Personal Development

With exam season kicking off this month, it can be an extremely overwhelming and pressured time for students. Dee France, Thrive’s Wellbeing Lead, shares her advice on handling exam stress and anxiety  It is a perfectly normal experience to feel worried and stressed when faced with impending exams or any type of performance situation.  A healthy and ordinary amount of stress can even be good for you, giving you the motivation to push through and keep you focused. However, when worry, self-doubt, fear of failure and the pressure to perform well become too intense, they can interfere negatively with exam preparation and performance.  As feelings of stress push past optimal levels, it can have a devastating effect on our concentration, and our ability to learn, remember and demonstrate what we know.  Causes of exam anxiety  To effectively manage anxiety, it is important to understand why you are feeling this way. There are many variables that may contribute to and relate to these feelings:  Past experience with exams;  Poor preparation, inexperience undergoing exams and unfamiliarity with exam and study techniques;  Poor self-care, such as bad sleep habits, unhealthy eating, lack of exercise and limited relaxation time; Intrusive and unhelpful thinking patterns such as saying to yourself, “I can’t do this” or “I’m going to fail”;  Strong sense of failure; or  Extreme pressure to achieve placed on you by yourself or others. Tips for handling exam anxiety  How you spend your time leading up to your exams can have a huge knock-on effect on your anxiety and stress levels.  Routine  Essential to managing anxiety and stress when faced with exams is creating a study routine early in the year as opposed to haphazardly cramming a year’s worth of learning into a few days.  Design a study schedule and map out how you will spend your days.  Schedule your study time in short, succinct time blocks with a 10-minute break for every hour.  It is important to have a hard stop each evening to allow some time to unwind, and block out a day each week that is revision free. By carving out a comprehensive and realistic schedule, you will focus better, feel in control and be less likely to procrastinate.  Being prepared will help you feel more relaxed and confident and goes a long way to easing stress levels and keeping your nerves in check. Mind and body  When we are busy, other parts of our life can be easily neglected, and we can forget to take care of ourselves.  When it comes to managing anxiety and stress, nourishing your mind and body should not be underestimated.  It is important not to push yourself too hard or overlook your needs.  Regular exercise, eating well and sleeping properly are some of the most effective stress relievers at our disposal and are essential for being at our best physically, mentally and emotionally.  Incorporating fundamental self-care practices into your study routine can ease the pressure of trying to balance your time with other vital activities. Relax  To relieve symptoms of anxiety and stress, practise deep breathing or other relaxation techniques such as progressive muscle relaxation or yoga to help calm the body, alter the body’s response to anxiety and release tension.  In general, relaxation techniques are about refocusing your attention and increasing awareness in the body. It is a good idea to engage in these activities when you are relaxed and practise regularly to reap the benefits.  Ask for help  If you are overwhelmed by upcoming exams, you might find it helpful to share how you are feeling.  At Thrive, we witness a spike in students contacting our services at this time of year regarding exam stress and anxiety, which is one of the most common concerns students are dealing with.  Thrive is the Institute’s dedicated well-being hub, which is freely accessible to all students.  The hub provides a wide range of services tailored to our students' well-being, such as wellness coaching and professional counselling. All services are delivered in complete confidence and are available at any stage of your journey with the Institute.  For more advice or information, check out Thrive’s dedicated wellbeing hub.  Alternatively, you can contact the Wellbeing team by email at: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or phone: (+353) 86 0243294

As exams begin to take focus for students, Dee France, Manager for the Thrive Wellbeing Hub, details how to balance your work, study and life commitments while prioritising your wellbeing and mental health  The life of a Chartered Accountant student can be tough!  Long work days, commuting, long evenings and weekends attending lectures, studying, practice papers, mocks – all while contending with the busy season.  This is without even mentioning all the other demands that impact our daily lives – family, kids, pets, sports and hobbies, downtime, and social obligations.  Juggling all of this can feel like you are being pulled in many different directions and life can feel hectic and chaotic. This demands a lot of physical and mental energy and space. Being up against the clock 24/7 with very competing tasks requires focus, determination and resilience.  So, how do you balance it all without becoming too overwhelmed or—even worse—burnt out?  Let me check my schedule  To balance your life, you need to be aware of everything you have on your plate, get organised and be a bit ruthless with your schedule.  At the start of each week, plan out the week ahead. Don’t overburden or over-pressure yourself, but get into the nitty gritty of your days and weeks, whether it's work-time, study-time, family commitments, social or other extracurricular activities – schedule it!  