How I Turned My APM Failure into a Comeback Story

Background and Journey

Introduction and Background:

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

I have a bachelor degree in International Economic Relations and a master in Public Finance from a local university in my country. I started my career as an accountant and then moved to finance controller role.

What initially motivated you to pursue the ACCA qualification?

I started my career as an accountant in an international company in the finance department. There, I realized the need to pursue a world widespread qualification to boost my knowledge and understand better finance and accounting standards.

Journey with Learnsignal:

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

I heard about Learnsignal from a colleague who had attended some courses for exam preparation. I decided to try it as well.

How did Learnsignal support you throughout your ACCA journey?

Normally, I have never used supporting courses to pass the exams. All the preparation has been done only by reading workbooks and exercising past exams in the ACCA platform on my own. However, I failed APM exam which was my last one and in order to overcome it, I decided to look for help (Learnsignal).

Exam Preparation and Strategies

Preparation Techniques:

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

During exam preparation I tried to be consistent in my learning on a daily basis even at least for 1 hour per day. Sometimes I was very exhausted by work or personal responsibilities and skipped some days for preparation but it was rare.
I always started my preparation by reading the workbook and the whole syllabus. Afterwards, I continued with the revision kit. After completing all the questions from the revision kit, I exercised the past exams posted on the ACCA platform.

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

I practiced a lot of mock exams and past exams. Also, I avoided just to read the question and then to check the answer. I sit down and wrote without checking the answers what I thought the right answer could be. I acted like I was attending the real exam.

Resource Utilization:

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

I watched all videos related to learning, the bootcamps, assessed myself by the progression tests. I found those very helpful.

Challenges and Overcoming Them:

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

I failed APM exam and felt like it was impossible to be passed. After having chats with colleagues who had been trying to overcome APM since several years, I started doubting myself and my abilities. I feared that APM would waste couple of years of my life.

How did you overcome these challenges and stay motivated?

It was the last exam, I told myself “You are close to the finish line, you passed so many exams, and this one is just a matter of time”. I subscribed for Learnsignal courses, re-read the workbook, completed on my own all exams and the fear started to fade.

Exam Experience

Exam Day Insights:

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

I went earlier at the center and met an ex-colleague. We talked about our jobs, how life was going on and I almost forgot about the exam. Then, the exam started, I focused my efforts firstly on Question A and moved to B part. The questions were known, I wrote short sentences and linked the answers to the scenarios.

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

I remember that my biggest obstacle was the time management. I was always checking the clock on my screen and calculating how many time would leave for the next questions. Of course I was feeling pressured by the limited time but forced myself to write and not to waste time for stress.

Advice and Inspiration

Advice for Fellow Students:

What advice would you give to other ACCA students, especially those preparing for the strategic level papers?

Strategic level papers are more about demonstrating that you gained knowledge and can apply it to the scenario. It is very important to provide implications to the problem, to understand the verbs embedded in the requirements and to reply with the right answers related to the question, not just to give an answer which is vaguely cover the topic or it is far from the problem.

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

From my perspective, without discipline it would be a chance 1:10000000 to overcome the exams. There are a lot of details and tricky questions which could be answered only after consistent practice. Discipline is mandatory.

Motivation and Inspiration:

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

It is always hard to sit but once you start, try to focus on your studies, switch off your phone, the TV, stay alone on closed doors and start watching videos related to ACCA, then try some questions to answer. If you feel distracted, re-read the topic and act like this almost every day.

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

I had a lot of hard time during the ACCA journey – job related issues, family related problems. I took some breaks in order to overcome my problems, and after that I went back on track. Sometimes ACCA was a healing instrument, instead of reflecting on my problems, I was reading the workbook.

Future Aspirations:

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

I feel more confident now and would like to pursue a career role which is more strategical rather than operational.

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

ACCA qualification will allow me to stay up to date with the profession and to possess competitive advantage.

Discover how a finance professional from Ukraine overcame challenges and completed her ACCA journey using Learnsignal support: Work and the ACCA: A Ukrainian Student’s Story of Determination

Looking to pursue a career in accounting? Click here to read the full blog: How to Become an Accountant: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide