Siobhan's top accountancy award

SHEPHERD'S Bush resident Siobhan Samuel-Penfold has placed first out of more than 5,400 students worldwide who recently sat exams as part of their Professional Accountancy qualification.

To add to her remarkable accomplishment, Siobhan had to work extra hard to compensate for all the lectures and study time she missed because she was in hospital during much of the course.

Siobhan is working towards her CIMA qualification (Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and is studying part time courses at training provider Kaplan Financial in Hammersmith.

When asked how she did it, Siobhan said: "It was really just hard work and determination, as well as trying to be practical and also thinking outside the box."

Siobhan works for UBS AG who, she says, were very supportive of her studies.

Kaplan Financial tutor David Collingridge said: "Siobhan fully deserves this rare award because of how hard she worked and how persistent she was in understanding the material."