Anna Sebastian’s story: From a grueling exam to toxic jobs, the young CA questions apathy

Certified Public Accountant or California Anna Sebastian Perayil was a young woman with a beautiful soul and, needless to say, a brilliant mind. Passing the famous CA exam and finding a job in one of the Big 4… seems like a fairy tale. And yet, Anna Sebastian’s story is… Just 4 months after working with EYE In Pune, Anna died prematurely. What happened? How could the vibrant and promising light suddenly go out like this? Her mother’s touching post about work pressure and “toxic” work culture shocked the nation when she shared, “No one attended her funeral!”

Professionals and young accountants across the country mourned Anna’s loss. What had happened, what had gone wrong? There was a frantic search for answers and none were found. And yet everyone accepted that Anna succumbed to the pressure of work. Why? One might ask, and the answer was sadly simple: Anna was not alone. Her story resonated with many young professionals who are told that this is “normal.”

“CA life starts with exploitation. We are expected to work long hours, there is constant pressure. Many give up…” shared Deepanita, a young CA professional (not her real name) who quit after her gruelling job at Deloitte and EY to take a “mental health” leave for a year before mustering the courage to start afresh.

It all starts with the dream of becoming a CA!

Everyone involved in engineering and medicine talks about the stress that students are under. Tough entrance exams, huge competition and extensive syllabus – all of this is discussed in depth. But no one considers that becoming a CA can be as demanding a path as any other.

To start, let’s look at the structure of the exam. The process can begin immediately after 12th grade or a person can choose to start after completing their college degree. It may seem simple enough, but what’s difficult is not the admission process, but what a person needs to do to obtain this certification.

To begin with, the exam itself is extremely difficult and has a very extensive syllabus. The student must pass a series of exams: the basic one (for entry immediately after 12th grade), the intermediate one (2 sets of 4 tests each) and the final one (again, 2 sets of 3 tests each). The problem is not that there are so many exams, but the fact that one must pass all the exams and even if one fails a single exam, one must retry the entire set, sometimes simply because 2 or 4 points make the total requirement (which is 50%) not met.

In addition to this, students are required to undergo several mandatory training modules from the ICAI (Institute of Certified Public Accountants of India) as well as a three-year internship period which is basically an apprenticeship. This involves working with a certified public accountant to learn and understand the job.

Let us be clear. We are not saying that all of this is wrong. In fact, the structure of the course, along with the on-the-job training aspect, make it comprehensive. Moreover, the intermediate and final levels of CA are on par with a graduate level course and therefore one can be expected to put in sufficient effort. This, let us be very emphatic, is not apathy.

So what? Think about this: six days a week, ten- to fourteen-hour shifts (often extended during the “tax” season) for a stipend of Rs 2,000 a month. And this is mandatory.

ICAI guidelines lay down a minimum stipend of Rs 2,000 for the first year and Rs 2,500 for the second year. Honestly, these are minimum rates and there are many big companies that pay much better. But when we say better, it means that the Big 4 companies can offer a stipend of up to Rs 10,000-15,000 per month. In contrast, an engineering or management intern is paid much more, sometimes up to Rs 50,000 per month. A doctor undergoing mandatory internship gets a stipend of around Rs 30,000 per month (from government medical colleges), while private medical colleges pay around Rs 20,000 per month.

“In the month of July, my job starts around 8 in the morning and ends around 10 at night. No one asks you to stay… but no one leaves. It is what is expected of you and you cannot question your boss. Because, once you are registered, you cannot change. Your boss knows this and your career depends on him approving your form,” shares Pradeep (name changed), who still has 6 months to go to complete his mandatory internship.

Many other students share similar stories of being mortified by the amount of the stipend. “I understand that I am there to learn and whatever amount we get must be good, but the job is no joke. I was once asked to travel about 80 kilometres a day for three weeks for an audit… My monthly stipend didn’t even cover a week’s travel expenses!” Ankit further adds that he somehow finds the money “disrespectful”.

“I am all for learning and would perhaps choose to work for free too, but the attitude, expectations and in many cases a complete lack of empathy makes it unbearable,” says Ankit. “And if you don’t pass the exam on the first attempt, which is often difficult for most, with the 12-hour shifts and the level of difficulty of the exams, what is galling is that if you get stuck and have completed the mandatory internship period, you will not receive even close to a salary as qualified entry-level CAs or receive basic respect.”

Hard work pays off, but at what cost?

They say hard work pays well and this is especially true for CAs. Many of the big accounting firms and even the BIG 4 pay young CAs huge amounts. The average starting salary for qualified CAs ranges from INR 600,000 to INR 200,000 per year. These salaries can rise steadily over a few years. Many CAs can rise rapidly over a few years to huge amounts of over INR 400,000. But all this comes at a cost.

“There were days when I would sleep only four hours a day,” shared Poonam (not her real name), who worked at one of the Big Four for almost two years. “I wouldn’t say all people were bad, but yes, most people were bad. work stress “It was huge. Two years into the job, I started losing my hair, had dark circles under my eyes and back problems. In the end, it got so bad that one morning I woke up and realized I couldn’t move. It took me three weeks to be able to walk and sit for more than two hours,” she said.

“I worked hard and was paid well, but the constant tyranny of my boss is something I can’t control,” complains Anita as she shares her experience as a young CA professional. “I have worked for two of the big four and I can say that they are bad, but let’s not just call them villains. Now I work for a start-up and it is worse.”

Many young CAs and their family members have shared similar experiences of burnout on social media, and have not only addressed the company but also the ICAI. Two years ago, a large number of students protested and went to court to bring about changes in the examination policy and to demand a greater degree of transparency in the process. And let us not forget the disparity in salaries and stipend. One could argue that after three years of excessive work and meager stipend, excessive work stress has become normalised to the extent that these young professionals accept it. What adds insult to injury is that those responsible are also CAs, who have been under severe work pressure.

While our hearts go out to Anna’s family, we strongly believe that change must start from within the community. A little empathy goes a long way. Work pressure, deadlines, and busyness will continue, but organizations and managers need to understand that just because you did it doesn’t mean it’s right.