Becoming an ACCA affiliate

Its been over 2 years now since I stepped into my very first ACCA class at the Fundamental level, then the papers were 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 2.1. I can’t say with certainty which of the four was the first but this I can say - I was quite puzzled at the start. The 'Debit' and 'Credit' then was certainly not obvious. There was no doubt that this was going to be one of the most challenging journeys I would ever take during all my studies and I know now that the ACCA studies met my expectations. December 2007 was my final sitting and I remember opening my email on the morning of 18 February 2008 and that all important email was not there. Quickly I tried to launch back into my work but all this was in vain due to the fact that my mind was clearly elsewhere. My colleague had managed to log onto MyACCA and I quickly picked my pass code and punched it in and there it was – 'You are now an ACCA affiliate.'

My mind quickly went back to the very beginning, and all the challenges I had encountered. I remembered the traffic jams on my way to school, those challenging evening lectures that would go till 9pm, and having to put in an extra hour to try and understand what the lecturer had been teaching. I am reminded of those draining weekend lectures and having to give up most of my traditional pass times. The calls from friends and family telling you how you are about to miss this great party......again.

Well, the first part of the journey is over, and now the next step is to become an ACCA member. PricewaterhouseCoopers is helping me complete my Practice Experience. I audit various companies, and through this hands-on practice I am becoming a more relevant professional and using the skills that I obtained from my studies to give relevant solutions and advice to various clients. I believe that the ability to transform what we have studied into practical and relevant solutions is the ultimate purpose of studying ACCA. It’s against that background that I believe that all students and affiliates should endeavour to complete their PER in order to become members of ACCA.

Finally, we should all hang in there and give our very best to ACCA. The victory may come after losing several battles but we can't afford not to finish this race – to become ACCA members. Let keep our eyes on the prize and remember that our best is good enough. We should take one day at a time and make each day better than the previous one. Build a resilient spirit and keep pushing forward each day. Keep your mind on that dream of becoming an ACCA member and the opportunities that come thereafter and, believe me, you shall add an extra hour or push a few extra minutes towards that goal.