CA final Exam 2013 Topper: Gaurav Shrawagi is a cricket enthusiast & Sachin Tendulkar is his idol

With a facebook cover photo stating “Impossible is Nothing”, Gaurav Shrawagi from Akot, a small town in Akola district of Maharashtra correctly changed the Impossible to “I am Possible”. He scored an impressive 534 in the CA final exams held in November 2013, making him the All India top ranker for the exam.
A huge cricket fan, who candidly accepts that Sachin Tedulkar is his idol in life and he never missed even a single match played out of Nagpur, Gaurav at first did not believe that he was the All India Rank 1 holder in the CA final exams, however, a surprise call from President of ICAI, Subodh Kumar Agrawal, and the ICAI website confirmed the inevitable- He had cracked the CA exam and that too by securing the first position.
Read this exclusive interview with Gaurav Shrawagi, Rank 1 holder of the CA final exams 2013 to know what he did right to sweep the CA final exam with flying colours.

Congratulations on behalf of shiksha.com! So how are you feeling and how is your family reacting to your success?

It was an amazing feeling when the President of ICAI, Subodh Kumar Agrawal called me, that you hold All India rank 1. First, I thought someone is joking with me but after 20 minutes I got my result on the website, it was confirmed the news was true- I had topped the CA final exams and it was a great feeling.

So who all are there in your family?

My father, Deepak Shrawagi is doctor, my mother Seema Shrawagi is a housewife and my sister is Palak who is a B. com graduate.

So what as per you what was your success mantra? How did you prepare for the exam?

There are eight exams in CA final exam. So, I tried to give equal weightage to each subject and I never compromised one subject for another one. My strength was accounts but I was weak in SFM (Strategic Financial Management) so I gave more time to SFM and in the end I have scored maximum marks in it so it was a nice feeling. So give equal weightage to all subjects and do not leave out one subject because it is boring.

Tell us about your CAT score card?

My score is 534 out of 800. I scored 55 marks in Financial reporting, 84 in SFM (Strategic Financial Management), 56 in advanced auditing and professional ethics, 71 in corporate and allied laws, 83 in advanced management accounting, 48 in information systems control and audit, 65 in direct tax laws and 72 in indirect tax laws.

Who do you attribute your success to?

My success is basically attributed to my mom and dad and all my teachers who helped me create a strong base.

Did you join any coaching?

I think in today’s time joining a coaching is an integral part of cracking an exam because if you a coaching you tend to spend maximum of your time studying and you get to understand tough concepts better. So I joined a coaching for preparing better.

Did you have some weak areas or did you face any hurdles while preparing for CA final exam?

I found SFM very tough and very technical, so I dedicated some extra time to SFM. So, at the end of the day I managed to score the maximum in SFM. So, SFM was my weak area which I converted to my strength.

Did you hear that the success rate of CA exams has dipped this time around, what is your reaction to that?

The result was bad as compared to the last exam. The main reason for this, according me, was that the paper pattern was very tricky. So, if you are not able to understand the question correctly your answer will be wrong.

Tell us more about you as a person, your hobbies?

I am a big cricket fan and cricket is my favourite sport. I love to watch cricket. My idol is Sachin Tendulkar because he is so humble even after he has a God like image in India. I love cricket and I never missed any match that was played in Nagpur.

So why didn’t you think of becoming a cricketer and why did choose to do CA?

Cricket is like my hobby, I used to play till 10^th but after that I was unable to give much time to it. But I am very passionate about watching cricket.

What are your plans for the future?

I am very much interested in the field of taxation and I want to make a career for myself in the field of taxation, especially, international taxation and indirect taxes.
I am thinking of joining a job and will keep studying subjects/aspects that are related to my job, I will study with my job.

Do you have any do’s and don’ts for students preparing for this exam?

CA final exam is a bit lengthy. It is not tough, it is a bit lengthy. So you need to have a plan in place regarding how you will finish the syllabus for a subject. So, you should have a plan and you need to execute that plan properly and also have faith in yourself. So, if you have all the basic knowledge then nothing is impossible.

What advice do you want to give aspiring CA candidates?

Do not stop chasing your dreams, dreams do come true. You just have to work hard and all your dreams will become real. This is what I am experiencing today. I made many sacrifices but now I feel that those sacrifices are paying rich dividends to me.