A Chartered Accountant’s Guide to Writing: Debit Procrastination, Credit Guilt

For over 15 years, I’ve juggled tax audits, reconciled financial statements, and answered client queries that range from the existential, Why do I pay so much tax? To the downright bizarre one like ...Can I claim my dog’s grooming bill as a business expense?

I’ve survived financial year-end chaos, outsmarted the ever-crashing GST portal (at times), and, like every super working mom, somehow managed to keep my 11-year-old daughter from showing up at school in her PE uniform instead of a Navvari saree for Shivaji Jayanti celebrations. Yet, despite all of this, there is one thing I just haven’t managed to do—write an article.

For years, I have put off writing this article, finding new excuses every time. It has been on my to-do list for ages, just like that one client who always submits documents late but still expects everything to be done on time. I often picture myself writing smart and funny articles like Twinkle Khanna, but instead of bestselling books and popular columns, I have a laptop, a cold cup of masala chai, and an Excel sheet filled with numbers.

Recently, I even attended a writer’s workshop at the Bombay Chartered Accountancy, hoping to discover the writer in me. But every time I sit down in front of a Word document, my mind just goes blank. Every time I see the blinking cursor on a blank page, I feel completely