Angela Jeffrey from the UK started her ACCA studies in 2006, enrolling on a distance learning course after some time away from studying. 'I gained a degree in business studies 20 years ago and had considered a career in accountancy,' says Angela. 'However, the study fatigue I felt at the time meant I opted to follow a business career. Once starting work I was happy working in my chosen field and when I had children later, it made sense to stay with what I knew. Now the children are growing up, I have been able to look to the future and decided I would like to study accounting, initially while continuing with my non-accountancy related current job as an economist at the Port of London Authority.'
Angela chose to study ACCA because it is a well-recognised qualification which while concentrating on the technical aspects of accounting also covers a broad selection of other business related subjects. 'I also chose ACCA because of its connection with Oxford Brookes University: I liked the idea of gaining a degree in accounting,' admits Angela.
'I work three days a week and have two children so I decided the best way to utilise my time was to study by distance learning,' explains Angela. 'I have found many advantages to this because I can study when I have the time and no time is wasted travelling to/from college. However, I do have to be organised and stick as far as possible to my timetable of study, while maintaining sufficient flexibility for when things go wrong.'
'It wasn't long before I was enjoying the studying, enjoying learning something new and enjoying the challenge of understanding new complex subjects,' admits Angela, who achieved the joint highest marks in Paper 2.1 in the June 2007 exam session. 'Passing exams is also a great confidence booster,' she adds.
Angela currently works for the Port of London Authority - the public body which looks after the River Thames. 'My work is economics/statistics based and includes analysing UK, European and world economic and trade information, and preparing forecasts, budget and long-term plans,' explains Angela.
'At the moment I am not obtaining any practical experience. My intention was to study for the exams while continuing my current job for a while. I am hoping to address the issue of practical experience soon being very aware that not only is it required for membership but it will help my understanding of accountancy. My aim is to obtain the OBU BSc (hons) in applied accounting and ultimately qualify as an accountant.'
Angela hopes that by being a student blogger she will be able to share her experiences of being a student with others. 'I also hope to be able to pass on tips to others, in particular to other distance-learning students like me. In turn, I hope I will get some responses to my blogs that I will find useful to implement,' she says.
Throughout her time as a blogger, Angela hopes to discuss revision techniques, the exams, managing the study/work/life balance, the courses I am studying, and the OBU degree. 'I might even be able to inject a bit of humour into my blogs. While studying is something that I take seriously I have to laugh sometimes otherwise I would all crack under the pressure!'.
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