In the run-up to exams, employers may have a study leave policy in place. This can help you solely focus your efforts on preparing for your exams.  If this isn’t available to you, consider taking some annual leave so work commitments are softened and you have some extra time free.   We would even recommend scheduling daily downtime – switching off for at least 30 minutes at the end of each day will let you wind down before going to bed.  Pocketful of time  During exam season, time can either be your best friend or your worst enemy.  Now that your schedule is set, can you find extra time in your day to study? Look to capitalise on little pockets of extra time during the day or wasted downtime for quick burst study sessions.  Get creative with your time. Commuting? Why not use your journey to revise? Working from home? Use the time you would spend commuting to study. Finished your lunch? Crack out the study notes. Cooking dinner? Listen to a lecture as you prep.  Social caterpillar  At Thrive, we often hear how students cancel plans or feel guilty for socialising during studies. While you may have to cut back on your social plans, it is important to create space for enjoyment and rest.  It is paramount to have time away from your studies and have some fun. It allows you to recharge and relax, pulls you from your relentless routine and schedule and allows for a bit of calm and lightness in all the chaos.  Health hacks  While it may seem obvious, we at Thrive can’t stress enough just how important it is to look after your mental and physical health throughout your studies.   Pouring so much physical and mental energy into your efforts can make you feel fatigued, overwhelmed and stressed, leaving you vulnerable to physical and mental health concerns.  Sleeping eight hours a night, exercising daily, and eating well are extremely important for protecting yourself from burnout, reducing your stress levels, and increasing your energy.  Give yourself time to step away from your work and studies. Relaxing helps clear your head and keeps you motivated and productive.  So, whether that’s a chapter of your book, an episode of your favourite show, some yoga, or a podcast, always give yourself permission to relax guilt-free.  Lean on your support system If you are struggling and find it hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, seek help from your support system.  Many of your managers, mentors, and lecturers have more than likely been through the same experience and can empathise with what you are going through. They may also be able to give you some valuable advice.  Your peers and colleagues will be sitting their exams at the same time, so setting up a weekly study group may prove beneficial in managing work and study.  Have your support system hold you accountable, too. If those close to you see that you are doing too much, have them make sure you are finishing work/study at a reasonable time. If you are falling behind, they can crack the whip.  Maybe your loved ones could take on a large proportion of the shared roles for the time being, whether that’s getting the children to bed, cooking dinner or housework.  Also, keep in mind the many student supports available to you through the education department or here at Thrive. The Thrive Wellbeing Hub provides a comprehensive mental health and wellness programme with a wide range of services tailored to our students’ needs. For more advice or information, check out Thrive’s Wellbeing Hub. Alternatively, you can contact the team by email at thrive@charteredaccountants.ie or phone at (+353) 86 0243294.  

Beyond technical expertise, impactful communication ensures messages are understood and valued. Carmel Moore offers practical tips for refining non-verbal, written and virtual communication skills The art of communication is a vital skill for accountancy students, where clarity and precision are as important as the numbers.   Technical expertise is worthless if the receiver doesn’t understand the message, and sloppy communication can waste time and create risk.  Here are some simple principles to help improve your communication skills. “You cannot not communicate”   The principle “You cannot not communicate” tells us that silence, body language and tone in written communication all send out messages.  For accountancy students, this is a reminder to remain mindful of non-verbal cues, tone and timing in meetings, emails and virtual settings. You are never invisible. Meetings  In face-to-face meetings, you're still communicating even when you’re not speaking. Your posture, eye contact and facial expressions can be interpreted by others and people will make assumptions about whether you’re engaged, bored, confident or open to feedback.  Be aware of listening cues. When a client or colleague is speaking, show you’re actively listening by nodding or occasionally saying, “I see” or “That makes sense.” This communicates respect and interest, reassuring the other person that you value their input, even when you’re not actively speaking. Emails The tone in an email is important to get right as messages can easily be misinterpreted. Every choice in word, structure and even punctuation conveys tone.  In our work, we often seek information from busy people. For example, “Respond by Friday” and “Could you please have the response ready by Friday?” both communicate a deadline, but the latter comes across as more collaborative. Overly formal language can seem cold or detached. Aim for a warm yet professional tone to make recipients feel more comfortable and willing to engage.  Even response time is a form of communication—quick responses can convey efficiency, while delays may unintentionally signal a lack of priority.  