Kyomukama endures 10 years of CPA

After her first degree, a Bachelor of Commerce external from Makerere University in 2013, Ms Immaculate Kyomukama enrolled for certified public accountants (CPA) course hoping to finish it in the next two years. It however, took her 10 years to complete the course, a time she describes as humbling. 

Balancing work, family, finances, distance and other factors dragged the course that most of her colleagues either failed to undertake or dropped out of shortly after enrolling. 

“I wanted to complete my CPA in two years like most do but at the time I enrolled, I had no job. My parents Mr Alfred and Mary Basiga of Kakoba Mbarara City encouraged and supported me. It turned out challenging when I got work placement and family,” says Ms Kyomukama. “However, when I felt like giving up, I remembered there was no option but to continue.” 

The accountant at Ankole Investments Ltd, a private company, recalls that of more than 300 students in her class, including those who majored in accounting ,  20 enrolled for CPA.  Of  these,  five  graduated after three years, four dropped out and the rest completed after 10 years. 

“I found work placement upcountry and I had to travel to Kampala to study. Then in between, came in family.  When you have just been delivered of a child, yet you have to sit  exams you take a break,” says the 32-year-old. 

Why the course

While she never thought about CPA during her undergraduate studies, she wanted to be a professional accountant. The greatest challenge came when she could not be employed anywhere as an accountant as most of the jobs advertised indicated CPA as a must-have. 

Her parents had wanted her to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA), but the job market required otherwise.  No wonder after enrollment, she landed her first job.

“I got my first job because I had enrolled for CPA and my employers said they could now trust me,” she says. 

While she focused on basic employment as basis for her CPA, Kyomukama later discovered more. She notes that her level of judgment in accounting improved. 

“I thought of doing masters but as an accountant, I needed a professional course. Many people think of Masters as a shortcut but, if you are going to be hands-on in accounting, it is better to enroll for CPA,” Kyomukama explains. 

The 10-year-journey

Upon graduation in 2013, she was focused on finding a job given she had taken up a course she loved and thought was marketable. 

A year into  her CPA pursuit, she got employment and was supposed to relocate from Kampala to Ntungamo District. That meant she had to travel back to attend classes every weekend. She did this for one year and finished the first and second modules. 

After the first level, she had the urge to start a family and took a five-year break.  Kyomukama, however, wanted to keep the deadline of ten years (the period after which if the course is not completed, they start afresh). 

In 2019, she returned to pursue the remaining modules hoping to be done by 2020. She, however got pregnant in the due course and could not travel to Kampala. Then, the advent of Covid-19 lock down did not make it any better for her, but it also raised opportunities especially for online education. 

“When Covid-19 broke out, classes became synchronous, something that had never happened before. Despite the challenges at the time, it was a great opportunity to complete my course in the remaining time. There could not be examinations because of travel restrictions,” she notes. 

The mother of two was the only female at the Mbarara examination centre among students who finished the course and graduated in January 2023. 

“When I graduated, a friend asked me why I had not changed because of the complexity of the course. Indeed we change after doing CPA because the level of judgment, patience and actually humility increases. You cannot do a course for 10 years and remain the same,” Kyomukama says. 

She says that for  one to undertake the course, they must be ready to forego many things, especially social life aspects, sleep and family as it takes more time and resources sometimes. 

Two cents

Mr John Bosco Ntangaare, the director for education at the Institute of Certified Public Accountants Uganda (ICPAU), notes that students doing the course need to be focused.

“The young people aspiring to be accountants should be focused and set goals in order to complete the course in the shortest time possible. They should ensure that they complete the syllabus for each subject to be sat, practice independently sitting the past paper questions available on the student portal. Thereafter, they check answers against the model solutions on the Institute’s portal. You cannot be a priest without reading the Bible,” he explains.

Mr Ntangaare says one cannot qualify to be an accountant if they have not done CPA. The current trend of many people enrolling for the course is a breather for the profession. 

In order to enroll as a member, one must complete the qualifying examinations, Certified Public Accountant of Uganda (CPA) course, and complete three years of practical experience training under the supervision of a member of the Institute. Currently, we have more than 12,000 enrolled on the CPA course. This is a good number of prospective accountants,” he says.