A BRAINY Monmouthshire woman has recorded the joint-highest exam mark in the entire world in her efforts to become a chartered accountant.

Bryony Lewis, aged 27, from Raglan, recorded a score of 91 per cent in her Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) September 2020 Advanced Taxation exam, which more than 5,000 people sat.

Remarkably, the University of South Wales (USW) student’s achievement has only ever been matched by another student at the university – Nicola Lloyd.

Her achievement is even more impressive given the challenges she faced as a result of the pandemic.

All lectures have been taught online since March, and all but a few of Ms Lewis’s exams were pushed from June to September.

Now working for the Monmouth office of accountant and business advisory firm Azets, Ms Lewis said: “In spite of all the challenges and difficulties that came with our sessions switching part way through the course to remote learning, we still had regular online sessions.

“My Advanced Tax lecturer, Teresa Marsh, would always answer my queries, big or small, it was always nice knowing that kind of support was there.

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“Having started a new job with Azets in March this year just as the country went into lockdown, the situation probably helped with my revision, as that was the one normal and constant thing at the time, with the exams’ postponement also allowing me to take advantage of the extra revision time.”

Nicola Gilbert, ACCA course leader at USW, said: “More than 5,200 students worldwide sat the Advanced Taxation paper in September 2020, so to have a prize winner from our ACCA course is simply amazing.

“Despite all the challenges faced this year, Bryony’s diligence and hard work has been rewarded. We couldn’t be more proud of her.

“Thanks must also go to our Advanced Taxation tutor, Teresa Marsh, who supported Bryony through her tax studies.”

Ms Marsh added: “Bryony’s result is remarkable and I’m extremely proud of what she and her fellow students have accomplished in such challenging circumstances.

“She has a natural ability but has worked extremely hard and in a very focused way to achieve this accolade. I’m sure I speak for the class of 2020 in sending her congratulations from us all.”

Sarah Case at Azets said: “As is the norm these days, the news that Bryony had achieved 91 per cent and scored joint top in the whole world came via our office Teams chat one evening. Fantastic news to brighten up 2020.

“We are all delighted that Bryony has achieved so much and proud to have her working with us. To achieve a score like that in a year that is challenging for so many reasons is fantastic.

“With one exam remaining, still in challenging times, we are confident that Bryony will not only pass but excel and go on to qualify as ACCA with flying colours.”