Virtual meetings Virtual interactions bring unique communication challenges. Silence feels more pronounced on video calls, where pauses may be misinterpreted.  If a participant turns off their camera, it might signal disengagement, or it could simply mean a technical issue or a need for privacy. A note in the chat can easily explain a missing face on the screen without the unintentional insult. When you’re speaking, remember to smile, use hand gestures and keep your tone upbeat to convey openness. If you need a moment to gather your thoughts, simply say, “Give me a second to pull up that data.” Small acknowledgements can prevent misunderstandings that silence may bring in a virtual space. “The meaning of communication is the response you get”   Remember: good communication is not just about your intent, but also about the outcome. This is particularly important in finance, where technical topics can easily become complex or misunderstood.  If the message doesn’t come across as expected, it’s up to you to adjust how you’re communicating. I’ve often reviewed work where my colleague has said, “But that’s what I meant!” But it wasn’t what they said.  Meetings  This principle reminds us to focus on clarity and engagement. When presenting, watch for audience reactions—are they nodding, looking puzzled or asking for clarifications? These responses tell you how well your message is landing.  If someone looks confused, ask if they’d like you to explain it differently, perhaps by breaking down the information further or offering a different example. To check understanding, say “Is everyone okay before I move on?” Emails   In email communication, look for responses that confirm comprehension.  When explaining something technical, provide context that guides your reader toward a clear understanding. Use concise subject lines and straightforward language.  Conclude with an open-ended question, such as, “Does this explanation make sense?” or “Is there any area you’d like more detail on?” This invites clarification, helping to ensure your message is fully understood. If the response to your email suggests confusion, reply with patience. Simplify your language and provide a summarised recap if necessary.  If appropriate, ask the recipient to walk you through what didn’t land for them. Take notes for future adjustments. Before you click send on an email, it’s important to do a self-review of what you have written. Answer the question: Summarise the question being posed to others at the start to ensure focus. Highlight actions: Make actions clear. Don’t make readers search for them. Ensure clarity: Use simple, readable language. Virtual meetings Virtual meetings add complexity to communication. Non-verbal cues are harder to pick up, so the meaning of your communication becomes even more dependent on intentional check-ins.  Look for engagement indicators, like people turning on their cameras, nodding, or adding comments in the chat. Mix it up by using screen-sharing tools. You may have the technological advantage here! Regularly pause to invite questions or reactions, asking, “How is this coming across for everyone?” or “Any questions so far?” This lets you gauge understanding and adjust as needed. Putting it all together Applying these principles means taking responsibility for how your message is received.  Effective communication isn’t just about what you say, it’s about observing how your message is received.  By watching responses and understanding that silence or body language can carry powerful messages, you can become a more effective communicator, building trust and clarity with other students, colleagues and clients alike. Carmel Moore is Director at the One Moment Company  

Here, Dee France, Member & Student Support and Well-being Lead at Chartered Accountants Ireland, explores what diversity and inclusion means in the workplace, the important role it plays for employee well-being, and why employers should foster a culture of belonging and inclusion. Diversity and inclusion (D&I) has become a driving force in the changing organisational landscape. Companies and business leaders are placing greater emphasis on their approach to D&I and are embracing policies and strategies to create a more diverse, fairer, and resilient workforce.  Employee well-being and D&I are closely connected. In fact, employee well-being awareness can be seen as an intrinsic element of a company’s effective D&I strategies and policies.  An essential and significant feature of good overall well-being is our feeling of purpose and belonging. Programmes and initiatives that promote inclusion, diversity, and belonging can support and cultivate positive employee well-being. In its entirety, D&I in the workplace can have an impact on our overall happiness at work.  Emotional tax Employees from diverse backgrounds who experience a non-inclusive workforce can face an additional burden of an ‘emotional tax’ – the experience of being treated differently from peers due to race/ethnicity or gender, triggering adverse effects on health and feelings of isolation and making it difficult to thrive at work. This emotional tax can have an extremely negative impact on employees’ mental health and wellbeing. Feeling undervalued, overlooked, or excluded due to your identity can heighten a person’s vigilance to protect themselves from acts of bias or prejudice. Thrive, Chartered Accountants Ireland’s dedicated well-being hub, continues to receive regular calls from our members and students who seek support from the damaging impact a non-inclusive workplace can have on their wellbeing.   