KUCHING: ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has announced an accelerated pathway available to students in Malaysia to become professionally certified by the age of 20 years old.
This pathway calls for students to study the Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) Qualification immediately after SPM before pursuing the ACCA Qualification. Students who score grade A in SPM Prinsip Perakaunan paper will be exempted from one paper (Paper FA1) of the CAT Qualification.
With this exemption students will be able to complete the CAT Qualification within one year, which allows them to claim three paper exemptions from the ACCA Qualification.
This means students can complete both the CAT and ACCA qualifications in three years, thereby completing all their exams and be professionally certified at 20 years old.
David Chin, head of ACCA Malaysia, said: “That’s a tremendous achievement which is certain to give these students a career boost ahead of their peers. As an ACCA trained professional, students can enjoy access into any industry and business specialisation they choose, and be assured of a global career that transverse 180 countries.”
Accountancy continues to be a well-respected profession in Malaysia, one where the demand for professional accountants continues to persist. This, according to Chin, was a strong indication of the promising career prospects aspiring accountants could expect once they become chartered certified accountants.
“There’s a huge demand for more people to enter the accounting profession; the Malaysian government has in fact initiated programmes and partnerships to boost the number of professional accountants to 60,000 by 2020, and that’s a rather conservative target to aim for. Malaysia is a long way yet from achieving that goal and this just means that job security and career success is yours to grab as a qualified accountant,” he shared.
There is a common misperception that accountants are ‘stuck’ with accounts work when, in fact, the skills of professional accountants are highly sought after across job functions to include forensic accounting, audit, tax, financial planning, investment management, risk management, business consulting and many more.
“Ultimately, finance is still the common language across all industries so the demand for professional accountants is not likely to ease. It’s because of this demand from the industry that ACCA has secured this accelerated pathway for students in Malaysia. Students should do their research before deciding on the best avenues to achieve their aspired career,” Chin advised.
Students will be required to meet the minimum entry requirement of 5 SPM credits (grade C or above), including English and Maths, to be eligible to apply for the CAT Qualification. More information is available online at yourjourney.accaglobal.com
Those with further inquiries can visit the ACCA booth at the BPIEF 2015 which will be held from March 21-22 at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching.