MSL Student Stories: Abigail Cudjoe
The End Crowns the WorkThe Abigail Cudjoe story
Excellence is not the absence of fear, uncertainty, difficult papers or disappointing moments. Excellence is choosing to continue despite them.Abigail Cudjoe
Abigail Cudjoe is the National Overall Best Graduating Student in both ICAG and CITG, with seven national awards across the two. She also blanked in an exam hall, scored a 56, and was sometimes too afraid to open her own results. Both are true. That is the point.
We are taught a quiet lie about excellence: that it belongs to the people who never struggle. The ones who find every subject easy, who walk into every exam sure of themselves, who never fear a result. So when we struggle, we assume excellence was never meant for us.
Abigail Cudjoe is proof of how wrong that is. She is the National Overall Best Graduating Student in two national qualifications. She also feared papers, doubted herself, and once held another student’s award and prayed she might one day hold her own. Her excellence did not arrive in spite of those moments. It was built through them. This series exists for the whole story.
Abigail completed the ICAG qualification in March 2024 and the CITG qualification in February 2026. What follows is her story, in her own words. The record, set out at the end, is ours.
Excellence is not the absence of fear
I am an Associate Member of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Ghana (ICAG) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation, Ghana (CITG). I completed the ICAG qualification in March 2024 and the CITG qualification in February 2026.
Looking back, I am deeply grateful for the role MSL Business School played in both journeys. Preparing for these qualifications was not always easy. The pursuit of excellence is rarely a straight line; it is often marked by moments of uncertainty, fear, perseverance and growth. There were times when I was afraid to even check my examination results because of papers I found particularly challenging.
One lesson I always reflect on is this: excellence does not mean finding every subject easy, or feeling confident all the time.
The subjects we fear most do not define us
Everyone who has studied seriously has one of these. The paper that sits in your stomach. The one you would quietly drop if you were allowed to. For Abigail, it had a name.
Throughout my qualification journey there were papers that genuinely stretched me and made me question myself. In ICAG, Level 2 Management Accounting was one paper I struggled to connect with and did not enjoy at all. It became one of the papers I feared the most. Yet despite all the anxiety around it, I performed better in Management Accounting than I expected. That experience taught me something important: sometimes the subjects or challenges we fear most do not define our outcomes.
There were also moments when I truly felt unprepared. Like many students, I went through seasons of self-doubt and questioned whether I was ready enough. Yet I kept showing up and trusting the process.
A 56, and enough to move me forward
This is the part most success stories leave out. Not the triumph. The afternoon it nearly came apart.
One experience I remember vividly was the Financial Management examination. That day I had two demanding papers back to back: Public Sector Accounting in the morning and Financial Management in the afternoon. By the time I sat down for Financial Management I was mentally exhausted, and at one point I completely blanked out. I attempted only four questions instead of the required five, and I left the hall disappointed, convinced I had not done enough.
By God's grace, I passed, with a score of 56. I believe that became my lowest mark across all the professional examinations I wrote, yet it was enough to move me forward. Progress is not always about perfect performances. Sometimes it is about doing your best in a difficult moment and trusting that your effort, together with God's grace, will carry you through.
The end crowns the work
My scores across the professional examinations ranged from the 50s to the 80s. Some results were more impressive than others, but each mark contributed to my growth. I was also honoured to be the first recipient of the MSL Future Leaders Scholarship Program, a recognition that pushed me to strive for greater heights.
My academic journey began at Ahantaman Girls' Senior High School in the Western Region, where our motto, "The End Crowns the Work," reminded us that perseverance and dedication ultimately lead to success. That principle has guided me ever since.
I went on to study for a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) at the University of Cape Coast, graduating with First Class Honours and a CGPA of 3.9354 out of 4.0. Along the way I received several awards, including Best Graduating Scholarship Awardee, Best Graduating Female Student in the College of Humanities and Legal Studies, and Best Graduating Female Student in the School of Business. I also hold the ICAG Level 2 Overall Best Female award, which I earned before I began studying with MSL.
I then did my National Service at the Internal Audit Agency, working through the Secretariat under the Director-General. I collaborated with the Ministry of Finance on work plans for MMDAs, MDAs and State-Owned Enterprises to strengthen compliance with the Public Financial Management Act, and took part in internal control assessments and other governance assignments that deepened my understanding of public sector financial management.
