Can you tell us more about yourself?
My name is Syed Khalid Shafqat Bukhari. I am from Pakistan and have recently taken my baby steps in the corporate world by commencing my training with Pakistan’s largest OiI Marketing Company. I am currently working in the Financial Reporting Department under competent supervision. I don’t come from an accounting background. I was a student of engineering and mathematics in high school but decided to pursue a career in accounting and opted for ACCA. The first few months were hard as terms like “debit, credit, assets” etc were new to me. I had to put in extra hours and was often helped by teachers and friends for which I am always grateful.
How do you balance between studying, job and private life?
As I have just started working, I am finding it challenging to balance between my professional and social life. Nevertheless it is not impossible. All it requires is discipline and a little bit of willpower. However it is not the same as before, I have to admit. My advice to the readers is to make a weekly plan which incorporates every part of their life as that’s what works for me. Do not overburden yourself with the fact that you are working. Most likely many students are at this stage, so you are not alone.
Do you get support from your firm?
Yes my employers partially finance my ACCA education. Moreover I get an 11 day study leave per paper before the exams.
Which Study Texts and/or Revision Kits and other resources did you use, or found the most useful in your studies for this exam?
I usually use BPP texts and revision kits for exam preparation. But for paper P2 I also took reference from ICAEW’s book on corporate reporting for certain topics and watched Open Tuition video lectures for difficult areas of the syllabus.
You have scored 88 marks in Paper P2, many students must wonder what is your study technique?
There’s no special secret or formula behind it. I never really calculate the amount of time I spend in studies. I don’t even study daily to be honest. My targets are not set on the amount of hours I study but are set on the topics I want to be going through the next week or so. I do not overburden myself and take time out for gym, football and friends (even a day before the exam).
I manage my studies in a very organized manner. I make timetables and set short term targets for myself. I do make short notes as I study, making pointers and summaries along the course of it. I reserve the last month before the exam for complete course revision and past paper practice.
Learning the whole syllabus and being good at it is one thing, mastering the art of attempting the paper is another. Time management is one of the key issues students face while attempting an ACCA Professional level paper. To tackle this I used to practice questions under exam conditions, timing my answers. At first it used to take a lot of time but gradually I improved. Plus the examiners articles and advice from seniors worked wonders.
What do you think was the most important factor in your success in your ACCA exams?
That will be mom and dad. They always support me in anything I want to achieve in life and they are always there for me to give me a helping hand .This keeps pushing me on. I can’t thank them enough. And secondly my teacher, he created the love I have for this paper, was always there if I had any queries about anything and he was always patient with me. (I always used to skip class assignmnets, not advisable though)
How did you find out about OpenTuition and which OpenTuition resources helped you towards your success.
I came across this site when I was google-ing for some video lectures on paper F8. Since then I have been a huge fan of Open Tuition and have taken numerous lectures on different topics.