My journey at PwC began sometime in Dec 2002. From then I spent close to 5.5 yrs with the firm gradually moving up from a trainee to an AM level. It was fun, it was hectic, it was killing & most importantly it was great learning.

The learning was not only with respect to the work I did. It was also largely to do with the kind of people I interacted with. My seniors, peers & juniours. So the thought which has been going around is that I pen down something about these wonderful guys before I move onto the next level & the next destination on my journey - ISB.

AG - Manager with whom I spent a considerable time working. Great guy, amazing sense of humour and gave an immense amount of independence with regards to running the team & the assignment. The best part however was that he transcended the boundary of a senior-juniour relationship & became a very good friend. Wrote my recommendation & gave me lot of leeway in terms of practically not working once my results were close. An amazing guy...

DT - The person I probably admired the most in office or for that matter elsewhere also. Always positive no matter what the obstacles. Tackled massive personal problems in life headlong & alone.....winning most of them. Was my single biggest inspiration in office for the whole GMAT & ISB thing. Here's to you dude.....keep smiling

VC - Unpredicatble, impulsive & argumentative, he was one of the first friends I made in PwC. Always full of grand plans....ye karoonga woh karoonga.....& then after some time....plan dropped, yaar, kuch din bad phir sochenge....What is not unpredictable is that he's been a good friend since the 1st day we met. Hoping to see you in ISB next year yaar...

SK & JKG - Dada's & good buddies. Had lot of fun chatting, drinking & generally passing time with them.

AG - At one time my best friend in office. Rapidly went to the person I hated the most....rather have the reasons not disclosed here...though DT & VC know about it (they suffered equally from the situation). Spoke to him after almost 1 yr when I cracked ISB. Maybe we'll patch up relatively someday....time heals lot of things....

NS - Another great person I've worked under. Always supportive, always encouraging. Tell him a problem & he'll take it to whatever forums required to resolve it. Admire you buddy....

The order in which these names appear are not really significant i.e. I am NOT trying to rank them in the order of their importance. It's only that there are hundreds of images which are going around my mind & they are in no particular order.

Also I have not spelt out the names. The initials should suffice....in any case you guys know who you are....

In all fairness, these are not the only guys. There have been many many others who have contributed to what I am today. Thanks to all of you....I will forever be in your debt.

My interview for ISB was smooth for the most part. There were hardly any difficult questions and most of it was general conversation about the economy & the CA profession.

One of the panel members was a CA, though he did not tell me that initially. He had put forward the question "Do you think the CA profession is getting commoditized?" By commoditization what he meant was that is it only about the fees being quoted or is the quality of work also taken into account. This was a question where we had a healthy debate...almost 10 minutes went into this.

My take on the same was basically as follows:

1. The quality is definitely taken into account. I gave an illustration of a recent assignment which we won for a listed Company which is part of the Sensex. This was a prestigious assignment not only because of the brand name of the Client but because the scale & scope of the assignment was unprecented for the CA profession in India. It required about 50-60 people working full time on the assignment across different locations in India. Further, all the Big 4 had put in very aggressive proposals for the assignment.

2. In the end it came to us. I don't think this was solely because of the fees we had quoted which in any case was quite high. The team which we had put together for the delivery was of the highest quality. It involved specialists from respective fields and were headed by the Service Leader of the Practice for India as well as the Territory Senior Partner for India. Also we had planned to involve Senior Partners from overseas territories (one from US & one from Malaysia) who would be involved hands-on with the Project. Added to it was the deep experience PwC already possessed in this field. I believe it was the strength of the team which we brought across the table which ultimately clinched the assignment for us.

3. On a different note, I feel that fees quoted should in any case be a major issue. If all the Big 4 are bidding for a project, logically the team expertise & experience across them would be more or less similar in nature. So in a situation where there are 4 options, all equally good, for a Company to choose from, it is logical that it would choose the cheapest option. In the end, the Company has to look to its bottom line also. If you get equal quality of service from X for Rs. 1 million why would you select Y & pay him Rs. 2 million.

4. The problem would arise if you are just concentrating on the cost rather than the quality. In a situation where the Big 4 is quoting Rs. 10 Lacs & ABC Co. is quoting Rs. 2 Lacs and the assignment is awarded to ABC without regard to the fact that the Big 4 can give a much much better quality output then there is a problem. It would mean that the Client is just interested in getting the job done from a regulatory perspective and not from the point of value addition & possible improvements.

To summarize, I guess the problem is not with the profession but the mindsets of the Client Management. They alone can decide their perspective - are they interested in better quality or is it only about cost control. That I believe is the major differentiator and also an indicator to where the CA profession is heading on a long term.

One of the traditions at PwC is that all articles who complete their CA throw a party for the entire office. It is part celebration & part initiation to the CA profession. One progresses from a student to a professional. There are very few more satisfying feelings.

The last 3 pass out batches threw their combined bash on 15th Feb. It was a special evening for me. I have never been to a pass-out party before. Till the time I qualified, I had decided not to attend a single party. All parties after that, including my own party, I had to miss due to various reasons....most usually due to the fact that I was travelling for work. In a way, this was the first party I attended and also will be my last. After close to 5.5 yrs, this was going to be last time that I was going to share a drink with these wonderful guys as colleagues. It felt nostalgic and there was a feeling of sadness as the evening wore down.

The party was true to PwC form a success. There was ample booze. There is something about consultants and free booze. So accustomed are we to the fact that someone pays for our drinks that we don't think before downing more than one's usual quota.

Quite a few of the partners turned up also. It feels good to see the top guys turning up for a celebration which is essentially thrown by the juniormost guys in the firm.

In the end I believe it's all about personal relationships. As I left, there were quite a few juniors who walked up to me & said "We're going to miss you". That I believe is the greatest positive I am going to carry from PwC. Best wishes & love. Nothing can beat that. Nothing.

This was a question posed to me by the Managing Director of PwC yesterday. I had walked into his room to inform him that I would be leaving.

If you feel surprised that I could just walk into his room don't be. Our Partners/Directors are extremely accessible & you can literally knock & walk into their room. Though I have never worked with Mr Kapoor on any assignment he had taken my interview when I had joined in Dec 02. So I thought that I'll just let him know.

After congratulating me.....this was his question....are you going and coming or are you going and going.....basically the question meant that whether I'll be rejoining after my studies or whether I'll be leaving for good. But the way the question was put, I actually started laughing. He then asked me that why have I not been given the option of taking a long study leave & come back & what would I do if that option is given to me. Blabbered something in reply.

Summing it up, he said that everybody who has gone to ISB from PwC has done exceedingly well, both during time at ISB & after that. He said that I should keep in touch & he would like to know how my year is progressing.

I don't know how my life will pan out during or post ISB. But the wishes I am carrying there from my workplace....partners, managers, peers, juniors.....will always probably give me the extra impetus in whatever I try to do.

To have a partner actually walk up, shake your hand & give you a pat in the back is not something I anticipated. I'll probably never forget this day. The Senior Partner of the office actually opened the door of his cabin & ushered me out. And oh....he's promised to take me out for lunch next week. I'll definitely write about that once that happens.

I do not have any work. It's hard to while away the day especially if Orkut & G-Talk is blocked in office. Basically my routine these days is to have coffee, socialize, coffee, socialize.....
The good thing is that as people know that I have got through to ISB, everybody is friendly and has a grin on their face whenever they see me. Even people with whom I have not been on good terms (very very few, actually) have come & told me that let's forget all that's happened & part on a good note.