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OPINION

By Lillian Kabanyoro

When I joined Ernst & Young (EY) Uganda in 2014 after my bachelor’s degree in commerce from Makerere University, it occurred to me that pursuing the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) qualification was not an option, but a must. The corporate and smartly dressed ACCA qualified professionals at EY carried an air of confidence and were the epitome of accounting knowledge.

Most importantly, I was inspired by the benefits of the ACCA qualification which included among others increased chances of local employability, international job opportunities, especially in the big four firms globally; an opportunity to acquire a BSc (Hons) in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, advanced diploma in accounting and business and being eligible for many exemptions for a master’s in business administration (MBA) at the Herriot Watt university in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

ACCA was a brand I reckoned being a part of in a period of two years. Little did I know the ACCA journey would take me 10 years!

The journey

The energy, enthusiasm, ambitious aspirations of any fresh university graduate coupled with peer pressure enticed me to register and sit for three papers for my first sitting.

One month down the ACCA journey I conceived my first child; something that came with lots of difficulties. Juggling work, pregnancy and concentrating on ACCA proved very difficult. When the results returned four months later, alas! I had failed all the three papers. It was devastating! Regardless, I promised myself never to give up.

At the same time, I never wanted nor allowed ACCA to stand in my way of having a family and worklife; I wasn’t going to use it (ACCA) as an excuse for not progressing in my other areas of life. I had to devise means to balance the equation. As Tommy Lasorda states: “The only difference between the impossible and the possible is man’s determination.” As such I changed strategy; I decided I would be sitting for only one paper at a time and maximising the four sittings in a year.

But even with this strategy, often times I failed to pass some exams at the first attempt. One memory comes to mind, there is a paper I failed three times and I passed it on the fourth attempt.

However, this never affected my determination to complete until the morning of April 15, 2024, when I received my pass mark for my last ACCA paper! God had finally answered my prayers and the long wait was over, I did not labour in vain (Isaiah 65:23).

Mode of study

The truth of the matter is that ACCA is a costly course though it offers value for money.

As much as my employers partly sponsored me, I paid the exam fees for most papers myself, especially those that I repeated. Given the financial constraints and my busy work-life schedule, I had no choice but to opt for self-study rather than attend classes at designated campuses.

Motivation to carry on

God has been my priority number one and I trusted Him to lead me to success one day.

I would pray before sitting for a paper and I would also pray before ‘opening’ my results; I made a contract with Him that I would do my best and leave the rest to Him thus regardless of whether I passed or failed, I believed that was His Will.

Secondly, God blessed me with an extremely supportive spouse and house helps. He (my spouse) did whatever it took to ensure that I complete the course; from taking care of the kids as I concentrated on ACCA to offering motivational talks and physical comfort. May God richly bless him for me.

In addition, in 2022 while at level 3 of the ACCA qualification, God brought me an Angel Gabriel — Aaron Mpireyenki; a friend who hand-held me through the last and most difficult four professional papers of ACCA. He offered me reading materials, revision tips and held discussions with me every weekend. Aaron, May God bless your rich heart, Amen.

Above all, I did a self-evaluation of my life and accepted early enough that my race and destination are different from others’. I never compared myself to others, I ran my race at my pace, I took one day at a time and practised gratitude while keeping a keen eye on my future aspirations.

This saved me from lots of self-inflicted stress. This is not to say that I haven’t had challenges because these are a part and partial of life. How I dealt with them is what mattered most. I must say I am a better accounting professional after the ACCA qualification!

To current and future ACCA students

There are no short cuts to passing ACCA, one must be able to sacrifice; put in the effort, hard work, commitment and above all nurture the spirit of patience because “a man who is a master of patience is master of everything else”. — George Savile.

Finally, you can also achieve in other areas of your life during the pursuit of the course, work-life-study balance is possible!

The writer is a domestic taxes specialist at Uganda Revenue Authority