CA. Priti Savla / ‘Chartering’ the course of excellence

Dynamic, young, on-the-ball and utterly versatile, CA. Priti Savla, Chairperson, Western India Regional Council (WIRC) is a personality as singular as the multiple roles she plays. Having completed her entrepreneurship management course from the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad and qualifying as a CA in 2000. Over the years her work has covered various grounds: strategic planning, fundraising, project finance, internal audit, management consultancy etc. As chairperson of the WIRC of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) – set up under the Act of Parliament, the largest body of CAs in the world, she focuses on knowledge dissemination, awareness and bringing back women professionals into the fold. Apart from this, she is a keen writer and communicator, having published articles in assorted professional journals. She also speaks regularly on matters of professional interest at various forums.

A socially committed individual, she is active in various professional and social organisations. Her particular passion is to advise businesses and NGOs and help take them to the next level

Giving back to society has always been one of the objectives for me in life. I have mentored various women CAs to restart their careers, guided fresh CAs and CA students to select their right career for running an NGO

It’s been fabulous innings thus far Priti. How did it all start?

Priti Savla: I qualified as a Ca in 2000 and it’s been two whole rewarding decades in the profession. apart from this, I have also completed my entrepreneurship management course from the Indian school of Business, Hyderabad.

Chartered Accountancy for women is still a relatively rare career. Tell us how it came to be.

That’s a long story. honestly, I wanted to become an engineer but my father felt I was better off in the commerce stream, so that’s what I did. as things turned out, I became very ill in std. XI and the doctors were not able to put a finger on what had happened exactly. after a long and protracted attempt to zero in on the issue, during which we met at least five or six different doctors, we visited an orthopaedic surgeon who told us that if I were not operated upon immediately, the infection that had basically spread to the entire body, would take my life. shocked beyond our wits, I was admitted in the hinduja hospital. Within 48 hours, I was operated upon. This was in February 1994, a pretty crucial time considering that my board exams of std. XII were around the corner. I was to be discharged on march 4 and the board exams were to be commenced from march 8 onwards. my doctors and family were pretty concerned about my decision to take my exams as they felt my health came first. But I was determined to sit my papers. my dad and uncle managed to get special permission from Board, special room at the exam centre and ambulance for me to make it as easy as possible in the circumstances. so that’s how I gave my boards.

How did you fare?

I got a first-class, 66 per cent to be precise. a friend suggested I take the Ca foundation exam; he even brought the form for me to fill (smiles). and that was my first step towards this profession.

And did you pass in the first attempt?

Oh, that’s a story in itself. In our community marriage is supposed to be an early event. at 20, my family felt it was the right time for me to get engaged. I got engaged in June ‘99, while my Ca final exams were in november ‘99. I had to plead with my family to kindly give me the time to sit for my exams, which they did. as soon as I finished my papers, the wedding happened. shortly after, the results came in, and to my delight, I had cleared.

Wonderful! Tell us about your journey in a nutshell.

I have practised my profession from the outset. I am a partner in k P B & associates which is over two decades old. I am a director of a company as well as a part of a nGO. I am an independent director on the boards of several listed companies. Giving back to society has always been one of my objectives in life. I have mentored various women Cas to restart their careers, guided fresh Cas and Ca students to select their right career. The reassuring thing is that women are an increasing force in the world of chartered accountancy. In fact, I have done a little research on the numbers. This was around a decade ago.

What does your research tell you?

As per research, as many as 50 per cent of women drop out of their professional career immediately after marriage or a few years hence. some take a break due to kids or family issues and then do not return soon, or at all. Given the fast pace of technology, especially over the last five years, it is critical that they keep abreast of what’s happening in their profession and return quickly. When that does not happen, they feel redundant. to counter that, and hopefully, I encourage more ladies to return to the profession, I started various small seminars for them of three hourly durations each in order for them to attend and learn. We would do this for women Cas on a regular basis and also carry out campus recruitment for girl candidates.

Which is the forum that takes these seminars?

It is the ICAI platform. earlier on, I was part of the managing Committee of the Thane branch. Then I was elected to the Western India regional Council (WIRC), the largest region. at present, there are as many as three lakh Cas in the country and about 35 per cent are in WIRC.

Tell us more about the WIRC...

There are about 1,16,000 Cas and 2,50,000 Ca students in the western region. The western region comprises three states namely, maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa. There are 35 branches in the western region and 65 study circles and various study chapters.

What is your role and what does the WIRC do?

The WIRC ensures that the various decisions taken by the ICAI are duly implemented and executed. as the region head, information dissemination and knowledge building for students and professionals is my duty. I have to esure they are updated on the latest legislation and regulatory changes so that they can do audits/certifications in a proper manner. to that end, we organise conferences/seminars/ workshops to guide them properly. We also interact regularly with the Government officials for the betterment of our members and society at large.

