There’s a particular kind of pressure that comes with being a commerce student in India. Everyone around you is either preparing for CA, doing an MBA entrance, or just waiting to graduate before they figure out what’s next. Shweta looked at that crowd — and quietly decided to do something different.
She enrolled for ACCA while still in her B.Com Hons, pushed through to the Skills Level, and cleared Financial Reporting — one of the most demanding papers on that ladder. No waiting. No “I’ll start after college.” Just a plan, and the discipline to follow through.
Here’s the story she shared with us.
The Interview
Q: Shweta, tell us about yourself — B.Com Hons and ACCA at the same time. How did that even come about?
I’m a B.Com Hons student, and I started thinking about ACCA pretty early into my degree. I’d always liked accounts and financial reporting — they made logical sense to me in a way that a lot of other subjects didn’t.
But I also knew that a B.Com degree by itself is very common. Almost everyone in commerce has one. I wanted something that would actually stand out — something with global recognition that signals you’re serious about the profession.
ACCA fit that perfectly. And once I started researching it, I found out that B.Com Hons students get exemptions from the Knowledge Level papers entirely — which means you go straight into the Skills Level. That was actually a big motivator. I wasn’t starting from zero. I was already partway in, just by virtue of my degree.
Q: Why did you jump straight into FR at the Skills Level? That’s not the easiest entry point.
Because of the B.Com Hons exemptions, FR was actually my first ACCA paper. There was no warm-up, no easing in — I was at the Skills Level from day one. That was a little daunting at first, but it also meant I had no choice but to take it seriously.
FR — Financial Reporting — is the paper that really tests whether you understand accounting at a professional level. IFRS standards, consolidations, complex financial instruments — this is where the depth is. I wanted to get through it while I was already in full study mode from college.
There’s something about being a student that keeps you sharp. I didn’t want to lose that by waiting.
Q: What made FR feel like a genuine challenge coming in from a B.Com background?
B.Com teaches you accounting concepts at a fairly foundational level. FR expects you to take those concepts and apply them to complex, multi-part scenarios under real exam pressure. The examiner isn’t checking if you know what IFRS 15 says — they’re checking if you can apply it to a situation you’ve never seen before.
Consolidations were a big jump. Group accounts, non-controlling interest calculations, intragroup adjustments — the moving parts multiply quickly. And you have to get the format right under time pressure.
Financial instruments under IFRS 9 was another one I had to work hard at. The logic behind classification and measurement isn’t immediately obvious — it takes time to internalise.
Q: How did you find QuintEdge, and what made you decide to go with them for FR?
A friend from my batch had enrolled with QuintEdge for her ACCA prep and kept talking about how good the faculty was — especially how concept-heavy topics were explained in a really intuitive way, without making you feel lost.
I looked them up, went through some content online, and the teaching style immediately resonated. For FR specifically, I knew I needed structured coaching — the kind where someone tells you exactly how to approach each topic and what the examiner is looking for. That’s not something you figure out alone.
So I enrolled with QuintEdge for FR, and that decision made all the difference.
Q: What was the teaching experience like at QuintEdge — specifically for an FR student?
Avijeet Sir and Krupang Sir have a very clear way of structuring each topic — they don’t just explain the standard, they show you how the examiner uses it to set questions. That’s a completely different level of preparation.
For consolidations, for example, it wasn’t just “here’s the formula for NCI.” It was — here’s why the adjustment exists, here’s what happens in different scenarios, here’s the common mistake students make, and here’s how to avoid it. That layered approach is what actually builds exam confidence.
The doubt-solving was also something I really valued. Any time I was stuck on a standard or a past paper question, I could get it resolved quickly. That kind of support matters a lot when you’re self-managing your time alongside college.
Q: Walk us through what your study routine actually looked like day to day.
I treated my ACCA prep like a second course running alongside my degree — which it essentially was. College during the day, ACCA revision in the evenings, and weekends reserved for past paper practice.
The recorded sessions from QuintEdge gave me a lot of flexibility. On heavy college days, I could watch a recorded class at 1.5x speed to stay on track without falling behind. That flexibility was crucial — it meant I never had a week where ACCA prep completely stopped.
I also kept a running list of standards I wasn’t confident on and revisited them every weekend. By exam week, that list was almost empty — and that feeling was everything.
Q: Were there moments where you doubted yourself — where the double workload felt like too much?
Absolutely. There were days when college assignments were piling up and I still had three FR topics I hadn’t revised. You start doing the mental math of what you can drop, what you can compress — and sometimes that’s stressful.
What helped was reminding myself why I’d started. I hadn’t enrolled in FR impulsively. I’d made a deliberate decision, and I wasn’t going to let a few rough weeks undo that.
Mock tests were actually a turning point for my confidence. The first one I attempted, my timing was all over the place. But by the third or fourth mock, the structure was clicking — and I started feeling ready rather than anxious.
Q: And then results day — tell us that moment.
Results day for ACCA always feels like a long wait, even when it isn’t. I remember refreshing the portal and just staring at the screen.
When I saw I’d cleared FR, my first reaction was just disbelief — the good kind. I’d worked hard for it, but seeing it confirmed in black and white is still a different feeling.
My family was really happy. My parents had been supportive throughout, but I think they genuinely understood the weight of it only when I told them I’d passed a Skills Level paper while still in my second year. That’s when it sank in for all of us.
Q: What would you say to a B.Com Hons student who’s thinking about ACCA but keeps pushing it to “after graduation”?
I’d say — that “after graduation” moment keeps moving. First it’s after graduation, then it’s after you settle into a job, then it’s after your probation period. There’s always a reason to delay if you’re looking for one.
The B.Com years are actually ideal for ACCA. You already have a commerce foundation, your brain is in study mode, and B.Com Hons gives you exemptions that let you skip straight to the Skills Level. You’re closer to a qualification than you think.
Starting is the hardest part. Once you’re in it, it builds its own rhythm. And clearing a Skills Level paper like FR while still in college — that’s a signal to any future employer that you’re not someone who waits around.
Start now. Seriously.
Inspired by Shweta’s story?
If you’re a commerce student wondering whether now is the right time to start ACCA — it is. Talk to our counsellors at QuintEdge and get a clear roadmap built around your college schedule.
🌐 www.quintedge.com
