“Seeing a top rank on my ICAI scorecard felt unreal,” said Sona Jain, a 17-year-old who secured AIR 7 in the CA Foundation exams, becoming the first Chartered Accountant in her family. When she broke the news to her family, their happiness knew no bounds as their long-standing dream for their daughter finally materialised.
“The first person I told was my father. He was extremely happy and proud, and seeing his reaction made the moment even more special. My teachers were also pleasantly surprised and congratulated me on this achievement,” she told Times Now Digital.
The 8-9-Hour Routine That Led to AIR 7
Sona juggled both her board exams and ICAI exams to pave the way for her CA journey. “I couldn’t pay much heed to every subject, as my exams were ongoing, but Law had my full attention, as it was alien and the most challenging subject for me when compared to subjects like Maths and Economics,” she said.
Following the conclusion of the exams, Sona had 40-45 days in hand. Well aware that each day was pivotal, she expedited her preparation, allocating 8-9 hours to studying each day.
Spilling the beans on her preparation strategy, Sona shared that she stopped picking new topics as the exams approached, keeping her blinders on ‘revision’ and ‘practice.’
“During this time, CA Wallah’s lectures really helped me a lot because the teachers explained even difficult concepts in a very simple way, which made both my understanding and revision much easier,” she remarked.
Throughout the journey, Law and Accounts had her undivided attention, as they needed more practice and conceptual understanding. For subjects like Economics, she enrolled in specialised classes, along with ICAI’s modules.
Speaking on how she mastered her Achilles’ heel, she said, “Initially, it felt tough to remember everything, but I kept revising my notes regularly, practised answer writing, and solved the questions given by my teachers. Gradually, I became much more comfortable with the subject.”
Highlighting the role of mock tests and previous years’ question papers, Sona said they helped her comprehend the exam pattern and improve time management. “Further, solving practice questions also increased my accuracy and confidence, especially in Economics and Quantitative Aptitude,” she said.
When questioned about whether she felt burnout after continuous learning, she said, “Yes, there were days when I felt exhausted and demotivated. In those moments, I reached out to my peers who were also preparing for competitive tests. We motivated each other a lot and became each other’s support system,” she said, adding that sometimes taking a brief break, listening to music, and relaxing for a while also helped her get back on track with a fresh mind.
Since only a month and a half was left after her board exams, she ensured there were no distractions at all.
Sharing a piece of advice with students, she said that one shouldn’t avoid their doubts, “especially in Accounts.” “If something is crucial, solve it immediately instead of keeping it on the back burner. Also, practice is significant, as reading about concepts isn’t enough until you know how to apply them.”
3 Non-Negotiables to Ace CA Foundation
Sona also shared three non-negotiables for her fellow aspirants.
The first is that every CA aspirant should complete classes at least two months before the scheduled exam date, so that there is enough time to practice the previous year’s question papers.
Second is for aspirants who might be afraid of some specific topics or subjects, like Sona was afraid of ‘Law’. She believes that it is important not to be afraid of any topic or subject, as regular revision creates a huge impact.
Lastly, she shared her two cents on how to ace the preparation if one hails from a non-Mathematics background. “Allocate extra hours to Logical Reasoning and Statistics; they’re scoring sections if you practise them consistently,” she said.
As Sona moves one step closer to her dreams, she says that completing the Chartered Accountancy course remains her biggest goal, following which she would work for some years to gain hands-on experience. In the long run, Sona would make a final call on whether she wishes to continue with the job or start her own practice.
Family Background
Hailing from Agra, Sona Jain comes from a close-knit, humble family comprising her parents and a sibling. Her father is a shop owner, while her mother takes care of the household.
She did her schooling at Gayatri Public School, Shastripuram, Agra, scoring 95% in Class 10 and 97.8% in Class 12.