Despite the dreary weather and the continuous crying of the skies, the Student Committee (2009) of ACCA(UK) managed to pull off a fantastic social event on April 3, at the Dutch Burghers' Union to mark the freshness of the youth who had just taken over the Student Committee. Fresher's Eve '09 was also a fun-filled event which brought together many a student, both present and past, to one venue to share their experiences with ACCA and also to rock through the night!

ACCA happens to be one of the most far-reaching qualifications which is not only growing in size but is also spreading its tentacles across countries, borders and business sectors too! With students and members in over 170 countries and a track record of 100 years, it is no doubt that both the students who attended the event and those who organized were ones from an excellent professional breed.

The night kicked off with a few words of wisdom from the ACCA country manager Ms. Aruni Rajakariyar who emphasized the need to keep up ACCA's values of opportunity, diversity and integrity in all walks of life especially with global economies having been victimized by scandals and frauds. Ms. Aruni also made it a point to remind all the attendees about how ACCA was continuing to attempt to add value to its 362,000 global students by investing in e-learning technology so as to remove the geographical barrier to studying. She ended with a note on how ACCA is not only a first-choice qualification all over the world but also one which is relevant to current business trends.

Next up, Mr. Mangala Perera who is acting as the Student Development Head spoke representing the ACCA Members Committee. He shared his frank experiences about studying ACCA a decade ago and how the qualification helps meet the needs of employers and businesses alike.

The short chats that Prize winners Mariam Riza and Chandrika Wijesooriya had with the audience about their route to the Sri Lankan prizes were not only interesting but also very insightful too. All those who heard their short talks would have surely realized that prizes were not unattainable but were meant for those with dedication, commitment and hard work. Their down-to-earth tone of talking proved very encouraging to students other than the fact that they were very open about the obstacles they faced and how they overcame them. Once more hats off to Mariam and Chandrika!

Now for the eye-popper: you can get the ACCA professional qualification and a BSc from the Oxford Brookes University in just 2 years! Unbelievable?! Not so with Asanka Udugama and Mallika Hapuarachchi both of whom managed to carry out this feat in 2 years. Both these youngsters reiterated how this was possible thanks to their tutors, mentors and of course friends who encouraged and provided them with guidance throughout. With such evidence, who wouldn't want to aim for such a golden achievement?! Quite sure, that this must be the next goal of many of the attendees.

With that, the event took a new turn onto a more fun note with plenty of games and action. The ACCA Student Committee had done a brilliant job with the nice lighting and of course the simple yet sweet decorations. The games were chosen wisely - not only were they fun but they also helped out in the purpose of the event, which was "networking."

The Student Committee had shown their shrewdness in making sure that everyone interacted with each other as they marked people with ribbons randomly at the entrance. The Greens, Yellows, Oranges and Blues grouped together and I'm sure no two friends ended up in the same group; SMART MOVE by the Committee!

Once everyone had done their fair share of dares and had successfully managed to erect paper towers, it was time to get the music playing. With some of the happening numbers in town, the Dj was great and the environment transformed from smart and professional to one of 100% fun! The ACCA-ites surely did not let down the Dj with their jivey moves and their untiring souls (which was energized by the mouth-wateringly tasty Kotthu); it was difficult to tell that these were the very same people who would be some of the top notch finance professionals in a few months' or years' time! All that is "ACCA" is not "so serious"!

To the ACCA Students' Committee: Touché for the job well done! Being the second of a series of fun and professional development events planned by the ACCA Students' Committee (first one being a MS Excel Workshop), there is surely plenty more to look forward to from this vivacious and novel committee! Do join us ACCA-ites because there is surely more fun and smart stuff coming to places near you!