Who Says Woman Are Bad With Numbers? CA Sudha Bhushan Dispels Myth

It is a misconception that women can’t deal with numbers and CA Sudha Bhushan proves it. A dual degree holder -- both a Chartered Accountant and a Company Secretary -- Sudha is the founding member of Taxpert Professionals, an advisory firm for Indian companies and their tax-related issues.

“The Chartered Accountancy course is a powerful course. It liberates you. It changes the way you approach your work and your life,” said Sudha about her work to SheThePeople.TV.

Her professional journey began in 2001. After having stints at MNCs like Deloitte, she decided to embark on her own, co-founding her own venture -- Taxpert. She is doing her bit to guide other organisations by serving on board of many listed companies as Independent Director like Committee of International Taxation of WIRC, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), Editorial Committee of WIRC of ICAI and Committee of Women Empowerment of ICAI.

"The Chartered Accountancy course is a powerful course. It liberates you"

CA Sudha Bhushan

Talking about her journey from a typical North Indian ‘Bania’ family into becoming a CA, she told us, “We had three boys in our family before I was born and thus I was the youngest, and a girl child. I have been greatly influenced by my mother who has left an indelible impression on me and played a significant role in shaping my life. My mother was a humble lady, a great thinker and a firm believer of the view that girls should study and be independent. It is she who supported me for my studies against all odds.”

"It has taken great deal of efforts to break the gender barrier initially. The more I saw the gender barrier, the more I got pushed to do better"

She busts the myth that women are not conventionally interested in numbers by giving the example of Shakuntala Devi -- popularly known as the Human Computer. “When searching for women in mathematics, you will come across a HUGE list in Wikipedia. So, as you can see, it is a misconception. Women just need to be a little more assertive in their roles. They should believe in themselves and continually strive to become better professionals and citizens,” said Sudha, who is also the Associate Director of International Transaction Advisory services.

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Drawing a comparison between the presence of women in the CA industry when she entered and now, she explained, “At present, we see many women in the profession -- whether working for others or having their own practice. With more practitioners joining the ranks, we are seeing a rise in women professionals who are being seen as among the best by the industry."

She added, “If you see the numbers, we now have women comprising 21.1% of the total membership. Not only that, we also see girls forming 36% share in our active studentship. Thus, the percentage of women in the profession will continue to rise. We could see 25% women in practice by 2020. But there is still a long way to go for equal participation, which would require more women to take CA as a profession.”

CA Sudha Bhushan (Pic by STP)

As part of the Women Empowerment Committee of the ICAI, she helps those women members of the organisation, who had cleared all the exams in the past but due to certain situations were unable to pursue the profession, by bringing them back into the stream.

“We have developed a separate website through which we help women Chartered Accountants meet potential employers who are open to offering the facility of work from home,” explained Sudha.