How Tanisha Brathwaite Juggled Full-Time Work and ACCA Studies

Introduction and Background

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your background?

My name is Tanisha Brathwaite and I am currently a Financial Planning Analyst at Gildan Activewear SRL. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science & Accounting from University of the West Indies.

In my current role, I assist in the tracking and reporting of key financial indicators. I was previously in Financial Reporting where I assisted in maintaining intercompany records and ensuring compliance with internal and external regulatory requirements.

What initially motivated you to pursue the ACCA qualification?

I’ve wanted to be an accountant for as long as I could remember. I was exposed to accounting from a young age since those were some of the books I read when I was young and I like dealing with numbers.

What made me choose ACCA was encountering several persons who were ACCA qualified during my time at university and later during my working life. It is a prominent accreditation in my country and is associated with career advancement and professional growth.

Journey with Learnsignal

How did you discover Learnsignal, and what made you choose it for your ACCA preparation?

Once I started looking into starting ACCA, Learnsignal’s banner ads on the ACCA website introduced me to the name and I also received offer emails from ACCA once I had registered to begin my journey.

As a full-time employee, the flexibility of using the videos, the set-up of the courses aligning with my learning style and the provision of study plans were factors that made me choose Learnsignal as my main tuition provider. It was also affordable, especially with the results week discount.

How did Learnsignal support you throughout your ACCA journey?

• The study plans helped keep me on track of my studies and provided me with a basis on which to determine how to allocate my time
• The videos helped make concepts more concrete after reading materials from the ACCA Study Hub
• The consistent inclusion of questions every week helped to ensure that I absorbed what I went through, despite my other commitments
• Bootcamp focussing on active question practice helped build confidence in the lead-up to the exam (major reason I used Learnsignal as my main tuition provider for the entirety of my studies)

Preparation Techniques

Can you share your study routine and how you managed your time effectively?

With my study routine, I focussed more on consistency rather than length of time, aiming to review something every day, where possible. As a full-time employee in accounting, some days this was harder than other, primarily month-end close periods

As for time management, I tried to stop looking at work within a general range of around 30 or so minutes after the official end time and established boundaries with my friends and family where I minimised my outings to mainly only soon after an exam was completed or when results came out to unwind and/or celebrate.

What specific strategies did you use to prepare for the SBL exam?

Applying the RAMSET model from early in the study period when I was attempting questions

Doing my best to not shy away from doing questions, especially when I felt a bit overwhelmed by the questions when I was first starting the course since I hadn’t done case studies since my time at university

Resource Utilization

Which resources or tools from Learnsignal did you find most helpful?

Overall, Bootcamp -> interacting with mainly questions in the lead up to the exam really helped concepts to solidify compared to reviewing notes and watching videos and helped to build confidence in both the content and exam techniques from consistent application for those 3 weeks. It played a major role in me achieving first time passes for all of my exams.

SBL: WhatsApp group chat -> helped me to better understand the entity that was tested by interacting with others and seeing their views. Evita’s regular questions and other students’ responses also helped me to see links present in the pre-seen that I may have missed from just reading and reviewing on my own.

How did you balance between theory and practical case studies in your preparation?

I think Learnsignal helped with that balance by providing relevant case study questions for the topics throughout the study duration as, sometimes, I wouldn’t quite get the theory until it was applied in a case study.

Challenges and Overcoming Them

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while preparing for the SBL exam?

I had recently started a new position when I was starting my SBL studies, so my biggest challenge was ensuring I didn’t burn myself out with all the new things I was being introduced to both at work and in my studies.

The shift in mindset which I think is required for SBL. In my opinion, it has more practical considerations than some of the other Strategic Professional examinations as, sometimes, a common-sense answer was acceptable while I was used to finding a theory or model and the applying it to the question.

How did you overcome these challenges and stay motivated?

I kept reminding myself that SBL was my last exam to stay the course.

Consistently practicing questions and reminding myself that models were not the be-all, end-all of answers throughout the study period helped me to minimise the initial panic I would have if I couldn’t find or remember an applicable model.

Exam Day Insights

Can you walk us through your experience on the day of the SBL exam?

I was still a bit nervous prior to entering the exam hall and I had to stop myself from going back through as much as possible before the morning of. RAMSET was a mantra in my head throughout the planning portion of the time of the exam. Once I had a structure and short points, I felt more comfortable answering the question, keeping in mind the instructions from the examiner in terms of the audience and presentation format.

How did you manage stress and stay focused during the exam?

Stress management

• taking deep breaths especially when I started to run over on my time for a question
• speaking positive affirmations before: I have prepared for as much as I can, I am in a position to answer any question that is posed, even if I panic a bit at first

Stay focused

• following the outline built by RAMSET in the planning phase throughout the rest of the exam
• reminding myself that I had to attempt every question in that exam in some form

Key to Success

What do you think was the key factor that contributed to your outstanding score of 95%?

Paying attention to the various details in the question such as what the expected format is, who is the correspondence going to, what is the subject matter/topics being tested in that question and ensuring that I kept those in mind or visible while I planned, wrote and reviewed my responses

Advice for Fellow Students

What advice would you give to other ACCA students, especially those preparing for the SBL exam?

Start Early

Starting sooner rather than later is always better as it provides you more time to get through the syllabus successfully, especially when coupled with a consistent study routine.

