It was tough – but I never gave up!

Since I was a kid – I was asked the classic question at school by my teacher – Mrs Edelman – what do you want to be when you grow up?!

“I want to be an Accountant!”

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Of course, I didn’t exactly know what an Accountant did, but I knew they had a professional job, wore a suit and had a skilled job to help people.

🎓So I set off with my academics to get A-Levels in Accounting, Business Studies and IT. I wanted to check I actually liked Accounting!

And like I said I went to The University of West of England in Bristol and graduated in Business Studies.

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I am seriously proud of my 1^st class degree – not just academically, but personally too. {I had a challenging personal life during Uni so I used my degree to focus my mind and grab some life control!}

During my degree I had a placement year at Lockheed Martin – I was the Treasury Analyst in the 50 strong finance team. And I absolutely loved it! ❤️

As the student I was invited to Senior Board meetings, involved in presentations and external meetings with my manager and had exposure to a wide range of finance tasks.

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This role set me up perfectly for a Finance career. I worked my way up the Finance career ladder as Accounts Assistant – Assistant Accountant – Senior Management Accountant.

After I qualified, I jumped to Finance Manager, Financial Controller and most recently Group Financial Controller.

I am actually embarrassed to admit that my CIMA journey took me 6 years!

I always knew I wanted to complete my CIMA and I knew I was good at Accounting, especially Management Accounts. But naively I thought I could sail through my exams in 3 years and then get my own office and amazing salary!

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But wow … CIMA was tough!

No-one told me how hard it would be juggling a finance career and studying!

Trying to balance BPP study days with work … and even a social life!

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👉🏻 I used all of my annual leave on study and revision days (that frustrated me!)

👉🏻 I cried in the fire exit stairs of the BPP building in Leeds on many, many occasions! (I couldn’t answer the questions the way the teacher was explaining it!)

👉🏻 I was embarrassed telling my boss that I failed, when my colleagues were all passing around me!

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💪🏻 But I kept going! 💪🏻

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Lie I said I sat an exam every sitting for 6 years and this made me more determined than ever!

No way was I not achieving my dream!

No way was I going to fail at this qualification!

I enjoyed my job too much and I was bloody good at it!

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On February 14^th 2013 I became fully CIMA Qualified!

What a relief!

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Finally, now I can get on with my life and finance career – and get that Finance Manager job and salary I have been craving!

Life happens right, and during my CIMA journey I relocated a few times, plus got a divorce – so it was an emotional time. Looking back no wonder I struggled, but what I do regret is doing it alone.

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I felt so alone during my CIMA journey, especially during my revision phase.

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The BPP tutors were great (most of them) but they only taught me the syllabus. When it was time to revise – they sent me off to practice questions … but I had no idea how to actually answer the questions!

My ex husband was not as supportive as I needed so at home I felt alone too.

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I don’t regret any of my life or experiences.

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But I wish I had some support during my CIMA – I know it would have helped me figure out how to pass in a lot less time… and with less tears!