Speaking of GST, what are the challenges you have faced as a CA?

Whatever issues there are, we are in touch with the government and the GST council. so whatever we face, for instance, when the uploading of GST figures does not happen on site-we write to them, meet them, and keep up a steady line of communication.

Could you elaborate further on the teething troubles faced by firms with GST?

There were various issues faced by Ca firms during the initial stage of implementation of GST. trouble in uploading data, getting refunds from GST department and various changes in forms were some of the hurdles. however, over a period of time, these problems are being sorted out.

So you create public awareness.

Yes, we at WIRC of ICAI have organised various programmes at the regional level, at branches and study circle levels to create awareness and train our members and students. We also invite ministers, CGST and sGCt Commissioners to address our members and sort out the issues. so building bridges and connecting with the government is an important part of our profile. During the year term, we have generated more than eight lakh learning hours for members.

An oft-made observation is that there are many small-scale commercial businesses that have been forced to shut shop because of the complications brought about the GST regime. Please comment...

The government wants everything regulated - in the interest of the country and the economy. There should not be parallel economy out there that thrives on cash transactions. If someone doesn’t follow regulations it is entirely unfair to everyone else. In the process, genuine difficulties do arise.

What advice do you have for young students who wish to pursue a career in chartered accountancy?

Chartered accountancy is one of the best course to pursue. It is a very affordable course and does not have any reservation criteria for admission. It gives financial stability and good social status. I always advice young students – the 3D rule - Desire, Determination and Dedication. If students Desire to become Ca, determine the goal and dedicate themselves to become Ca, it is assured that they will become Ca. Follow your passion and stick to your values.

"Chartered Accountancy is one of the best course to pursue. It is a very affordable course, does not have any reservation criteria for admission. It gives financial stability and good social status"

What does it take to be a CA? One thing that comes to mind is mathematical ability. What sort of attitude is necessary to be a successful professional?

It’s passion. Without hard work there is no option to become a Ca. Further, as mentioned earlier-desire, determination and dedication. If you are determined, so is your goal. Write down your goals on a paper, and mark the ways of reaching it. review what you have done on a daily basis and achieve your goal. Put in patience and hard work.

Chartered accountants are partners in nation building. Our profession is based on the twin pillars of ethics and integrity. Chartered accountants are like ambassadors of any country’s economic system. hon’ble Prime minister has said that the signature of a Ca is more powerful than that of a Prime minister. hence, a Ca has to follow values like ethics, integrity, transparency, commitment and reliability in the profession.

Tell us about your family...

My husband is Paras savla. he is a Ca too. Presently, he is Vice President of Indo Belgian Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce & Past President of Chamber of tax Consultants. I have great support from him. I have a son studying in std. XI, he’s 16. I live in a joint family. We are all together, and I have huge support from my family.

Since we are on the subject of family, what are your thoughts on the institution of marriage? What according to you, holds it all together, especially on the backdrop of young marriages breaking up.

Patience is the key to success of any relationship. The first three years of any marriage or partnership are very crucial. you have a lifetime ahead of you, don’t think or act short-term. youngsters have to invest in the beginning to get positive returns in long-term. everything of value takes time.

There have to be adjustments…

Adjustments and once again, patience. everything will follow. I always believe in the healthiness of a diversity of views anekavant as we say in hindi. If there are five people in a family. each one will have a different view. One can agree to disagree but keep the peace. Go with what works best for everyone, what is comfortable, convenient and best for everyone.

What are your thoughts on bringing up children in a world increasingly short on time and high on technology?

We need to give quality time to children. Quality time with the child is absolutely key to their upbringing. I interact with various women and I understand that they generally come home from work when their children come back from school. and sometimes it happens that they are mentally at the office. I believe that instead of quantity of time, spending of more qualitative time with children is important. Further, we need to build a good support system at home as well as in the office.

Someone mentioned that there are CAs who do the audits beyond their capacity. Do comment on the overall scenario.

ICAI has an inbuilt Code of Conduct and standards on ethics. Further, ICAI has also a Disciplinary Committee. The ICAI determines the maximum number of tax audits one practising chartered accountant can do. recently, ICAI has also implemented uDIn – unique IDentification number which has to be affixed on all tax audit reports. hence, it becomes very difficult for any Ca to override the regulations of ICAI. Further, if any Ca violates the provisions of these ethical standards, disciplinary action is taken against that member.

So what is the chief challenge before a CA?

Various laws have been amended by the Government. Various new regulations have been brought by the Government namely GST, IBC, Valuations etc. The main challenge is to unlearn the old laws and relearn the new laws. Further, the Ca should provide timely and quality service.

What is the philosophy you live by?

Follow your passion, come what may. There will be hurdles but if you are determined, you will overcome those hurdles. Passion is a great facilitator.