Publisher’s write-up:
‘MIKE MAHI DARES TO BE DIFFERENT. Not for him the well-trodden path of
his ancestors, their small lives lived out in the confines of a colliery. He
dreams of getting into a larger world, of being in a profession that commands
respect, chartered accountancy, and his struggle to rise to its topmost
echelons.
It is the story of Mahi's courageous leap into an unfamiliar world and
his tumultuous relationship with the celebrated journalist Tejas Arya, his
college mate and fellow Intern. A tale of two idolized icons - with their human
frailties and professional rivalries...
One night, it all threatens to come crashing down. In a rogue bank that
Mahi audits, there are charges of incompetence, insider trading and misconduct
against him. The case moves to the court.
WILL MAHI COME OUT UNSCATHED? Or will a high profile career built up so
painstakingly, collapse? Can Mahi look to Tejas for support in his hour of
need? Or, will the journalist in Tejas ditch his long-time friend for a hot
story?’
Ticking Times is a novel written
by the first time author Pattabhi Ram (at least, for fiction) and the plot is
set in the little world of the audit profession. Even though I normally don’t
disclose my prior association with the authors in my reviews, I would have to
disclose it here to bring it in context for; I was interested in reading this
book since I was one of the authors students, myself.
The plot moves across different
timelines and it begins in the present day, where the now successful Chartered
Accountant Mike Mahi is listening to breaking news, where a major client of his
is caught in a financial scandal amounting to Rs. 500 million. Then it goes on
to say how Mike managed to climb the ladder from his humble origins as son of a
colliery worker and going to become the President of the regulatory body of
Chartered Accountants. On the other side is the prolific journalist, Tejas
Arya, Mike’s rival since college days; who is exposing the scandal. The story moves back and forth in time,
explaining how Mike built his empire and the tangled web he is stuck in between
as a result.
I found a lot of things the
author touched upon to be interesting; such as the audit procedure and
techniques mainly because I was able to relate to it. I also felt that it is
commendable that the author took considerable efforts to reach out to as many
people as possible by explaining each of the technical details in a verbose
manner, be it on derivative trading or audit procedure.
However, I would have to say that
despite his efforts, it is likely to cater only to those in the same profession
as that of the author as; in order to make it readable for everyone, the author
very often ended up quoting auditing standards and concepts of financial
management that I was beginning to feel that I was reading for an exam. Apart
from that, I also felt that the author really had no concrete story to tell, he
started on a high, by breaking the financial scandal but later, it shifted to
the past of the two main characters and it went on for so long that the readers
might forget that Mike was caught in a scandal. Moreover, the author talks
about how Mike was a well-known figure to the extent that most people know
about him even though, in reality, I have hardly known a president of a regulatory
body known to a sundry passer-by. Ultimately, I wouldn’t want to comment on the
verdict of the court on the financial scandal but I would say this much that I
found it a little unrealistic.
To sum it up, it is good effort,
considering it is the first published fiction of the author and I would
definitely look forward to more. To comment on this book, I would say that this
book would probably appeal only to Chartered Accountants and aspiring Chartered
Accountants. I would award the book a rating of four on ten.
Rating – 4/10
Regards,
Andy
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