Interview with Marta from Poland, Genius Hunt winner for Paper F5

Can you tell us more about yourself?

I am from Poland and work in practice (a mid-tier firm) in the UK. I am 30 years old so I’m probably older than many other students. I study with BPP.

Many students are working just like you, how do you balance between studying, job and private life?

It is very difficult to balance between studying and job. I try to remember that my sacrifice now will help me in the future. I often study at weekends and I can’t take holidays for weeks before exams but on the other hand I tend to give myself some time off as well. You need to remember that there’s more life to text books and you need to give yourself chance to relax even shortly before exams. If you plan to study at a weekend, allow yourself for a Saturday evening with friends or a dinner out. It’s something to wait for and it’s also a kind of reward after all day of revising.

Do you get support from your firm? Like time off work or do they pay for your tuition etc?

My company pays for my college (taught and revision courses and mock exam days). I get time off work for college and a few days for studying before exams.

Which Study Texts and/or Revision Kits did you use, or find most useful in your studies?

I use BPP texts as they are included in the study support from my employer but I have also tried Kaplan.

You have scored such high marks, many students must wonder what is your study technique?

I scored high marks for F5 which is one of my favourite papers. I like it and find it interesting so it’s easier for me to study. I spent a lot of time practising questions and I think this is the best method. Another important thing is to pay attention not only to calculation but to discursive parts of questions as well. I work in practice so I don’t really do anything related to performance management at work but I managed to score good marks thanks to intense studying.

What do you think was the most important factor in your success in your ACCA exams?
I think the most important factor was practising questions. The study support from my employer was also very valuable however I know there are many students without access to college who also do very well with exams.

How did you find out about OpenTuition and how much do you think OpenTuition resources helped towards your success?

I read about Open Tuition in the accountancystudents.co.uk forum a few years ago and I think it’s a fantastic source of help. Especially for students who do not attend classroom courses, the recorded lectures are very helpful. I think that using different study methods can be useful, for example reading text books, practising questions, practising mock exams, listening to lectures. I find lectures especially valuable as it’s easier for me to remember things when I listen to a tutor talk about them. I know Open Tuitions organises also study sessions. I haven’t tried this method yet but I will definitely try before my next exams.