Chartered Accountant or CA is not everyone's cup of tea. Considered as one of the toughest exams in the world to crack, anybody who gets into CA course is walking on a tightrope. However, with strong determination accompanied by hard work and right guidance, anyone can become a successful Chartered Accountant. H. L. Ramdoss, a merit list Chartered Accountant and the founder of R. S. Classes says, "The pass percentages in the CA Examination have always been very low, with 11 percent being considered a very generous result and the usual pass percentage in the last few years varying between 3 percent and 8 percent. This is not because the institute intentionally fails students; it is because most of the students who give the exam do not possess the depth of knowledge, which would enable them to pass this exam."
With work experience in Hindustan Unilever, the financial services sector and his own software company, which specializes in niche products for the Bond markets, Ramdoss opines that most students prepare for CA exam purely with the objective of passing the paper and hence many of them are not job ready. Ramdoss established R.S. Classes in Mumbai to provide conceptual guidance to students appearing for the CA Final exam. Therefore, his goal is to provide an education linked to the real world while preparing CA aspirants for their examination. "The CA course is very different compared to other courses, because the student has to undergo three years of practical training while preparing for the examination, which is equivalent to holding a full-time job. This leaves the student with much less time for academic studies and exposes him/her to the real life environment of a work place," says Ramdoss.
At RS Classes, the focus of training is primarily on understanding concepts. Hence, rather than just lecturing, the institute encourages students to bring doubts or problems on any sum from any book and discuss it with the teacher. "We constantly exhort our students to keep questioning and arguing if necessary and not to accept any statement at face value. So, all our classes will see students constantly asking the most important question " WHY?" claims Ramdoss, who makes use of presentations and multimedia to impart knowledge in an interesting manner. Unlike an academic lecture environment where the professor speaks and students listen, Ramdoss's classes often become discussions and sometimes debates with real world examples to understand the application of what we are discussing in today's market and environment. At the same time, there is a focus on being exam oriented since the eventual objective is to appear and pass in the CA Final examination.
"Here, we do not lecture, we teach. Our students do not just listen, they learn. In our classroom when we are solving a problem, at any time if a student has fallen behind he just has to say "Sir wait" and the teacher will pause and wait for the student to catch up," explains Ramdoss. The institute insists that students should understand the derivation and logic behind all the formulae that come up when understanding the markets, which helps them to be aware of the implication of the results. Though, this process may take more time, but ultimately will result in knowledge that lasts forever. "We teach small batches of a maximum of 50 students. This allows a personal bond to build up between the teacher and the student, unlike others in the market who teach in batches with large number of students," says Ramdoss.
Since most of the students who join RS Classes are working during their course, the pressures of office mean that they often end up missing classes. However, the institute do their best to adjust for these students either by taking separate classes to cover the gap or by re-scheduling the course in such a way that they do not miss important concepts. "We encourage students to stay in touch while preparing for their exam and are available for revision, doubt solving and emotional support right up to their examination. We also do not abandon our students once the class schedule is over. When students does not pass in their exam in the first attempt they are welcome to attend any classes that they wish to in subsequent batches without paying any fees as many times as they want," assures Ramdoss.
By patiently focusing on the process of teaching and always bearing in mind the objective of imparting knowledge, Ramdoss wants to stay committed to being a knowledge provider for discerning students. "We do not desire to be the largest class in this business. We want to be accepted and recognized by the students as the best and most desirable class in this field and we will strive to remain humble and accessible to all those who desire to gain from the pursuit of knowledge," concludes Ramdoss.
H.L. Ramdoss, Founder
After having worked in the industry with Hindustan Unilever and then in the financial services sector in the equity and bond markets, he ventured into entrepreneurship setting up a software business, which is the market leader for back office operations of brokers in the Wholesale Debt Market and Forex broking industry. Today his primary occupation is teaching students for the CA Final course through his Institute RS Classes in Mumbai.
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