Managing diversity and inclusion  Implementing effective and successful D&I strategies and policies can take time, but a coherent and structured approach to these ensure that work practices and values support an inclusive culture that embraces different people, views, and perspectives. Producing a D&I policy allows a company to go above and beyond legal obligations and set a standard of expectation for the organisation and for its employees.  There are several ways companies can begin to incorporate inclusivity into the workplace.  Leadership and employee training  Providing training for leadership, management and employees increases awareness, aids the understanding and engagement in the company’s values and policies, helps embed these initiatives into the culture of the workplace, and allows for the development of empathy for others.  Employee network groups  Building an employee network group is an effective way to allow people to connect with others from different groups, and raise a sense of belonging, affinity, and kinship.  For example, the Institute has several different committee groups such as Balance, our LGBTQ+ committee, Student Committee, and D&I committee.  Open communication and feedback  Developing open and clear communication channels that are easily accessible to employees breeds better dialogue. It ensures employees and managers alike feel safe in airing grievances, giving feedback, and the feeling of being heard and valued.  Employee surveys on D&I initiatives allow companies to take onboard employees’ experiences and action feedback. It permits companies to assess if policies and strategies are working and evaluate and benchmark their efforts from year-to-year.  The Thrive Wellbeing Hub provides counselling, wellness coaching, practical advice and more to all members of the Institute. You can contact the Thrive wellbeing team by visiting our website, via email at: thrive@charteredaccountants.ie, or by phone: +(353) 86 0243294. 

Exam prep, study and practising in exam-day conditions are all important to acing your exams. Caelainn McGonigle knows it's important to take care of yourself, as well During your Chartered education, stress is unavoidable. When you experience high levels of stress, it can present itself by impacting physical and mental health.  Below are several steps to mitigate these stressors and give ourselves the best opportunity to excel when it counts. Sleep When we are stressed, it's easy to think of sleep as “time-consuming”, but allowing our mind and body to rest is critical to our success.  By the time we reach exam week, countless hours will have been spent preparing by attending lectures, revising notes and attempting sample papers. Without achieving seven to nine quality hours of sleep a night, we risk restricting our exam performance on the day.  If you encounter difficulties resting in the lead up to your exams, attempt to close the books an hour earlier and reduce screen time before bed. Exercise and fresh air Taking a break to move your body and relish the fresh air enables your mind and body to relax and reset.  Exercise, whether walking, running or cycling, can moderate our stress levels and improve sleep quality.  When heading outside, you might prefer to enjoy the silence of the outdoors, or need a little motivation to move your body, such as listening to a podcast or music – either is excellent for your mind and body as long as you are getting your heart pumping. Nutrition Maintaining nutritional balance in your meals can be taxing when stressed. It can lead us to over-indulge in meals and snacks, or forgo them all together. We must uphold a nutritious diet to aid focus levels and sustain energy.  Meal planning in advance of high-stress periods, like exam week, along with keeping enjoyable snacks to hand, is a sure way to remain fuelled when working hard.  Positive mindset during exams Stress can amplify our emotions. Preserving a positive mindset and prioritising being gentle with ourselves is critical.  It's important to remember the efforts you have made to reach exam season. The groundwork is complete, and it’s time to flaunt what we have learned.  Exams are important, but maintaining our health is a necessity. If you struggle with positivity, try subscribing to a “quote of the day” app or social media page – it may give you the boost you need at just the right time! Reach out If stress is increasing faster than you can handle, reach out to a fellow student, friend or family member.  Alternatively, the amazing Thrive team and the Chartered Accountants Ireland Wellbeing Hub are on hand to offer help and support throughout our journey.  We have excelled through stressful situations in the past. Accept that stress is unavoidable but manageable, and you haven’t come this far only to come this far. Caelainn McGonigle is PR Officer with CASSI and a trainee with Gilroy Gannon

Patrick McCarthy's failed Y-combinator interview changed his perspective on problem-solving. He highlights five common stressors experienced by ACAs and suggests developing skills to address them In 2019, I had a 10-minute interview that could have made me a millionaire.  Y-combinator is a business accelerator program in San Francisco famous for being early investors in Stripe, Airbnb and Dropbox. Of 15,000 applications, they interview 600, of which 50 percent will be chosen for investment. We made that 600.  I won’t drag you through the suspense. We didn’t get in. They hated our idea (to create a Netflix for Continuous Professional Development), but the explanation of why they hated it changed the way I have looked at problems and solutions forever. Performing under pressure… or not Fifteen seconds into the interview, we pitched our idea.  