I'm so glad to hear you find it helpful... it's also super-valuable to realise that YOU'RE NOT ALONE! :) There's nothing wrong with you... it IS a massive shift in skills, levels and expectations... keep at it, and keep coming back here to make sure you feel supported :)

@@accountingstudyadvice this is my new home, I'll defs be staying on your channel... I'm going to need all the motivation and tips I can get

Thanks for watching!

Ah... that's awesome to hear :) The more you let me know what you're needing, the more I can provide it timeously :) So, always keep in touch!

lol... Bob's got a pretty bad reputation after all my audit lectures... perhaps it's time he retires and I find someone else...

That's incredible! And you're so YOUNG! You have decades to take advantage of that qualification... if you qualify at 35, you'll still be working for about 30 years!! So go for it! And keep in touch... let us all know how you're doing. You're not alone :) We're all behind you

Email me... I'll send it to you :) [email protected]

Awesome :) I take it you're writing ITC? Email me if you need help :) [email protected]

Glad you enjoy it! I'm always here for you :)

That's such a great feeling. It is slow, it is tough... but you have to celebrate your progress... we make progress on LONG journeys by those small steps :) Keep at it!

That's so awesome to hear! Congratulations from me and EVERY other student who watches these videos. What an amazing achievement!

SUCH a good question! The super-simple answer is that although the topics are 'familiar', the types of things they want you to DO with the stuff is TOTALLY different. Eg: In undergrad, you needed to calculate stuff, in CTA, you need to explain to your client how and why to calculate it, and how it applies to their business. Totally different skill, which we haven't really worked on before. We're used to format, calculation, technical, detailed thinking... and now we need to focus on application, integration, problem-solving and communication. It's like saying in undergrad, you had to calculate it, and in CTA, you have to paint a picture of it. The skill shift is just that great! Same topic... totally different skill. And we really struggle to bridge that gap. We still focus on the calculation... and we don't realise how crucial the other skills are :)

@@accountingstudyadvice Thank you for the detailed explanation! So, does the workload remain relatively the same compared to undergrad?

@@djgulston That's really going to depend on you. CTA only has about 20% more stuff in it than you cover in 3rd year... so you're not actually doing much more than you already have. The challenge is that so many students study off-by-heart, or focus on memory of details, that when they get to CTA, they kinda have to start everything again. IF you study 3rd year properly, you can save a HUGE amount of time in CTA and get to questions faster, and everyone will tell you the way to pass CTA is... QUESTIONS!

@@accountingstudyadvice Super helpful! Thank you so much!

It depends on the firms' requirements. They may push it back a year and allow you to start the next year, or if they've already 'filled' their next years' quotas, they may not. Every year, people that were supposed to start change their minds, fail etc, so it always differs. If they're really not short of clerks, they MIGHT cancel completely because they don't want to take on someone who's failed, but that's not too common. It's more about whether they have / need clerks :)

Cool! That's a great goal... my best advice is to keep looking for help and advice. Never let anyone make you feel you're too 'old', or that it's not for you. You're the ONLY one who can make that decision! Take a look at this video as well... about halfway through... kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYKtZa2rprFmoJo ... the CFO of Sanlam and her opinion on how long we'll work and changing careers 'later' :)

Hang in there! The most important thing is awareness... then we can work on change! You can do it :)

Awesome! I'm so glad this helps :) This should help you get started, and you'll definitely build on it and develop from here :) Let me know how it goes :)

You CAN catch up, and you CAN do this... but it sounds like you need some changes in how you're thinking, feeling and studying. If you want to walk away from your qualification journey because it's not something you want anymore... that's fine! Don't let people tell you that it's not. Our dreams CAN change. HOWEVER... that's really different from kinda giving up because we don't think we CAN do it, and walking away with that feeling in our heart of 'what if...?'. The rest of your life is a LONG time to wonder what you COULD'VE done if you'd gotten your head in the game. You CAN do this. But are you GOING to?

Your best option is to contact SAICA directly and make sure that you get the absolute correct info. Tonia is no longer at SAICA, so you'll need to contact someone else in the dept there, check out their website. My first reaction is that it probably won't be reduced, because your training contract needs to be backed up by 'evidence', so that first year you worked would probably not have had the same performance meetings, ratings etc. You may have done the work, but if it's not documented in a specific way, with your competencies captured etc, then it's not really something you can go back and do. Check this out, because I may be wrong, but I doubt that it will be reduced.

Yup! It never feels great. Give it a little more thought though... for those of us who want to change the world in some way, whether by having our own business, growing someone elses' business, leading... we WILL encounter failure. Not 'might'... but WILL! The statistics of entrepreneurs indicates that failure is almost a given if you create your own business. So, a positive we can take from our academic failures, is that we're learning to deal with failure as a skill. Learning how to bounce back, how to deal with the anxiety, increase resilience, and put it in perspective. It will never feel great... but we need to decrease that fear and 'allergy' to possible failure, because that fear may impact the decisions of what we're prepared to try in life. "I don't think I'll open my own business in case I fail..." :) So... let's turn failure into something positive :) Hang in there!

Awesome... I'm glad you enjoyed it. I agree, we need to be exposed to more stories of people we relate to. Our journeys can feel really lonely, and it's great to know you're in good company :)

Thanks for emailing me :) Much easier for me to answer via email :)

Pleasure :) Yup... will be super-valuable! You can join the rest of us who work on this on a constant basis :)

Awesome... glad you found it valuable.. I SO badly want students to pass! And they will... if they're focussing on the right stuff :) All those hours, all those sacrifices you've made... they must pay off!

Hehe, thanks :) At the moment, Africa is warmer than Europe... so I'll happily take it!!

Email me... [email protected] ;)

Awesome! One day you can send me an email and tell me how you're changing the world :)

You can email me at [email protected] ;)

@@accountingstudyadvice Thank you 🙂

I'm so glad! Check out my latest videos on Personality and our studies as well, if you find this stuff helpful ;)

It's a good point... it also depends on the levels that you work at. At higher levels, your work becomes less 'automated', but it can take a while to get there. :)

​@@accountingstudyadvice Keep going, you are making a significant impact.

@@islamelfarsy9496 ah, I really appreciate that, thank you ;)

Yay :) Glad to hear it! Good luck on your journey!