Yes. I started it when I was 16 years old, just a year after I finished secondary school.
At 17, Oluwatiseyitan Alabi, a 400-level Babcock University student, achieved what many adults only dreamt of: becoming a certified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria. He tells AYOOLA OLASUPO about the inspiring journey of how he balanced academic demands, personal setbacks, and professional goals
How old are you, and what school do you attend?
I just clocked 18 years last December. I’m a final-year student studying Accounting at Babcock University. I’m passionate about God, Accounting and Finance. Like I said, I’m 18 years old now. I’m not the only child of my parents. I have a younger brother who is a science student. Unlike me, he believes in tech rather than accounting.
When exactly did you get the ICAN certification?
That was December last year before I clocked 18.
What inspired you to pursue Accounting?
Of course, we did Business Studies as a subject in junior secondary school. That was when I was in JSS 2 and JSS 3, and I wasn’t that bad because I was great at it. So, my parents just said, ‘Why not go for Accounting instead of going to the usual science that most people thought they wanted to go to?’ I just followed the movement, and here we are today.
Did you at any point disagree with your parents’ suggestion to study Accounting?
No, I’ve had an interest in it right from the start.
How did you manage to get inducted into the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria at 17?
After I completed my secondary education, there was a session called ATS (Accounting Technician Scheme) before writing the ICAN exam. So, I was reading for it, and when I got to school in 2022, I found out that the organised classes for ATS were awesome.
So, I joined the classes, wrote the exam, and by God’s grace, I passed ATS 1, ATS 2, and ATS 3. I was able to write the skills level for the ICAN exam in November 2023. I was reading for the ATS exams before I gained admission.
After the skills level, I failed one paper in November 2023, then I wrote it again in May 2024. I passed it and got to the final stage, the professional level, and by God’s grace, I passed.
Have you been sitting the exam before you clocked 17?
Yes. I started it when I was 16 years old, just a year after I finished secondary school.
At what point did you realise that there was a need for you to have an ICAN certification?
Well, ICAN is the biggest Accounting certification or qualification in Nigeria, and it is everybody’s dream to have it. The opportunity came for me to sit the exam with the support of my parents and all. Since it is the biggest thing, I just wanted to write it and see if I could get it.
How were you able to balance university coursework and ICAN professional studies?
In Accounting, some of the topics are related and interwoven. So, I focused more on reading for the ICAN exam. If I focused on reading for the ICAN exam, then schoolwork was also part of it. I read for that, but when it was time to focus on schoolwork, I also focused on that. It meant that there would be less time for me to play around and do some other things.
Was there any challenging moment for you while studying for ICAN?
There were some topics I couldn’t understand, but my teachers helped. When I said I failed a paper, I felt bad because I had never failed before, since I’ve been writing. So, when I failed, it was quite a discouraging moment, but thanks to God and my parents, who stood by me.