I have fielded this question a lot over the years, from students who wonder whether their choice of academic institution may be the reason they haven’t been successful, or who just want some kind of reassurance that the next year won’t be the same as the last. This is a question no one but yourself…
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We’ve all been there. Holding your breath for days, weeks (feels like forever!) until you see those results on the screen. You want them, you don’t want them. You don’t want anyone else to see them first, but you don’t want to be the first to see them either! Dilemma! Tough as this is, I’d…
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Let’s talk exam technique for Auditing! You’ve worked through the theory, you’re working on perfecting your knowledge, now you need to give some thought to how you’ll present the information in the exam. Communication is key Firstly, remember that Auditing is a communication subject. As much as you may not like to hear this, your…
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Your Accounting exams are a thing of the past (for now anyway!) and you’re anxiously awaiting the outcome of your efforts. It’s yet another stressful time to add to the already stressful year! In this time of suspense and debating over whether you did enough to make it through successfully, there are a few things…
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These questions are quite a challenge for most students. A balance between theory and application that creates a lot of frustration… here’s some help! Imagine that you’re a consultant, an expert on the topic. A client has come to you and asked you to help them with something. (eg: they’ve bought or built something and…
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Are you a perfectionist? Many Accounting students tell me they’re DEFINITELY not perfectionists, because they don’t get great marks. They don’t get distinctions for all their Accounting studies, so clearly they can’t be perfectionists! That’s not what a perfectionist really is. Even if you land up getting bad marks, your underlying personality can still be…
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Have you ever met someone whose passion for what they do is so strong that it’s almost contagious! You find you get caught up in their enthusiasm and feel motivated to push further yourself? It’s amazing how tangible true passion is. It’s really hard to hide it, and really easy to spot someone who has…
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“Focussing on studying theory for exams is like playing cricket to prepare for a soccer match!” This is a statement I make to most of my students when I discuss how to prepare for exams. Yes, the theory of your subject is important, however, making summaries, highlighting notes and texts don’t tell you HOW to…
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Reading the case study in an exam can take up valuable time, so it’s crucial that you get the maximum value from this process. Every minute that you spend on this must be worth marks to you, otherwise you’re wasting your time!! To begin with, you have to make sure that you read the information…
DetailsAn important component of your studies, that is often overlooked, is the need to assess your own work and your weaknesses. Although we don’t want to focus on the negative points, we do need to be aware of them in order to improve our work and our knowledge. Simply identifying that you got something wrong…
DetailsMost of us are bombarded with motivational posters, quotes and pictures through various forms of social media, e-mail and well-meaning family and friends. By the time we’ve seen the hundredth poster, it does tend to lose it’s ability to move us. Motivation needs to come from the inside. No amount of inspiring quotes can replace…
DetailsA lot of people will wish you good luck before tomorrow… I don’t want to wish you good luck, I wish you good preparation. I hope that your hard work pays off. I hope that you feel a sense of progress, a decreased sense of fear and a little more understanding of what you’ve signed up…
DetailsYou’re looking at the work you have to cover. It looks vaguely familiar. The words are definitely English. Mostly. At least, people tell you they are English, though they sometimes do look like a foreign language scrawled on the page in front of you. You may have attended a class, where the lecturer showed you…
DetailsEvery semester I look around the classes I lecture and see the faces of the students sitting in front of me. I see pretty much the same thing every year, from most students. The faces may change, but the expressions are fairly similar. The expressions generally say the following: “I REALLY don’t want to be…
DetailsEvery year, I see CTA students dragging their precious SAICA books around with them. Their car could be stolen, they could lose their wallet… but as long as those books are safe, the world can still go on! Those SAICA books become the most valuable thing you own, because they’re the books you can take…
DetailsJust as you thought you were coming to grips with your qualification journey and what it requires from you in the future, a change is about to be implemented that will change some of the steps in that journey! From 2014, the second Board Exam to qualify as a CA will be changing. This will…
DetailsI’m willing to bet that a lot of students will cringe just reading the heading of this article. There is a distinct negative connotation attached to ‘giving up’ that none of us want to be associated with, and for this reason, we may end up making decisions that aren’t necessarily in our best interests. What…
DetailsThe year has been tough. You’re exhausted from studying, tired of the emotional stress of waiting for results and wondering whether all the sacrifices and effort you’ve put into this will be worthwhile. Then the results come out. Your worst fears are confirmed, and even though you were partly expecting and dreading it, there’s still…
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CTA Class of 2021! Where are you going to study? Congratulations if you’re planning to study CTA in 2021. It’s a major achievement to get this far, don’t underestimate that. “Does it matter where I study my CTA? Will it matter which university I studied through?” is a question I get asked all the time.…
Details‘Networking’ has been a buzzword amongst professionals for many years. The idea of advertising yourself and your skills amongst as many people as possible in a more personal way than a flat advertisement is considered a more effective way to obtain new business and seek employment than brochures and CV’s. As a student with an…
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