New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS): A sister-brother duo made headlines as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) released results for the CA final exam on Monday with 19-year-old Nandini Agrawal topping the exam with 614/800 marks (76.75%) and her brother, Sachin Agrawal (21) securing All India Rank (AIR) 18.
Both the students of Victor Convent School in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh prepared together for the IPCC (Integrated Professional Competency Course) and CA (Chartered Accountants) final.
"Our strategy has been simple - we support each other but we critique even more. When we solve a question paper, he checks my answers and I check his. There were times when I lost hope but my brother helped me throughout that phase," said Nandini, who skipped two classes and studied in the same grade as her brother. She had passed class 12 in 2017 and is presently doing her articleship from PwC (Price Waterhouse Coopers). She had also got an AIR 31 in the IPCC exam.
Admitting that just like any other siblings in the world, they occasionally fought, Sachin said, "but that only lasted for some time and we got back to normal."
Praising his sister, he said, "I would have been happy with even 70 per cent marks as I did not have high expectations but I knew that Nandini will do great. She's brilliant and deserves all the success. In many ways, she is my mentor."
Sachin is pursuing his articleship from Gurugram-based firm, One Point Advisors.
The duo advised aspirants to follow the ICAI study material for acing the exam saying, "it has worked really well for them".
Highlighting a major issue faced by female aspirants due to their gender, Nandini said, "Girls do not get as many chances to prove themselves as compared to boys. If they cannot crack any competitive exam in one or two attempts, then they are asked to give it up, whereas the same does not apply to boys."
"I have been fortunate enough to have very supportive parents, but all parents should help their kids follow their dreams, be it a boy or a girl," the teenager added.
Their father is a tax consultant while their mother is a homemaker.