CA Anil Arora

CA Anil Arora read commerce at the University of Lucknow, where he completed his Master of Commerce between 1980 and 1982. He completed the Chartered Accountancy programme with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India over the same period and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1984.

He served his articleship at Chaturvedi & Co., Lucknow, between October 1980 and September 1983 — three years of practical training under the ICAI articleship regulations. Between January 1984 and January 1985 he briefly led the finance function at Premier Car Sales Limited, Lucknow, reporting directly to the company’s board, before setting up Anil Arora & Co. weeks later — the firm’s ICAI registration took effect on 1 April 1985.

Anil Arora & Co. was set up in Lucknow in 1985. The first decade was anchored in statutory audits and direct-tax work for Lucknow-based family businesses and trading houses, in parallel with the firm building a steady articleship programme.

Over the next two decades the practice broadened: corporate secretarial work as the Companies Act regime evolved, FEMA and international taxation as Indian businesses began to engage with overseas counterparts, and GST advisory after the 2017 regime change.

Current focus includes leading CFO and virtual-CFO engagements for Indian businesses and for overseas clients with India-side operations — the practice the firm has chosen to expand most aggressively in the current decade. The founder leads most file-sensitive work himself and continues to write opinions personally.

Asked what the next ten years should look like, his answer is unhurried. More of the same work, done to the same standard: steady counsel to Indian businesses as they operate across borders, and to overseas businesses finding their footing in India. A new generation of accountants trained inside the firm, the way he was trained — on real files, with the senior person in the room. And no difference in care between a small proprietor’s return and a group audit; to the client across the desk, that file is the only one that matters.

Past President, Lucknow Chartered Accountants Society — served as president of the city’s regional CA fraternity body, contributing to professional development programmes and member engagements for chartered accountants practising in the Lucknow region.

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India certifications in Computer-Assisted Audit Techniques (CAAT) and Concurrent Audit of Banks, both issued in February 2015.

Articleship programme — the firm has trained articled clerks continuously since the mid-1980s. Each cohort works alongside the founder on engagement-level files across audit, direct tax, and regulatory compliance.

Languages of practice — English and Hindi.