Will is the third ACCA Prizewinner in as many years at USW

(L-R): Jared Davies, Academic Manager for Professional Education; Nicola Gilbert, ACCA Course Leader; Rhian Gosling, MSc Professional Accounting Course Leader; USW student William Douglas

William Douglas, a student on theMSc Professional Accounting (with ACCA tuition) course at the University of South Wales (USW), has become the third student in as many years to become a global ACCA prize winner.

William, 25, from Cardiff, achieved the joint second highest mark worldwide for ACCA’s Strategic Professional Level June 2021 exams, scoring an average mark of 85.75. ACCA congratulated him on his “outstanding” performance in his prize letter.

William’s success follows that of two other USW ACCA students, in what is an exceptional run of results for the ACCA tuition team at USW. In 2019, Nicola Lloyd achieved the highest mark worldwide in ACCA’s Strategic Professional Level exams alongside the joint highest mark worldwide in her Advanced Financial Management exam. This was followed by Bryony Lewis, who scored the joint highest mark worldwide in her Advanced Taxation exam in 2020.

William first enrolled at USW in 2016 on a HND Business Studies course, alongside his employment as an underwriter with Barclays Bank. He transitioned to a BA Accounting and Finance degree in 2017 – where he achieved ‘ACCA (Wales) Best Performance’ prizes in each year – and then onto the MSc Professional Accounting (with ACCA tuition) in 2020. The innovative MSc course combines a Masters qualification with preparation for ACCA’s Strategic Professional Level exams.

William sat four Strategic Professional exams during the 2020/21 academic year, scoring an amazing 96% in his Advanced Financial Management paper!

On his experience with the MSc, William said: “Any time I needed a question answered, the lecturers were always available. They were exceptional at keeping our rhythm of learning in tune with our exams – providing the right knowledge and resources at the right time. Perhaps more importantly, they broke down the topic areas into manageable chunks and really focused on giving us the ability to apply the topics to real-world scenarios.

“The other major factor was that the lecturers stressed the difficulty of the strategic professional papers from the outset whilst informing us of what was necessary to secure first time passes, this provided the impetus and the toolset to hit the ground running.”

William is set to complete his MSc in September 2021 and is now busy applying for London-based jobs in financial services for when he finishes.

Rhian Gosling, Course Leader MSc Professional Accounting with ACCA tuition at South Wales Business School, added: “Will's performance in the MSc and ACCA assessments has been excellent. I am delighted that he has gone on to become an ACCA global prizewinner.”

Dr Jared Davies, Academic Subject Manager for Professional Education at South Wales Business School, said: “Will has been an outstanding MSc and ACCA student from day one, showing admirable commitment and talent from the very first Strategic Business Reporting sessions that he studied. His consistently high results across all modules are an amazing achievement.

“I am also incredibly proud of the tutors at USW; to teach three global prizewinners in three years really is something, and is testament to the quality of Professional Accountancy tuition here.” 

Lloyd Powell, Head of ACCA Cymru Wales, added: “On behalf of us all at ACCA in Wales, many congratulations to Will Douglas on his outstanding performance in the ACCA June 2021 examinations, achieving the joint second highest mark worldwide for the Strategic Professional Level exams, and on being awarded the ACCA Affiliate Prize silver medal. All the very best for your future career!

“Congratulations also to all ACCA tutors at the University of South Wales for the support they have provided for Will and other ACCA students during the course of their studies. The University has now had three global ACCA prizewinners in the last three years – a clear sign of the support provided by the University’s ACCA tutors, and of the hard work and dedication of the students.”