Jaipur’s Pranav Dhoot and Harshika Khandelwal ranked among the country’s top performers in the Chartered Accountancy Final Examination, with Dhoot securing AIR 7 and Khandelwal AIR 28, as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India announced the results on Thursday.Dhoot, 22, scored 457 out of 600 marks and became the first chartered accountant in his immediate family. “This achievement is special as I have fulfilled my grandfather’s dream,” he said.He said his preparation was built on planning, discipline and fixed targets for revision and mock tests. “The key was hitting my targets with consistency and discipline,” he said.Dhoot said staying mentally strong during the six-month preparation leave was as important as studying. “The preparation phase can get lonely. There are times you need to motivate yourself, remain accountable, and maintain a positive mindset,” he said.Though confident about his preparation, he said the rank came as a surprise. “This is the best day for my family and me. I never expected to get a rank, let alone AIR 7,” he said. He now hopes to pursue entrepreneurship, inspired by his father, a businessman.Khandelwal, also 22, secured AIR 28 after years of focused preparation. She had earlier earned AIR 16 in the CA intermediate exam, which strengthened her confidence of achieving a national rank in the final exam.During her articleship, she followed a structured study plan and aimed to revise the syllabus four to five times. In the final six months before the exam, she studied 12 hours a day, limited social media use and skipped social gatherings.The daughter of a grocery shop owner and a homemaker, Khandelwal said her father’s guidance shaped her career. “I once wanted to be an engineer, but my father’s advice to pursue commerce in Class 11 put me on this path. My family supported me throughout the journey, and their emotional support kept me grounded and motivated,” she said.She said she was unsure about her performance after the exam, particularly in the Advanced Financial Management paper. “I wasn’t expecting this result. It has only strengthened my belief in consistent hard work,” she added.
