Student Ranks 2nd on CA Exam While Working Full-Time

When Anirudh Garg's exam results loaded, he refreshed the page five times. The 22-year-old from Paonta Sahib couldn't believe he'd scored All India Rank 2 on the CA Final exam with 75.33 percent marks.

"I thought it was a technical glitch," he says. Only after the ICAI President called to confirm did reality sink in.

Anirudh's achievement stands out because he prepared for the notoriously difficult exam while working full-time at Ernst & Young in Gurgaon. The January 2026 attempt had 7,590 successful candidates out of thousands who appeared.

His father is also a CA, so Anirudh decided in Class 9 that he'd follow the same path. After scoring 97.75 percent in Class 12, he pursued a BCom from Hansraj College before starting his articleship at EY in April 2023.

The challenge was real. Peak season at the accounting firm meant long nights, but Anirudh refused to compromise on either work or study.

He woke up at 7 am daily to watch three-hour lecture videos at 1.5x speed. During busy work periods, he'd split classes into morning and evening sessions. He finished all coursework six months before the exam, then took study leave.

Why This Inspires

Anirudh's strategy wasn't about grinding 24/7. He set weekly targets instead of daily ones because he knew burnout was inevitable during six months of intense preparation.

When exhaustion hit, he didn't quit completely. Instead, he'd switch to subjects he enjoyed like financial management or just watch lectures instead of self-study. "It gives a break but doesn't break the flow," he explains.

His three principles were simple: trust your teachers, trust yourself, and stick with your study materials. He picked instructors by watching YouTube demos, not just following recommendations. He switched off Instagram for six months during study leave.

His support system mattered too. Anirudh maintained a tight circle of two to three friends who were also preparing. One friend, Uday, secured AIR 36 in the same exam. "If you feel low, you talk," he says. "A small group helps."

The January exam carried extra pressure because papers were reportedly tougher than previous attempts. After his first paper, Anirudh felt the standard was high. But he never calculated expected marks after exams ended.

There was no Plan B. CA had to come first, though he might consider an MBA later.

Now a qualified Chartered Accountant with national recognition, Anirudh proves that excellence doesn't require choosing between professional responsibility and personal goals. His parents were sitting behind him when the results appeared, witnessing the moment their son's hard work paid off in ways even he hadn't imagined.