Pesi Kushru Choksey - (Senior Partner, Price Waterhouse, 1944-82)
Pesi Kushru Choksey was in Price Waterhouse (PW) from 1944 to 1982 and became a partner in 1956. He was the Senior Partner of the firm starting 1971 till he retired in 1982. He was a Chartered Accountant and holds the distinction of being the first Indian qualified person to become partner at PW India. Choksey continued to extend his vast professional expertise to organisations and sat on the board of two companies as a non-executive director at Zensar Technologies and Kesoram Industries. He passed away in 2015.
- Sir, you spent almost four decades at PW and have many firsts to your name. Can you share with us some highlights of this incredible journey.
On 1 November 1944, I entered Gillander House to start my career with Price Waterhouse Peat & Co. I never realised at that time that I would be visiting this office regularly for the next 38 years till my retirement as a senior partner in December 1982. I worked in the main office in Kolkata. We were a staff of about 250- 300 odd people, including partners – during my time with PW. In all the time I was with PW, not one partner left the firm to join competition or industry. All of them retired with PW – such was our legacy. For all of us, PW was like family – there was such a close bond and connection. The firm always came first. My wife would always say that ‘if anyone had to see your heart, they would see Price Waterhouse written’. Back in the day it was all about ‘The Firm, the Firm, the Firm’. Looking back, I remember that as a trainee one had to spend several months in the client’s office on routine checking. What was unique in the firm’s practice was the strict adherence to colour coding, those who were assigned for posting and casting had to use a pen with purple coloured ink. When one graduated for vouching the cash book and other records of the client, a pen with green ink only had to be used. The possession of the green pen became the status symbol for the trainee. - You started your career with PW and retired as the senior partner. What was your biggest learning after moving into a Partner role?
The transition from being an employee to being a partner required a lot of adjustments. The sharing of similar values and the ability to communicate honestly with your staff/partners, but above all to recognise that the firm’s interest took precedence over anything else is a journey all employees learn with time. - As the first partner of Indian qualification to be inducted into the firm, it must have been quite a heady feeling. Can you share with us your experience?
I qualified in 1952 as a member of the ICAI and was offered a contract as a senior assistant. As the firm only admitted a person who was a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales as a partner, there was very little prospect of any further advancement in my career. In 1955, however, the resident partners sought the permission of the two UK firms for the admission of members of the Indian Institute as partners. I was then sent to UK and spent several months working in the two firms. On my return to India, with the agreement of the UK firms I was admitted as a Partner on 1 July 1956. To say that I was elated at the promotion would be an understatement. Subsequently many senior assistants of the Indian firm who were members of the Indian Institute were admitted as partners. But even today it feels great to be the first among equals. - Any particularly challenging situations during your career that proved to be a milestone?
In 1972 the staff unions in Kolkata, who owed their allegiance to the ruling political party, became dominant in most of the business houses in Calcutta including our firm. For months on end, we had to deal with non-cooperative and belligerent staff union, creating major problems for meeting our commitments to our clients. At one stage the situation had deteriorated to such an extent that the network was concerned about the practice in India. The resident partners were all determined that despite all the inconvenience, harassment and personal hardship, we would see that all client commitments were met, and the practice was not affected and above all, that the name and legacy of the firm is upheld. This period was a turning point for the firm, a tough time for everyone, its employees and their families as well. Price Waterhouse wouldn’t have existed if everyone present back then hadn’t taken a stand and gone through those tough times together. I served as the Senior Partner for 11 years, beginning in 1971. Surprisingly, I still don’t know why I got that additional one year as Senior Partner.
- Is there anyone you want to mention from your time with PW?
Mr RN Sen, he was the first Indian senior prtner in the firm, and I revered him the most. He has been the most influential person in my career and has guided me throughout. - What differences do you see between the way the firm functioned then and the way it does now?
The style of working back then was evidently different, people were a lot more patient and weren’t looking at short term goals, leaving their job in case they didn’t get what they wanted or felt pressured. Understandably, even the options available for people were fewer than now. Whereas today, I sense that people find it much easier to move to competition or industry – the loyalty card is difficult to play. It used to be less intense and competitive back in our days. I appreciate the fact that back then times were different, and today’s environment is much more cutthroat, the firm is huge, bigger employee base which sometimes makes one on one connect to be a challenge between a junior employee and a partner. Back then, many people started and ended their career with one organisation, sometimes spending more than three decades there. This is no mean feat.
- What major change do you see in the professional services landscape in India?
For nearly 125 years, the major accounting firms established by expatriates had confined their services to accounting and taxation and subsequently started offering consultancy services. The scenario is totally different today and the four major firms are offering a much wider range of services through their limited liability partnership and private limited liability companies. - After such a long and insightful career at PW, what was the biggest change you came across when you left the firm?
When I worked with PW, everything was done by hand, including massive calculations since there were no calculators. I remember that when I retired from PW and joined the board of a company, they told me that they would be sending me some information via email. It left me confused and I asked them “what’s an email?” So that company then got me a laptop and I made the effort to learn its functionalities. I actually learnt how to use the laptop first and then moved to a desktop. Today I am nifty with both and lo and behold, I also own an iPad. I love being connected except that I barely do any writing because everything is just typed out. - Tell us more about yourself and your family?
I come from a family of engineers. So, understandably when I said I wanted to be an accountant, the family didn’t understand what it was that I wanted to do and weren’t exactly very supportive. There wasn’t anyone to guide me back then about what career I should follow, and I applied at PW on my own and got in. After retiring from PW, I have spent a better part of my life in Kolkata and am now in Mumbai. I have two daughters. I lost my wife four years ago and today I live with my daughter who teaches at Cathedral & John Connon School. My second daughter works for TCS as a VP in Mumbai. I love to work and over time, I have learnt to integrate even more discipline in my daily life. Even today, I get in to work at 9am at Zensar Technologies located at Ballard Estate, Mumbai and leave sharp at 3pm to go home. I make it a point to go for a stroll in the evenings around my garden. I relish reading about accountancy and staying up to date on everything that is happening in the field. I love travelling to London, UK once a year. I also make it a point to go to Kolkata at least twice a year where my former colleagues (about five of us) meet up for lunch and spend time together. That feeling of belongingness is very difficult to achieve in Mumbai.
Follow PwC India
