I passed 18 ACCA papers.
From 2027, ACCA will have 11.

Finally.
Something in this world got lesser. 😂

Food inflation.
Property inflation.
Salary inflation.

ACCA papers?
From 18 to 11.
Close to 40% deflation. 😂

Suddenly, I flashback to 1990.

I was working in audit and studying ACCA at the same time.

Morning, go office.
Daytime, audit.
Evening, rush to class.
Night, go home and study.
Next morning, repeat again.

That was working and studying in the old days.

No work-from-home.
No recorded lecture.

Miss the class?
Too bad.
Your recording was basically your friend’s handwriting. 😂

No internet.
No Google.
No YouTube.
No ChatGPT.
No WhatsApp study group.
No Telegram group sharing notes at 2am.
No smart phone to record or take picture.

Just me.
Cigarettes.
Kopi O on standby.

A stack of photostated BPP books, past year questions and loose notes everywhere.

Sometimes I looked at the question for 20 minutes.
Still blur.

No AI to ask,
“Please explain this like I am 10 years old.”

My solution was simpler.
Smoke one cigarette.
Drink kopi O.

Read again. 😂
By 1993, I finally cleared all 18 ACCA papers.

People from my generation always say,
“Last time ACCA very tough lah.”

Now?
I don’t know. 😂

Because today’s students have fewer papers.

But they also need to learn things we never had to worry about.

AI.
Data.
Technology.
Sustainability.
Ethics.

In 1990, if you told me accountants would one day use AI to analyse accounts,

I probably would have asked,
“AI is which accounting standard?” 😂

So maybe ACCA did not become easier.
The suffering just got upgraded.

My generation suffered with 18 papers, photostated notes and kopi O.
The new generation suffers with 11 papers…

Progress lah.
Everything got inflation.
At least ACCA got deflation. 😂