Spotlight interview with Radhakrishnan, Genius Hunt winner in Paper F7

Can you tell us more about yourself?

I am a qualified and experience finance professional having more than 14 years of experience in finance. I am a B.com, Indian CFA, CWA and PGDBA-Finance. I am at present working as Head-Financial Accounting and Control in one of the leading banks in Qatar.

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

It is quite a challenge to balance studying, job and personal life. Each one has got its own priorities and i have to priortise based on the need of the hour. Having said that, if you have an understanding family, it will make your study easier and i am fortunate to have a family who supports and encourages my studies.

But the conflict can be better managed if we allot our time to each of the activities judiciously over the studies and more skewed towards studies towards the exams time.

Do you get support from your firm?

Actually i started studying ACCA in a view to understand the concepts of IFRS and Accounting Standards, which would enhance my conceptual skills in my work. My bank does not pay for my tuition or give me time off work but i was able to manage my leave around exam time.

Which Study Texts and/or Revision Kits and other resources did you use, or found the most useful in your studies?
I used Get Through Guides, Open Tuition study material and exam kit for my F7. I also referred to the IFRS/IAS Standards from IASB and technical articles from ACCA. Past exams question papers were definitely good reference as far as exam techniques were concerned.

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

As i said earlier, i have to balance my studies with private life and work. I maintain a time line of covering the text book over the three month period before the exams. I spend the last 15 days to one month in revising the question bank, past QPs and text book. Past question papers would give excellent insight into the type of questions you can expect in exams. Also, one should understand the concepts clearly before attempting the past QPs/Q.Bank.

Disciplined studying time schedule will help you score high marks in exams.

What do you think was the most important factor in your success in your ACCA exams?
Planned time schedule for studies and revision of past exam papers were key for success. Also, as i am a finance professional, my experience in consolidation, financial closure etc helped me in the studies and exams.

How did you find out about OpenTuition and which  OpenTuition resources helped you towards your success.

To tell about Open Tuition resources in a nut shell, it was “Short and Sweet”. Crisp study materials, hints, examples and a very good reference for revision. Question bank was comprehensive and really useful.