He was born on the pious day of Vijayadashmi (Dussehra), the day celebrated as a victory of good over evil. Did it play a role in his making? It definitely did to an extent: he was named Vijay! The remaining? He surely has won over a lot, and let us know how!
A chartered professional accountant living in Canada for the last 22 years, he has many achievements to his name – one being his high-level accounting services to India and Kenya. “Everything is due to my parents and family, from my grandparents to my children”, says a satisfied Vijay.
His paternal grandfather, Subramanyam, was the deputy inspector of schools in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. His father, Kotamarti Venkata Yagneswara Sastry, was the eldest among seven siblings. He was a mathematics lecturer at the Rajahmundry Arts College prior to getting his FIA designation from London. He joined National Insurance, which is the precursor of The LIC of India and frequently got transferred among cities like Bombay, Shimla, Indore, Agra, Nagpur, Muzaffarpur, Hyderabad and Kanpur where he retired as Deputy Zonal Manager of Life Insurance Corporation of India. He was one of the first Indians to become a Fellow member of the Institute of Actuaries (FIA), London.
On completing CA in 1987, Vijay started his practice in 1988 in Hyderabad, and soon got an offer from the Agha Khan Group, Kenya, where he worked from early 1990 until late 1994 as Group Finance Controller for a few companies of Aga Khan Foundation. Thereafter, he advanced to work as General Manager for Saj Ceramics Ltd., the biggest ceramic tile manufacturer in eastern Africa. He started practicing in Kenya in 1998. With his growing popularity, respect and his service to the profession of Accountancy in Kenya, it was the most natural choice to designate him the directorship of the Education Training Board of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya. In recognition of his work, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK) awarded Vijay the fellowship of FCPA in 1998.
He served as the secretary of the Indian Welfare Association of Kenya and Telugu Association of Kenya. He says, “I always spent my time on my profession and serving the community”.
Vijay migrated to Canada in 2000 and attained his American CPA designation in 2000 and Canadian CGA designation in 2001. He started his own public practice as an accountant in Canada way back in 2002 and registered his practice in 2004 as Vijay Sastry Kotamarti CGA.
In 2015, he started The Kotamarti Group (TKG) CPAs Professional Corporation along with his elder son, Ashwin, and daughter-in-law, Simran. Ashwin has a bachelor’s (honours) degree in business administration from Wilfrid Laurier University in Ontario. He was selected by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) from the university to do his CA. He worked with PwC for almost eight years before joining TKG. Simran too is a qualified CA and contributes her expertise at the TKG in the area of audit and taxation.
Born on 1 October 1958 in Indore, Vijay has pleasant memories of the early years that he spent with his three sisters and two brothers – Shesha Mani, Chandramati, Padma and Subramaniam Prasad and Sharad. He shares a strong bond of unity with his siblings. Their mother, Rajahamsa, was an affectionate homemaker who was totally in love with and dedicated to her family. “She used to say, ‘Each one is a soul and we should respect each one.’ I am surely fortunate to belong to a family that inspired me to become a good human being and also taught me how to respect others.” His father was never strict with their children. “He gave us the freedom we required,” as a result of which I was able to obtain a number of qualifications in the field of accounting”, says Vijay remembering him.
The family man
Vijay acted responsibly while shaping his career to support the overall well-being of his family. He is exceptionally close to his family and finds them very supportive.
He grew up watching his father utilise every minute of his life to think or do something productive, which was a lesson to Vijay on the importance of time. He completed his matriculation at Methodist Boys’ High School in Hyderabad and pursued a bachelor’s degree in commerce at the New Science College in Hyderabad. While pursuing his graduation, he made up his mind to pursue CA after college. “It is not necessary that you should always work only for money,” says Vijay. After graduation, he joined M/s. M. Anandam & Company Chartered Accountants, Hyderabad, as an articled clerk, where he gained a lot experience in auditing, public, private and large banks.
Like every Indian, Vijay too is a cricket fan and has played for Osmania university. Vijay always took part in cultural activities which he learnt from his father who formed the Telugu Cultural Association, in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Since his childhood, Vijay has been fond of singing and music. He was the secretary of club, called “Skylark” in Hyderabad with his friends and used to perform music with a full orchestra. Vijay says “I’m fortunate to married to Padma who learnt Carnatic music and was also trained as a news reader with Doordarshan, Hyderabad.”
Padma and Vijay got married on 15 June 1986. She did her MA at Osmania University, Hyderabad. After she landed in Canada, she became a member of the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA). Payroll Association (CPA). They have two sons, Ashwin and Abhinav, both born in India. Ashwin was born in 1987 and Abhinav was born in 1990. Abhinav is a commercial pilot and eventually wants to become a pilot for a leading airline carrier. Ashwin was married to Simran in 2014 and they have a beautiful daughter Aria Sayana.
Success is achieved and not given
“Nobody gives you success. It comes with hard work,” says Vijay. He landed in Canada in January 2000 as a complete stranger. Back in Kenya, everybody knew him and grew to great heights. But Canada was the best country to live in, especially considering the prospect of better education for his sons. And so, he gave up everything that he had achieved in Kenya and immigrated to Canada and made a humble beginning in Canada by joining as a funding specialist of a multinational company. Vijay was in his early 40s at that time.
Vijay joined CPA classes in the very first month in Canada. Soon he got a full-time job as a funding specialist at ADP Canada. Along with carrying out a full-time job for about eight to nine hours a day, he was also studying nine hours a day preparing for his American CPA in 2000 and Canadian CGA in 2001 and attained these designations in those respective years.
In 2002, he left ADP and started practicing on his own. Ever since he registered Vijay Sastry Kotamarti CGA, he has been practicing as the sole proprietor of Vijay Sastry Kotamarti CPA.
In 2015, together with Ashwin and Simran, he started The Kotamarti Group CPAs Professional Corporation.
Vijay is one of the Board of Governors of Canada India Foundation (CIF). He has written several articles on taxation in the journal ‘Statements’ of Certified General Accountants of Ontario and the newspaper, India Observer.
He highly regards the Hindu holy scripture, Bhagavada Geeta, and the power of the inner self. He says that the inner world is much bigger than the outer world that we all see, and to satisfy his inner world, he says, “You should always give rather than take. That is my way of living life,” says Vijay. His vast knowledge of the inner self can be understood from the fact that he has read the Bible, the Quran and the Bhagavada Geeta.
What he gives his family and the Kotamarti Group is not just monetary support but is also sharing his knowledge and experience. The Telugu community in Canada has always loved their radio and television programme, Telugu Bharati, for which he was the producer. His wife was its voice, artistic and creative director. Recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he served at his best as a member of the Rotary Club of Brampton. With the CIF, he has been a part of various health forums and volunteered to serve meals to the needy during this time. He is glad that God has given him the opportunity to give back to society.
On his frequent visits to India, Vijay meets and talks to a lot of people. He never lost touch with his homeland and continues to aid philanthropic activities in India as well.
“A moment lost is a moment gone forever,” Vijay concludes while urging everyone to remember that time is the most precious thing of all.