Guinness World Records has named Lakshmanan Meyyappan the world’s youngest Chartered Accountant. The Senior Research Analyst at Century Financial achieved the distinction at 16 years and 141 days. He was, at the time, still in Grade 11.
It started, as many things did, during the pandemic. Schools had shut, routines had collapsed, and a 15-year-old was looking for something to do with his time. His mother, herself an ACCA, sat him down with some basic accounting concepts that he found anything but tedious.
Meyyappan then enrolled at a professional training academy and began working through the ACCA qualification at a pace that most adult candidates would not attempt, taking multiple papers in each exam sitting, building on fundamentals rather than rushing past them, and completing the entire programme within a year. Guinness World Records took note.
But the record, as it turned out, was only the opening chapter. After the ACCA, Meyyappan set his sights on the CFA charter, a designation held by fewer than 200,000 professionals worldwide and typically pursued by seasoned finance practitioners well into their careers. He earned it at 20. He is currently pursuing an MSc in Finance, works as a Senior Research Analyst at Century Financial in Dubai and, in what may be the most telling detail of all, designs and builds watches in his spare time.
“This milestone means a lot to me, but I have never approached qualifications as a race. What mattered was understanding how finance works in the real world and building skills that remain relevant over time. When learning is driven by curiosity rather than speed, the outcome is far more meaningful,” he said.
At 21, with a Guinness record, two elite finance qualifications, and a watchmaking hobby, Meyyappan is, by most measures, just getting started.