Today I work as an Associate in the Tax and Regulatory unit at Deloitte Ghana, where I apply that foundation every day.
A picture, and a quiet prayer
Manifestation is a word people use lightly. Abigail has a photograph of hers.
There is one moment from this journey I treasure. At the CITG graduation in December 2025, my colleague Rose Bawuah was named National Overall Best Graduating Student. Rose could not be there to receive it; she had sat the August 2025 examinations and then left for the United States to begin her master’s at the J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University. I was at that graduation with a role to play, helping set up the MSL Business School photo stand and coordinate our graduating students. While I was there, I held Rose’s award for a photograph, smiling, half in celebration for her and half in quiet prayer for myself, thinking, when it is my turn at the very next graduation, I hope to hold one of my own.
It was not only a wish. In the lead-up, Rose and I exchanged a few private messages, and she shared tips on how she had approached it. The Greats learn from the Greats, and I was not too proud to ask.
At the very next CITG graduation, in May 2026, I did. I was named National Overall Best Graduating Student, and this time the award was mine to hold.
December 2025
May 2026
Rose Bawuah’s own journey is one we hope to tell in this series before long.
With God, all things are possible
Above all, my story is a testament to Matthew 19:26: with God, all things are possible. I have learned that we should never let limitations, fears or temporary setbacks define our future. Continue trusting Him, praying and doing your part. Study diligently, remain disciplined and believe that everything will ultimately work together for your good.
Never allow limitations, fears or temporary setbacks to define your future.Abigail Cudjoe
One habit I strongly encourage is documenting your journey. Keeping track of your progress builds discipline, sharpens focus and reminds you how far you have come. Most importantly, it helps you stay grateful for every step.
As I reflect, I remain grateful to God, my family, my mentors and lecturers, my colleagues, and every institution that contributed to my growth, MSL Business School among them. I am especially grateful to Michael Siaw Larbi, who personally advised and mentored me to success, academically and professionally. My story is proof that excellence is achievable when faith, hard work, discipline and the right support come together.
Two qualifications, seven national awards
Professional status
Associate Member, ICAG (completed March 2024); Associate Member, CITG (completed February 2026)
National awards
Seven across ICAG and CITG, including National Overall Best Graduating Student in both
Currently
Associate, Tax and Regulatory, Deloitte Ghana
University
BCom (Accounting), University of Cape Coast; First Class Honours, CGPA 3.9354/4.0
Secondary school
Ahantaman Girls' Senior High School
Prepared with
MSL Business School, ICAG and CITG programmes
ICAG March 2024 sitting
National Overall Best Graduating Student
Also Overall Best Female Graduating Student and Overall Best Student in Strategic Case Study. Conferred at the ICAG Graduation Ceremony on 12 October 2024, opening MSL Business School’s clean sweep of all three 2024 ICAG Overall Best Graduating Student awards.
CITG February 2026 sitting
National Overall Best Graduating Student
Also Overall Best Student in Advanced Taxation Practice and Overall Best Student in Tax Practice Administration & Ethics. Conferred at the CITG Graduation Ceremony on 30 May 2026, the same ceremony where MSL students swept all six top Final Level awards.
Professional status stated in this story is correct as at publication, June 2026.
For the student who is afraid to look
If you are holding a result you cannot bring yourself to open, or sitting with a paper that frightens you, this story was written for you. Abigail was you. The fear was real. The 56 was real. And they sit on the very same record as two national overall best titles.
You do not have to feel ready. You do not have to be unafraid. You only have to keep going. Abigail prepared for both ICAG and CITG with MSL Business School, the school behind a national awards record that keeps growing. The end crowns the work. Begin yours.
MSL Student Stories tells the real journeys of MSL Business School students and graduates, in their own words; the wins, the resits, the bounce-backs and everything in between. Every story is told whole.
A note on the count: Abigail has earned seven national awards in total. The six set out in the record above are those won during her studies with MSL Business School. The seventh, her ICAG Level 2 Overall Best Female award, was earned before she joined MSL and is told in her own words above; it is not part of MSL’s record.
