Studying to be an accountant? Read these tips.

Chloe Wilford, our Associate Director, and the person responsible for our Part-Qualified Finance recruitment in West and North Yorkshire, deals with a lot of people who are currently studying for their accountancy exams – she hears a lot of the stresses and worries that people studying for ACCA, CIMA and ACA qualifications experience.  

We polled our followers recently, and asked them which of these common challenges resonated with them. Embarking on the journey to become a qualified accountant is both rewarding and challenging, and a lot of these are shared between students. Chloe talks through some of the tactics to address these stresses.

“I’m scared of failing”

24% of the people we polled said they experienced a ‘fear of failure’ around their studies. This is absolutely natural; the possibility of investing all of this time and money and still not succeeding can be paralysing for a lot of people.

The best way to address it is to take advantage of all of the support you have available. Utilise tutor support if it’s something you can access, use online materials to build yourself detailed revision plans and use practice exam papers – these can bolster your confidence and make you feel way more prepared for the real thing.

You can also work on reframing failure. Your setbacks can be viewed as chances to learn and grow, rather than as ‘failures’. The questions you get wrong are a way for you to identify the holes in your knowledge. These approaches can help you overcome that creeping fear of failure that comes with completing qualifications.

“I’m worried I won’t get the support I need”

This concerned a number of the people we surveyed, and is a pretty universal feeling when embarking into education as an adult. Prepping for these exams is overwhelming, but there’s a lot of things you can do to make it feel easier. Joining a study support network, or building your own if you can’t find an established one, is a great way of ensuring you’re getting support from people who know what you’re going through. It allows you to connect with other students, whether in person or online – discussing concepts and theories with your peers can make them make more sense and embed them in your memory.

You could also use Linkedin groups, Reddit forums and other online communities for motivation and tips from people who are also facing the same challenges. Your workplace may also offer mentors for those who are studying, and organisations like CIMA and ACCA provide structured study materials, past exam papers, technical articles, and student helplines for those enrolled on their courses.

“How do I keep my work-life balance healthy?”

This was the big one, with 65% of people surveyed choosing this as the thing they worry about the most. Balancing work, life, and studying for big, life changing exams like CIMA or ACCA can be hugely challenging. You have to get your approach right, and make sure you keep your wellbeing in mind.

The first thing to do is create yourself a structured study plan, which breaks down your topics into manageable sections. Schedule these sessions into your diary, to make sure you’re not overloading your free time. Early mornings and evenings can be great options for focused study serssions. Using an approach like the Pomodoro technique, which is studying in 25 minute blocks with short breaks in between can help you to maintain focus, and you can hack your commute into study time by using podcasts or audio notes that you’ve made yourself.

Keeping your employer informed about your work- and study-load is important too – they need to know about exam dates so they can manage your workload with you. And then there’s the basics – eat a balanced diet, make sure you’ve got time for yourself, and for some daily light exercise, and get enough sleep. Schedule time for social activities and hobbies, and make sure you keep your long term career plan in mind.

“I’m concerned about the pressure to succeed”

Many aspiring accountants feel intense pressure due to several factors. Accountancy exams have high standards, require deep understanding, technical skills, and the ability to apply knowledge under timed conditions. It’s a lot. They also run costs into the thousands, necessitate you balancing work and study and a lot of accountancy students put themselves under huge amounts of pressure, fearing failure could hurt their career progression.

We’ve also heard from a lot of students who, whilst they’re given the luxury of study support, have an overwhelmingly busy workload necessitating them to work into most evenings, and their studying gets forgotten about, or they end up booking exams much less frequently than they’d like to.

Whilst it’s the responsibility of the student to ensure they’re communicating clearly with their managers if this ever does become the case, managers also need to take heed of the potential situation outlined above. If you’re providing study support to someone, you’re agreeing to support them through that period. It’s good to honor that – it’ll help with employee retention, market reputation and it’ll attract new talent in the long term – word travels fast in this market!

People who are looking for progression in their career, whether that be via taking the study route, or adding duties to their role, often want to prove themselves and end up taking on more than they can handle. Make sure you plan with your manager to keep the balance.

The road to becoming a qualified accountant is demanding, but with the right strategies, resilience, and support, you can overcome the pressure. Stay organised, seek help when needed, and remember—success is a journey, not a race. If you're feeling overwhelmed, take a step back, refocus, and remind yourself why you started. The rewards of achieving your qualification will be well worth the effort. And if you find yourself needing to talk to someone about it that isn’t your boss, your family or another colleague, give Chloe a call. She’ll see you right.