Built, Not Born
Built, Not Born: The CA Jai Prakash Agarwal Story
From a Repeated Class 2 in North Kolkata to Chairman, ICAI Dubai Chapter.
This is the story of CA Jai Prakash Agarwal, Chairman, ICAI Dubai Chapter (2025–26).
A boy from a Hindi-medium school in North Kolkata, made to repeat Class 2 when he switched schools.
Today, he leads one of the most prestigious overseas chapters of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
He’ll tell you himself: none of it was planned. But all of it was built.
The Repeated Year
Born in 1983 in Hatibagan, a bustling historic neighbourhood of North Kolkata, Jai Prakash — JP — grew up in a joint family he describes as lower middle class. His father and uncle ran a small iron trading business. As the eldest of three brothers, JP knew early that responsibility would one day rest on his shoulders.
He started at Gyan Bharti, a Hindi-medium school twenty minutes from home. Then an angel appeared — a school teacher who, visiting the family, urged his grandmother to move the children to an English-medium school. His parents enrolled him at Abhinav Bharti, a newer, more affordable school founded by Smt. Gyanvati Lath.
There was a catch: JP was admitted into Class 2 — the same class he had just completed. His parents accepted it.
He didn’t sulk. He climbed. Year after year, JP ranked in the top ten. From Class 11, after the previous topper opted for science, JP topped his class in commerce.
“Once Is a Fluke”
Riding high on his first taste of being class topper, JP received the advice that would shape his entire mindset. His father told him:
“If you perform well once, your success will be considered a fluke. Performing well requires consistent effort and discipline.”
JP took it seriously. He went on to rank first in intermediate school, rank in college at St. Xavier’s, and secure ranks in both CA Foundation and CA Final.
The remarkable part? CA was never the plan. He happened to be present when four friends were discussing enrolling for Chartered Accountancy. Knowing nothing about the course — only that group study suited him — JP signed up too.
Then he built it the hard way. Without being asked, he started taking home tuitions to support himself and his younger brothers — and funded his entire CA education from his own earnings. Across all three levels, he was largely self-taught, taking professional coaching only for accounts and taxation.
The Unorthodox Choices
A CA Final rank brought interview invites from leading MNCs — complete with flight tickets and five-star stays. JP chose Infosys, as finance consultant on Oracle ERP implementations, out of Hyderabad.
Why walk away from conventional audit work? Because in 2007, he already sensed that vouching and audits would eventually be automated.
In 2010 he moved to Bharti Airtel in Gurugram; in 2012, to Tata Cummins in Jamshedpur — a posting most metro professionals avoided, but which JP chose because it kept him close to Kolkata.
Dubai was another accident. Visiting Kolkata one day, JP attended an interview for a Bangalore role — with no intention of switching, just to test the waters. He wasn’t selected for Bangalore. He was offered Dubai instead.
He had no desire to move overseas. His father-in-law’s advice tipped the scale.
The Office Smaller Than a 1BHK
Then came the shock: after Infosys, Airtel, and Tata Cummins, his new Dubai employer operated out of an office smaller than a one-BHK flat. With salary delays adding to his doubts, JP trusted his instincts and left within months to join Aster — at the same package.
At the interview, the inevitable question came: why leave a job within three months? His answer:
“If your investment is wrong, you book the loss and move out — you don’t keep holding on.”
The interviewer was pleased. He got the role.
From Stage Fright to the Chairman’s Stage
In 2018, as UAE VAT arrived, he moved into practice with FAME Advisory, and two years later formed the partnership with Rajiv Hira that continues today.
He began participating in ICAI Dubai Chapter activities, never imagining where it would lead. In his own words, stage fear was “next to death” — a speech would send chills down his spine.
He overcame it. And went on to become one of the most cheerful, cherished, and motivational Chairman, the Dubai Chapter has known. His vision as Chairman was clear: build the right knowledge pool — identify subject matter experts, empower them to deliver sessions, and elevate the collective brand of Indian Chartered Accountants. Under his tenure, the Chapter produced a record-breaking number of technical seminars, alongside sports and international networking events.
JP’s Three Rules for Young CAs
1. Speak before you’re ready. Communication and conquering stage fear will take you further than any certificate.
2. Master the basics. Accountancy fundamentals are the roots of the profession — never outgrow them.
3. Run toward technology. It isn’t a threat to the profession; it’s the future of it.
Nobody handed JP the Chairman’s seat. A repeated school year, self-funded education, unglamorous postings, a tiny Dubai office, a fear of the stage — he worked through every one of them, with the same quiet consistency his father asked of him.
Because success like his isn’t born. It’s built.
Built, Not Born is an editorial series by Mustafa G. Daudi profiling professionals who constructed their success through grit, reinvention and quiet persistence. If you know someone whose story deserves to be told, reach out @ mustafagdaudi@builtnotborn.co.in.
