Failed accounting exam at 58, but former TSMC finance chief says she has no regrets

A score of 58 in first-year accounting once sent Ho Li-mei to a retake, but the former TSMC finance chief says she has no regrets about the years that led to it.

Ho, who served as TSMC's finance chief and spokesperson for 16 or 17 years, recalled joining swimming, softball, volleyball, basketball, debate and choir activities after entering university. She said university suddenly felt like freedom, and she devoted less time to her books than she should have.

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I do not regret it at all.

The failed accounting exam, she explained, was not simply the result of playing too much. She had missed a question on the back of the paper worth 20 points. "That question was actually very easy. I definitely would have answered it," she said. The overlooked question left her with 58 points.

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That question was actually very easy. I definitely would have answered it.

"I do not regret it at all," Ho said at the opening of the TSMC Youth Dream Program's 11th interactive exhibition, titled "WHAT IF＿＿?" She described that period as "a very happy youth" and said the lessons gained from trying different activities had continued to help her.

Ho urged young people not to fear exploration. Some interests, she said, can be suppressed by family circumstances or parental expectations. She had wanted to learn piano as a child but never dared to ask her parents because of the family's financial situation. After retiring this year, she hopes to support education and help young people pursue their dreams. The exhibition is free at Taipei's Spot Huashan Cinema from today through tomorrow, and applications for the youth program remain open until noon on Oct. 15.

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It was a very happy youth.