WITH the development of digital technology, the role of accountants will be more challenging.
It is imperative that they are trained in the highest standards and tested by the rigour of professional accountancy examinations.
The government has taken the initiative to increase the number of Bumiputera professional accountants to meet the need for 60,000 by the year 2020.
This resulted in the accountancy centre, IPAC Education, established under Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), which was launched in 2015.
IPAC Education is now positioned under INTEC Education College, a subsidiary of UiTM Holdings Sdn Bhd.
The entity is the combined efforts of several stakeholders including UiTM, Permodalan Nasional Bhd, Malaysia Professional Accountancy Centre, Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera and Yayasan Pahang as well as professional accountancy bodies such as the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), The Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) and Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).
IPAC Education director Associate Professor Mahfudzah Mohamed said the institute is established to boost the number of students taking professional exams.
IPAC Education has produced many exemplary graduates and has received the ACCA Platinum Approved Learning Provider by ACCA on Nov 8, 2017, in just two years after its inception.
“We have consistently maintained excellent performance and produced 24 prizewinners within 2½ years and gained overall results of 20 to 30 per cent above the world passing rates and overall average passing rates of 75 per cent for ACCA papers,” said Mahfudzah.
IPAC Education has developed a teaching and learning ecosystem tailored to the professional accountancy qualification.
“The programme delivery is designed to address the skills and competencies examined by professional bodies. This approach is aimed at closing the gap between professional bodies’ expectations and students’ abilities and competencies.”
IPAC Education head of academics Dr Adibah Jamaluddin said the synergy of many factors such as lecturers’ commitment, students’ learning attitude and management style provide support for it to sustain and strengthen the ecosystem.
Students are continuously assessed internally and personally coached if they need the extra attention.
“With a small number in class, we can extend teaching hours and customise students’ soft skills development programme to enhance their employability. The programmes are designed to ensure students are exposed to the workplace which helps them to apply the knowledge well before building their career prospects.
“Students have access to reliable and timely resources by an approved content provider. The lecturers’ core competencies are recognised and the provision of continuous training ensures subject matters delivered are up-to-date.
“We do everything in line with IPAC’s tagline, Everyone Can Pass.”
Yayasan Peneraju plans to increase the number of Bumiputera chartered accountants by 25 to 30 per cent by 2030.
Its chief executive officer Raja Azura Raja Mahayuddin said this is in tandem with the government’s efforts to help Malaysia gain high-income nation status.
“If we wish to meet our national aspirations for economic progress and achieve high-income status by 2020, we must ensure that we have a substantial number of professionals in key sectors such as the financial services,” she said.
Yayasan Peneraju is an initiative under the Bumiputera Economic Transformation Programme.
Since its commencement in 2012, 149 scholars have graduated from various accounting programmes and 32 of them are prizewinners for programmes such as those under Certified Accounting Technician (21), ACCA (7), MICPA (3) and ICAEW (1).
“Stringent entry requirements help produce many top students. We look for perseverance and passion for accounting.
“In addition to good Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia results — at least 5As — with compulsory Grade A in Mathematics, we look at English language proficiency. Some candidates may not have fluency in the language but we run an intervention programme on English to help them answer examination questions in the right format,” added Raja Azura.
“The involvement of the parents is crucial to get their children to be the ranked first in the world. Parents should motivate their children to strive harder and do their best.
“There is no shortcut to success; one has to give more than 100 per cent and deliver by end of the day.”
PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANCY PROGRAMMES
ACCA
-- qualified as Chartered Certified Accountant
-- eligible for membership of Malaysian Institute of Accountants, with three years of work experience
ACA ICAEW
-- UK-based international qualification
-- a pathway under ICAEW, leading to Chartered Accountant
-- in-depth understanding of accountancy, business and finance
CIMA
-- UK-based professional body
-- upon completion of the CIMA Professional Qualification, you will be recognised as a Chartered Global Management Accountant
MICPA
-- Malaysian professional accounting body
-- provides accounting graduates with an avenue to become a Certified Public Accountant
-- offers the Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ) programme
-- diploma accredited by MICPA
-- bachelor’s degree accredited by MICPA and CAANZ