I don’t remember most of the next nine minutes specifically, but I do remember being really annoyed that they kept asking us the same question: “How would you create content that was broad enough for a mass audience but make it specific enough to solve the problems on an individual scale?”  We answered it. They asked it in a different way. We answered again. They asked in a different way. Continuous loop.  We had prepared over 50 questions, and they still hadn’t moved past this one. I felt the time passing. It was infuriating, and I wasn’t handling it well.  A chime went off; it was the timer to signal the 10 minutes were up. They said thanks, and the Zoom call ended.  It's not you (or me) Y-combinator communicates the process to you ahead of time. If you’re successful in the interview, someone will call you immediately. Otherwise, you receive an email with feedback.  We waited for the email. The feedback was painful and centred on the looping question. It felt like a personal rejection. But it wasn’t. And that’s the key takeaway from the whole debacle. So many people attribute blame to themselves when the blame can often be inherent in a situation.  Take our position into consideration. Y-combinator has invested in various companies trying to do what we were doing. They all failed based on the content creation for a mass audience not being specific enough on an individual basis. Millions of dollars had been wasted. The interview panel had invested in those ideas. That’s why they were interviewing us. The obsession with that question was to see if we had some sort of unique insight into how to solve it. Without an insight, we had no chance of succeeding.  It didn’t matter what we’d done or who we were. We weren’t special. We were just two more people with a common idea who had no insight on how it could grow apart from “we’ll figure it out”.  I’m not going to pretend I enjoyed the experience. I didn’t. But the lessons were invaluable.  Their rejection wasn’t personal. The problems we inherited weren’t personal either. They were situational. Anyone building a business in this space inherited the problems we did. Why that matters to you There are five problems almost all ACAs experience stress around. They’re inherent in qualifying as an ACA. You may not experience any of them ever, but you’d be unique if that was the case.  I hear these problems from hundreds of people every year through my lecturing. They’re always the same. Here they are in no particular order: Their manager: The feeling of support from your manager is  one of the cornerstones of enjoying and staying in your job. The minute you don’t feel supported, you’d have one foot out the door. Personal fulfilment: Some people want to find a large element of personal fulfilment and satisfaction in their work, and if that disappears, they often question their jobs. Professional development: In some positions, competition for promotions and leadership roles can be fierce, and this can create pressure and anxiety for individuals who are seeking to advance their careers. Social pressure: There is often societal pressure to 'succeed' and advance in one's career, and this can create additional stress and worry for people who feel that some jobs may be more prestigious than others. Work-life balance: The trade-off between working hours and salary is a constant battle for most people. Most of these problems have a large portion of generality followed by a flavour of individualism.  For example, you fight with your manager because you format documents differently from how they do. The generality of that problem is a relationship issue with your manager (everyone has them). The specific piece is it’s based on formatting (individual part).  It would make sense generally to develop skills to deal with these five problems instead of taking on each one personally. What (I think) I would do I have purposely kept this light because I refuse to give specific advice to a general audience (Y-combinator echoing in my mind). What I will do is outline exactly what I think I would do.  First, I would evaluate my own job based on how things are going.  Most people are quite happy in their roles. If you are one of the people who aren’t, take out a piece of paper and rate your issues on a scale of 1–10 with 1 meaning you don’t care about that problem much and 10 meaning that it matters a lot to you.  Now you have narrowed it down to what you care about.  Second, I would find someone a few years older than you to reach out to for advice. It may be an ACA or someone else you admire. I would ask them what they would do if they were experiencing one of your problems, or if have they any advice on how to manage the situation.  In every situation there is an element of responsibility that has to be taken on by you. However, if this isn’t the first or second time you’ve found yourself with this issue, you may need to look at your skillset in problem resolution.  Getting advice from an objective person can be invaluable in this context.  There are 30,000 qualified Chartered Accountants in Ireland. I have yet to meet one who wouldn’t spare 10 minutes to offer advice to someone asking in the right way. Navigating our growth Ultimately, my failed Y-combinator interview may not have made me a millionaire, but the lessons learned and the changed perspective on problems and solutions have proven invaluable. Rejections should not be taken personally but rather viewed as situational challenges to overcome, and by developing skills to address common stressors and seeking advice when needed, we can navigate these challenges and grow both personally and professionally. Patrick McCarthy is a Chartered Accountant and Founder of Performance Labs