Shattered Accountant

I qualified as a Chartered Accountant more than 20 years ago. At that moment it was a matter of absolute pride in qualifying in an examination, where the passing rate is in single digits. A long and bright career awaited me. The entrepreneurship bug bit early and I started my Chartered Accountancy practice. Fate however had other ideas. 

It is said that a lot of  juices flow in washrooms including the creative type.  In my case, that was the place where I chanced upon a great opportunity. While relieving myself, I found myself standing next to a person three years my junior. He casually mentioned that their college was looking for someone to teach them financial management. One thing led to another and next day I was in the B-School meeting the director, and in three days, started teaching. Not bad for someone who believed he had pathetic public speaking skills at that time.

It was a good way to get some money in to supplement the practice. I might have done a decent job, as now more colleges called me to be part of the faculty. I realized I was liking teaching and at one point of time was teaching 12 hours a day.  Life was co-existing as a faculty and as a Practicing Chartered Accountant.

One fine day, the pivotal moment happened. An Income Tax Officer asked me for a bribe and I had to pay to save my client. My client was right, however the ITOs argument was irrebuttable. I paid the cash and moved to the Pizzeria at Churchgate. At 4 in the afternoon, with a muddled head, I had a couple of beers and a couple of pizzas. Alone… looking at the Arabian sea. I asked myself the question, “Is this what I want to do? What use is education, if you are going to have a lifetime paying bribes? “ That evening on Marine Drive, the sun set simultaneously in the Arabian sea and on my Chartered Accountancy practice.

Twenty five years later, I am training a bunch of fresh Chartered Accountants in a technology company. I accompany a dozen of them to dinner and the news arrives. The Prime Minister has declared that notes of Rs. 500 / 1000 are invalid. The rest of the dinner conversation focuses on the appropriateness or otherwise of this move. Some of them are euphoric that this is a great move. One shows me a whatsapp message, where his acquaintance, has 5 cr. in cash and looking for options. One girl comes up to me and asks me for a solution. Being a lady, I have to maintain my composure and 

tell her that I no longer do this business.

There are multiple views about whether this move is right or wrong. There are talks about people not having bank accounts. Small traders are having very little or no business. Who is to blame? People have embraced technology for communication but stayed away from the same when it comes to financial dealings. The Government has been persuading people for financial inclusion. Do you know why financial inclusion is not successful? It is not due to lack of efforts by Government, it is due to people not wanting to transact through the financial system.

A lot of small businesses, who make a lot of money, have not switched to banking systems or credit cards. They do not want to get into the accounting system and pay the necessary taxes be it Service tax or VAT or Income Tax. They are happy to do business in cash.

Gentle persuasion, as a strategy did not work for more than two years. A ‘’Gun to the Temple’’ move was required and is good for everyone. People will suffer for a few days, but definitely the normal has changed. The economy will take a different shape from now on and there are really interesting things in store.

It has been a week now, and I have come across quite a few Chartered Accountants. Apparently they are busy advising clients how to save their ‘’hard earned’’ money from turning into smoke. The more I see these things happening around me, the more I wring my hands in despair. I have mixed emotions. On one hand I am extremely happy that the people with huge cash on their hands have been squeezed. On the other hand, I am sad to see, qualified, educated, people helping these people to work out ways to ‘’protect their losses.’’ Sometimes I feel that a prostitute’s job is more honorable than what these qualified people are doing.  When we educated people participate in the creation of black money, we should not complain if we have some hardships.

Today, twenty years after I left practice, I am ashamed by the behavior of some of my fellow professionals. A lot of them will say, that this service is the need of the hour. From their perspective, they are just meeting the client’s needs. I wonder whether they are trapped in their own success from which they cannot escape. Will these people participate in nation building by discouraging creation of black money, or advising clients how to avoid taxes? I have very little hopes.

Today in a true sense, I have turned into a Shattered Accountant.