Most people talk about ACCA as something they’re going to do someday. Ananya Madakasira has been quietly getting it done — paper by paper, sitting by sitting — while building a professional career at the same time. A B.Com Hons graduate from Hyderabad, she’s cleared 12 of 13 ACCA papers, worked at Grant Thornton Bharat LLP, and most recently scored 73 in Strategic Business Reporting — one of the most demanding papers at the Professional Level.
One paper stands between her and full ACCA qualification. If the journey so far is any indication, that gap won’t last long. Here’s how she got here.
The Interview
Q: Ananya, give us the full picture — B.Com Hons, Grant Thornton, 12 ACCA papers cleared. How do you even describe that arc?
It’s been a long road, honestly — but a very intentional one. I started ACCA during my B.Com Hons, which gave me Knowledge Level exemptions so I entered directly at the Skills Level. From there I worked through the papers systematically, sitting them while also building my professional career.
Grant Thornton was a pivotal chapter. Working in a professional services environment at that level, you’re surrounded by the kind of complexity that ACCA prepares you for — audit, reporting, governance, ethics. The job and the qualification fed each other in ways I didn’t fully anticipate when I started.
Looking back, I wouldn’t change the sequencing. Studying ACCA while working wasn’t the easy path, but it made both the exam prep and the job richer.
Q: SBR — Strategic Business Reporting — is widely considered one of the hardest papers at the Professional Level. What’s your honest assessment of it?
It’s hard in a specific way. It’s not hard because the individual concepts are impossible — if you’ve made it to the Professional Level, you’ve already covered financial reporting at the Skills Level. SBR is hard because it expects you to think at a completely different altitude.
You’re not just applying IFRS standards — you’re advising on them. Evaluating complex group scenarios, justifying accounting treatments, critiquing reporting decisions. The examiner is looking for professional judgement, not just technical recall. That shift in expectation catches a lot of candidates off guard.
For me, having worked at Grant Thornton was a genuine advantage here. Real-world exposure to reporting challenges, audit considerations, and client-facing communication made the SBR scenarios feel less abstract than they might have otherwise.
Q: How did working at Grant Thornton shape your approach to the Professional Level papers, particularly SBR?
Enormously. At Grant Thornton, you’re constantly dealing with situations where the right accounting treatment isn’t obvious — where professional judgement is genuinely required. That’s exactly the muscle SBR tests.
When a past paper question asked me to evaluate whether a particular financial instrument should be reclassified, or how an acquisition should be treated in consolidated statements — I’d often seen versions of those decisions in real client work. That grounding made my answers more confident and more structured.
There’s a difference between knowing the standard and knowing why the standard exists. Working in practice gives you the “why” — and SBR rewards candidates who have it.
Q: You enrolled with QuintEdge for SBR specifically. What made you choose them at the Professional Level?
By the time I was preparing for SBR, I’d already seen what good ACCA coaching looks like — and what it doesn’t. I came to QuintEdge on the recommendation of people whose opinions I trusted, and the reputation for strong faculty and exam-focused teaching was consistent across every source.
For a Professional Level paper, you can’t afford coaching that just walks you through the syllabus. You need faculty who understand the examiner’s expectations, who can show you how to construct a high-scoring answer under time pressure, and who can push your thinking beyond textbook responses.
That’s exactly what I found at QuintEdge — and it showed in the result.
Q: What was the teaching experience like at QuintEdge for SBR?
Avijeet Sir and Krupang Sir approach SBR with a very clear understanding of what the Professional Level actually demands. The teaching isn’t about covering content — it’s about building the analytical framework you need to tackle any scenario the examiner throws at you.
What stood out most was the focus on answer structure and professional language. At this level, how you communicate your analysis matters almost as much as the analysis itself. The faculty were very deliberate about teaching us to write like professionals — clear, justified, well-reasoned responses that address the precise question asked.
The mock papers and detailed feedback were invaluable. Getting line-by-line commentary on where marks were being lost and why — that kind of targeted correction is what sharpens a Professional Level candidate in the final weeks before an exam.
Q: How did you manage SBR preparation alongside professional commitments? That’s not a small ask.
You have to be ruthless with your time — there’s no other way to describe it. Early mornings before work, evenings after, weekends largely dedicated to past papers and revision. It’s not glamorous, but it’s the reality of pursuing a professional qualification while working.
The recorded sessions from QuintEdge gave me the flexibility to keep moving even during heavy work periods. If a client deadline consumed a week, I could catch up on recordings without falling behind on the syllabus. That flexibility was non-negotiable for me given my schedule.
I also learned to be very selective about what I revised in the final month. At the Professional Level, trying to cover everything is a trap. You identify your strongest areas, you sharpen them further, and you make sure your weakest areas are at least competent. Strategic revision — not exhaustive revision.
Q: 73 in SBR — that’s a strong score for a notoriously difficult paper. When did you know the preparation had gone well?
Walking out of the exam, actually. That doesn’t always happen — there are papers where you leave unsure. But with SBR, I felt like I’d answered the questions properly. I’d structured my responses well, I’d addressed the specific requirements, and I hadn’t panicked in the section that most candidates find hardest.
Seeing 73 confirmed it. But more than the number, what mattered was what it represented — that the combination of professional experience, structured coaching, and disciplined preparation had actually worked at the highest level of the qualification.
It’s the paper I’m most proud of, not because of the score, but because of what it took to get there.
Q: One paper away from full ACCA qualification. What does that feel like from where you’re standing?
It feels close — closer than it’s ever felt. But I’m not letting myself get complacent, because the final paper deserves the same rigour as every paper before it. ACCA doesn’t reward coasting, and I haven’t come this far by taking shortcuts.
What it does feel like is earned. Every paper, every late night, every sitting where I had to choose between rest and revision — all of it has been building toward this. Full ACCA qualification was never just a target on a spreadsheet for me. It’s been the throughline of the last several years of my professional life.
One more paper. Then it’s done.
Q: What would you tell someone who’s earlier in their ACCA journey — maybe just starting out at the Skills Level — about what the road ahead looks like?
It’s a long road — I won’t pretend otherwise. But it’s a road that rewards consistency more than brilliance. You don’t need to be exceptional every sitting. You need to show up, prepare properly, and trust the process sitting by sitting.
The other thing I’d say is: let the professional experience and the qualification feed each other. If you’re working, pay attention to how the concepts you’re studying appear in real decisions around you. And if you’re still in college, start building that connection as early as you can.
ACCA is not just about passing exams — it’s about becoming the kind of professional who thinks, analyses, and communicates at a level that genuinely sets you apart. That’s worth every difficult sitting along the way.
Start strong. Stay consistent. Don’t underestimate what you’re capable of.
Inspired by Ananya’s story?
Whether you’re just starting your ACCA journey or preparing for the Professional Level, QuintEdge has the coaching to take you there. Talk to our counsellors and find out what your path looks like.
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