Tetiana’s Story

I am from Ukraine. I came to the UK in 2022 due to the war. For the first few months we were in shock and everybody hoped that the war would be over soon.  

We moved to Edinburgh in Scotland, and I spent time exploring the city, getting used to the people, the culture, and the way things work. Everything was so different and it was difficult to adjust – even settling my child into nursery and understanding the school system. It took time to understand what we needed to do, how to find an apartment, and just find a life routine. Our family used to travel before, but we never lived abroad for such a long time.  

After some time, I decided that I want to return to my profession. I have 15 years’ experience of working as an accountant – I was a Chief Finance Officer, and also self-employed in small and big companies. But my experience and my education from Ukraine were not relevant to what people wanted in the UK, because there are many differences in accountancy in the UK compared to Ukraine. You can say that the principles are the same, but the practise is very different, and the software is different. 

I tried to apply for jobs, but they told me I was too experienced for entry level jobs, yet they didn’t take me for higher level positions. So, I applied to Edinburgh College for an accountancy course. 

English is not my native language, so it took some time to improve that. By accident, I heard about the Breaking Barriers’ Language Programme, which was then run by RefuAid, through an advert in a Ukraine community club. The programme’s team helped me to attend an English language course for preparation for college, and it was very helpful. Studying at Edinburgh College helped me to get used to the structure of education here, which is very different to Ukraine. I also learnt necessary financial language and vocabulary. 

The adviser from the Language Programme asked me what my general plans were, and I said that doing the ACCA [Association of Chartered Certified Accountants] qualification was my dream because I believe this is the best qualification for accountants. So, my Language Programme adviser referred me to the Re-accreditation team, and they put me in touch with Kaplan. It was just like I put the words out to the universe, and it listened.  

Becoming an accountant 

My mum was an accountant for a big company. At the time, they didn’t have computers or automatisation, so she brought home lots of different files which she would spread across the table. I would think: “Oh my god, I will never do this profession.” When the time came to choose my direction, I chose economics. But I soon realised that it was quite broad, and I wanted something more precise. I wanted something that was more about the numbers, and so I switched my studies to accountancy. 

I fell in love with it because I feel like numbers can speak. I understand that not everybody can speak this language, but for me it is very interesting.  

In Ukraine, the ACCA qualification was a dream. In every profession you have some kind of degree or some kind of course, which you believe is the crown of your professional life. ACCA was that for me. When I was young and had much ambition, I did think about doing it, but it was financially not possible for me.  

I believe that without the bursary from Kaplan, I would not have been able to start the ACCA course. Getting this opportunity was unbelievable for me. Honestly, I was so excited. I had to keep checking with the advisers that it was definitely happening. Once I had the meeting with Kaplan, and they told me “we’ll be happy to see you on our course”, I knew it was really going to happen. It was like some kind of unbelievable dream.  

Studying with Kaplan 

I started the course with Kaplan in January. I’ve passed two exams already and I have an exemption for three, due my education at Edinburgh College. So, I have eight exams left to pass. My next exam will be at the beginning of December.  

I hope to take one exam every quarter so I can finish in two years. There is no pressure from anybody to complete it within a certain time, but I want to do it like this, so I keep my motivation, focus and feel I am on track. It’s quite a challenge. I started a course called Performance Management and Financial Management, which I have never learnt before. There are a lot of formulas, a lot of different unknown terms, which I need to learn and understand.  

Studying with Kaplan is easy. The tutors are very friendly and explain things in a good manner. There are a lot of supporting materials on an online platform, so even if you don’t understand something you can come back 100 times and review it. There is also a lot of published materials like workbooks. They help with preparation for the exams, so everything is well organised, and I feel good before exams because they are giving a lot of support.  

I enjoyed a course about financial reporting. This is what is at the core of day-to-day accounting. It helps to look at accounting as not just a mechanical process, but to go beyond this. Once you can analyse financial data, you can give more information to shareholders for example, and you say more and more. I believe it’s like an endless process.  

The impact of support 

This opportunity has had a huge impact for me. I have become more confident in myself, in my financial knowledge and in how I can communicate. I hope that by next year I will be ready to start to look at jobs. Another one of my dreams is to work in the one of big four accounting companies. Let’s see, maybe the universe will see me again.  

My advice to other people in my position is that it is never too late. Don’t be afraid, everything will happen at the correct time.  

I don’t have wonderful enough words for what the support has meant to me. I am really, really thankful. The Language and Re-accreditation Programmes really are breaking barriers for the people who, like me, were not thinking about getting the ACCA in the UK. Now my dream has come true. It’s just amazing. 

I want to thank all the people who work at Breaking Barriers, the people with whom I was communicating with – Rosa, Bex, Bea and Izzie – and all the people who are providing support to people like me, who come here with nothing and are engaging us to do more and work towards our dreams.