Routine is Key

Establishing a consistent study routine, taking into consideration your schedule and learning styles, can help in managing the vast syllabus successfully. Breaking down study material into manageable chunks and tackling them with regular, focused sessions was a principle I applied throughout my studies with help from the study plans that Learnsignal provide for the courses.

Active Learning

Engaging with the material actively through question practice and group discussions can enhance understanding and retention. It can also help by allowing you to finetune your exam technique and time management prior to the exam.

For SBL especially, don’t be afraid to start looking at past paper questions early in your studies, even if it feels overwhelming since you may not have covered much from the syllabus. It helps you see and experience the type of thinking you need to have when going into the exam from early on in your studies, rather than trying to acclimate yourself soon before the exam.

Stay Positive

I think this was one of the most notable things I encountered when interacting with other students, both successful and not so successful – their mindset about the particular exam or the accreditation on a whole. I was more likely to hear a positive outlook from successful students, even if they were not first-time passers for an exam. Viewing the accreditation as an insurmountable mountain rather than a challenging climb can really hamper progress because it’s harder to stay motivated when stumbles occur on the way, whether it’s not staying consistent with your studies or not passing an exam.

Don’t Neglect Your Health

Get your sleep, move your body, enrich your mind. A healthy body fosters a sharp mind, which is essential during exam preparation and performance.

How important is consistency and discipline in achieving high scores in ACCA exams?

I believe that consistency and discipline are must-haves to achieve high scores in ACCA exams. Establishing a regular study routine is important. By dedicating specific hours each day to study, rather than having irregular study sessions, you’re in a better position to cover the extensive syllabus systematically. Regular question and past paper practice will also allow you to become familiar the exam format, better apply exam techniques and assist in better understanding the topics covered in the question.

Discipline will also play a key role in success. Personally, effective time management ensured that I covered all topics in time for Bootcamp. I also set clear study goals for each week based on Learnsignal’s study plan which helped me stay on track.

Motivation and Inspiration

Can you share any motivational tips for students who are struggling with their ACCA studies?

• Remember your why: Remind yourself on why you started this journey – whether it be career advancement, higher pay, the prestige associated with being an ACCA member, keep that in the back of your mind as you progress.
• Have a realistic study routine: Create a consistent and realistic study routine. This can help to make the vast syllabus more manageable and completion more attainable.
• Visualize success: Visualizing your success can help in remaining focused on your goals. It may be hard, but a positive mindset is one of the most important tools you should have in ACCA success toolbox.
• Celebrate small wins: Celebrating small victories can provide a sense of accomplishment and motivation to continue. It can be completing the study session associated with a difficult topic, fully attempting a question, even if it’s not completely correct. Any progress is good progress.
• Reset and recharge: It is okay to take a break to recharge your mind. Personally, it took me some time to get used to this concept, but it made a significant difference. Especially after a difficult study session or question attempt, I would be tempted to go back through and fixate on what went wrong soon after, but when I wasn’t seeing progress with this method, I talked to others who were further in their journey, and they told me that sometimes it’s just best to take a break to recharge and revisit it with a clearer head.

How did you stay motivated throughout your ACCA journey and what kept you going during tough times?

In terms of motivation, I personally I like to finish what I start so I told myself that I had to complete this accreditation, even when balancing my studies with my other commitments felt difficult.

Something else that kept me motivated was my personal mantra throughout my journey: Failure is not an option. I don’t like the feeling of failure, especially when it comes to activities which use my brain, so I kept telling myself that I couldn’t fail in any of my exams. Especially when I was overwhelmed by a topic or a question or mock exam or I didn’t pass at some throughout my studies, I made sure to reflect on where I went wrong so that I didn’t repeat it in the exam because that was the main place where failure wasn’t an option.

What kept me going was seeing others succeed which solidified persons saying it was possible to finish as well as support from those around me.

Future Aspirations

What are your future career aspirations now that you are an ACCA affiliate?

As I am interested in data analysis, I am currently considering completing courses in this field and gaining certifications in associated various data analysis tools.

How do you plan to leverage your ACCA qualification in your professional life?

I aim to apply skills I’ve gained while pursuing this qualification to improve my productivity as I perform my duties in my organization. I like to learn new things so I plan to further improve my commercial and financial acumen as well as my technical skill up-to-date.

Personal Growth

How has studying and passing the ACCA exams contributed to your personal and professional growth?

Professionally, showing that I was actively pursuring the ACCA qualification allowed me to move into financial planning & analysis – a field which aligns more with my career vision of using and interacting with data to help with strategic planning

Balancing studies with work and personal commitments has honed my time management and organizational skills, while passing the exams has boosted my confidence in my professional abilities.

What are some key skills or lessons you’ve learned from this journey?

• Completing the exams have sharpened my critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, which are vital for making informed financial decisions.
• The journey has taught me perseverance and resilience, as I faced and overcame numerous challenges.
• Adapting to different study methods and exam formats has made me more flexible and open to change.

Role Models and Influences

Did you have any role models or mentors who inspired you during your ACCA journey?

My role model was my senior member in my department who was closer to completing their ACCA journey than me.

How did their guidance or example impact your success?

Seeing her continue to push forward despite setbacks, maintaining a positive attitude in spite of those setbacks, and attaining her qualification motivated me to stay resilient and persevere through the rigorous ACCA exams.

Her encouragement and belief in my abilities boosted my confidence and self-belief, enabling me to tackle ACCA exams with determination. Her guidance helped me develop soft skills like time management, critical thinking, and communication through discussions of topics, past papers and exam techniques.