Topic: From Books to Board Room… The Chartered Accountant Journey in Shaping Economy

We were honored to welcome back one of our own Mr. Raghav Bairoliya —a true example of excellence and perseverance. Our guest began his journey at DPS Patna in Class 1, and in 2019 made the school proud as the CBSE State Topper with 98.2%. He graduated from Shri Ram College of Commerce with a B.Com (Hons.), ranking 3rd in his final year. He went on to qualify as a Chartered Accountant in May 2025, securing All India Rank 13 in CA Foundation and AIR 47 in CA Intermediate. Alongside, he cleared two levels of the CFA and Part 1 of the FRM. Professionally, he trained with Ernst & Young, worked with Aditya Birla Group’s Corporate Strategy team, and now serves as an Analyst in the Credit Risk and Policy Department at NaBFID. Our next guest is one of the brightest alumni of Delhi Public School, Patna — Mr. Abhinav Bairoliya. A DPS student from Nursery to Class 12, he was the Second Topper of his batch in the Class 12 Board Examinations. He completed his B.Com (Hons.) from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, with an outstanding CGPA of 8.99. Excelling in Chartered Accountancy, he secured All India Ranks 50, 9, and 47 in the CA Foundation, Intermediate, and Final exams respectively, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2024.

He has also cleared Level II of the CFA Examination. During his articleship at Ernst & Young (EY), he worked with clients in the banking, fintech, and insurance sectors. Currently, he is part of Deloitte’s Management Consulting division, contributing to urban infrastructure and economic development projects in collaboration with the European Union and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The session began with a warm welcome by the Commerce Department. The alumni provided a detailed overview of the CA course structure, explaining its three stages—Foundation, Intermediate, and Final—along with the essential qualities required to excel: discipline, conceptual clarity, and perseverance. They clarified who can pursue CA, emphasizing that any student who has completed Class 12 (preferably from the Commerce stream, though others are also eligible) can register for the course. The guests debunked common myths such as CA being “too difficult” or “only for toppers,” and encouraged students to approach it with consistency and a positive mindset.

The duo gave an engaging and exciting presentation on the profession itself, the societal norms attached to it and its role in our economy. They tackled some of the myths regarding the profession and discussed in detail how true they are in reality. The job comes with immense pressure and responsibility. Only the ones like themselves who are dedicated and passionate enough about the field can come to grips with. Most interesting part of the session was spent on explaining the traditional and emerging roles of a Chartered Accountant. Typically CA is associated with accounting, auditing, taxation and financial reporting but its scope is ever increasing as it now encompasses investment banking, financial advising, forensic accounting and many more options. They touched upon the different paths a CA can opt whether to join a corporate firm or do an independent practice. They briefly mentioned the struggles and risks in the CA journey and other alternative courses to CA.