Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Ian Kerr and Dean of the School of Business Shamsul Kamariah Abdullah (2nd and 3rd left) proudly showing the letter from MICPA while Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor Joan Gribble, Head of Department of Accounting Anbalagan Krishnan and accounting lecturer Chan Kwok Mow look on.
Miri – 17 May, 2010 – Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) was recently accorded recognition by Malaysia’s premier accountancy body, the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA).
In a letter addressed to the university’s Pro Vice-Chancellor, the MICPA informed Curtin Sarawak that graduates from the university’s Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) degree programme are exempted from completing Module A and Module B of the institute’s Professional Stage Examination.
Graduates now need only pass the technical and final modules, and subsequently obtain 3 years of practical experience under the supervision of a member of the institute, to qualify as Certified Public Accountants of Malaysia.
Module A and B test knowledge and skills in accounting and business in addition to competencies required from business professionals. They comprise Financial Accounting and Taxation, Business and Company Law, Management Information and Control, Financial Reporting, Auditing and Assurance, and Business Finance and Management.
“Exemptions from these core modules speak volumes of the quality and academic rigour of our accounting programmes,” said Anbalagan Krishnan, Head of the Accounting Department in Curtin Sarawak’s School of Business.
He added that, as a result of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed in February 2009 between the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) and MICPA, Curtin Sarawak’s accounting graduates will also qualify as Chartered Accountants of Australia on completion of the MICPA programme.
“The single route, double qualification pathway that MICPA offers is very attractive and I want all our final-year accounting students to know about it,” said the Dean of the School of Business, Shamsul Kamariah Abdullah.
She added that the MICPA–ICAA pathway offers a golden opportunity and superb career flexibility for Curtin Sarawak’s graduates as they can build their foundation locally, and once they have built their network, they are set to go places and even go global.
According to Shamsul Kamariah, this recognition from MICPA stemmed from an initial meeting in June 2008 when Chan Kwok Mow, accounting lecturer and former Director of Planning, met MICPA Executive Director Foo Yoke Pin at an international accounting conference.
Ever conscious of the need for greater employability of Curtin accounting graduates, Chan invited Foo to visit the Curtin Sarawak campus, which he did in March 2009, and during his visit, held further discussions with Shamsul Kamariah and the school’s academics, as well as the Pro Vice-Chancellor and Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university.
The MICPA is the premier accountancy body in Malaysia, with over 3000 members and 800 students. Many of its members hold key positions in commerce and industry and in government agencies in Malaysia and abroad.
It provides a wide range of valuable services to its members, including the development and issuance of standards and guidelines on accounting, auditing and financial reporting, and conducting continuing professional education and development programmes.
It is also well-recognised for its role in research and the development of accounting and auditing standards in Malaysia together with other Malaysian regulatory and statutory bodies.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICCA), meanwhile, is the professional body representing chartered accountants in Australia. It has 50,000 members and 12,000 students. Currently, there are over 350 ICAA members in Malaysia.
