frequently, year after year.

 7. 50 DIFFERENT CAREERS FROM CS ALONE

Surprised ?

It is misconception in the minds of the students that only a CA has good opportunities.

Except Statutory Audits; all the areas are also open to CS qualified professionals.

The list is  Accountancy, Income-Tax, Service Tax, VAT, Excise etc.

First of all;  we take the example of Accountancy.

i. If you know Accountancy of primary level, a salary of 5 to 7000 p.m. is offered. 

ii. If you know Accountancy with adjustment entries, a salary of 10 to 15000 p.m. is offered. 

iii. If you know Accountancy with Excise, Service Tax & VAT; a salary of 20-25000 p.m. is offered. 

iv. If you know Accountancy with amalgamation and mergers; a salary of 30-40,000 p.m. is offered.

v. If you know the Accountancy with proper application of Accounting standards with IFRS, a salary of Rs.50,000 can be offered to you by big fours. Big fours are in dire need of good professionals with sound technical knowledge. 

And how you take this subject ? A matter of just passing !

The moment GST would be implemented in the year 2012 or 2013; there would be an immediate requirement of not less than 50,000 accountants in Surat alone.

Let me take another area : Income Tax.

Seven different careers emerge from Income Tax alone.

i. Return Filing 

ii. Assessment

iii. Appeals

iv. Tax Planning

v. Tax Administration i.e. TDS, Advance Tax etc.

vi. Search Cases handling

vii. Taxation of Trusts

In Surat itself; more than 10,000 trusts are there and good consultants are only 6.

These trusts are highly mismanaged and they don’t do the charity for which they were created. You will see crores of rupees as FDs in their balance sheets and a negligible part is spent  for charity every year.

Similar careers are available in the field of Service Tax, Excise & VAT.  Each one has 5 different careers as mentioned in Income Tax.

So total careers are 23 right now.

Other careers are in Company Law. I think you know very well being a student of CS and I don’t wish to explain.

In your Executive Course, you have read Economic Laws.

Many more careers emerge from this single subject alone like –

i. Registration of Industries

ii. Intellectual Property Law

iii. FEMA

iv. Consumer Protection Law

v. Labour Law

In CS curriculum, more subjects are there and each subject gives a different career.

NOW IT IS UPON YOU HOW TO UTILIZE THE DIFFERENT SUBJECTS TO MAKE A DIFFERENT CAREER OF YOUR INTEREST IN WHICH YOU CAN DO EXCELLENTLY.

The most important :

With CA, every type of client enters his office but with CS only Corporate clients approach.

Now I wish to WARN you about very important issue which is generally found.

If you don’t have mastery in any subject, no great career is there. You have to be in service only. Surprisingly, now-a-days, students are more happy to go for Service !  In Independent India;  still we prefer to serve others ! I have never heard a Doctor, i.e. a professional, that he wishes to go in service ! Professional courses are meant for own profession. That is why in Income Tax; it is taxable under the head Business or Profession.

Initially you may go for service but only for practical exposure and some economic needs for time being.

Again, if you are not expert in any of the field; you will find difficulties not only in profession but in job also.

I give one example.

Suppose in exams, you attempted one question of 20 marks. Due to step marking system, you get 14 marks out of 20 i.e. 70% which is considered good enough in professional exams.

Now come to practical. 

By committing the same mistake which you did in the exams, you compute the income of your company of which you are the consultant. I take the mistake from either side i.e. either you compute more or you compute the less. But the amount of the mistake involves  is Rs.2 crores.  If you compute more; the company will unnecessarily pay Rs.60 lacs or so in excess and if you compute less; the company will be caught during the assessment proceedings. Hence it will be liable to pay additional tax with penalty.

Ultimately; you would be out from the company also.

I think that results are very liberal and it is a matter of being  happy that these professional bodies require only 40% in individual papers and 50% in aggregate.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL TO MAKE A GREAT CAREER IN CS PROFESSION.