engagement - Malaysian Institute of Accountants

engagement
n by Subashini Selvaratnam
Making the
Profession Cool
The Institute seeks to
rebrand accountancy as
a desirable career for
talented youth, hence
helping to nurture
a sustainable talent
pipeline of finance
professionals.
THE Malaysian Institute of Accountants
(MIA) is striving to rebrand
accountancy as a cool profession
offering scintillating opportunities for
growth and career satisfaction.
To achieve this, the Institute has
embarked on a mission to brand
accountancy as a desirable career
path for talented youth, thus helping
to nurture a sustainable talent
pipeline of finance professionals.
With this in mind, MIA together
with Talent Corporation Malaysia
Berhad
(TalentCorp)
recently
organised the Mini Sector Focused
Career Fair - Accounting & Tax
42
accountants today | SEPT / OCT 2014
for both accounting students and
accounting graduates on 23 August
2014 in Kuala Lumpur.
The career fair was an excellent
platform for students and job seekers
to engage with their prospective
employers and to submit their
curriculum vitae (CVs) on the
spot. Many of the exhibitors
who took part in the career
fair were happy with the level
of enthusiasm shown by
the students, while some
employers also took the
opportunity to conduct job
interviews on the spot.
Making the Profession Cool
Meanwhile, enterprising students
approached employers about possible
internships to help them complete
their degree requirements.
The Career Fair definitely
enabled MIA, TalentCorp and the
prospective employers to engage
and create increased awareness of
careers in accountancy among the
Generation Y and youth. The oneday event attracted both accounting
graduates and accounting students
from both private universities and
public universities. Some of the
students inter viewed were happy to
attend the career fair as they got the
opportunity to learn more about the
companies involved as well as the
prospects available in the accounting
field.
The firms that took part in the
career fair included Salihin, SJ Grant
Thornton, Baker Tilly Monteiro
Heng, Mazars Malaysia, Morison
Anuarul Azizan Chew, Ecovis AHL,
Folks DFK & Co, UHY, S.C. Tong
& Co, Cheng & Co, Zariman Amin
& Co., Deloitte Malaysia, PwC
Malaysia, AFTAAS and Inpana
The Career Fair
definitely enabled MIA,
TalentCorp and the
prospective employers
to engage and create
increased awareness of
careers in accountancy
among the Generation Y
and youth.
Associates. Other companies that
participated included RYTA Taxation
Ser vices Sdn Bhd, NJH Consultants
Sdn Bhd and Ternar y Tax Advisors
Sdn Bhd.
The professional accounting
bodies represented at the event
were ACCA, CIMA, CPA Australia,
ICAEW and MICPA. Also at the
event were representatives from the
Financial Sector Talent Enrichment
Programme and Yayasan Peneraju
Pendidikan Bumiputera. n
SEPT / OCT 2014 | accountants today
43
engagement
n by Subashini Selvaratnam
Celebrating
Talent At
NAfMA 2014
Winners of the National Award for Management
Accounting (NAfMA) are applying innovative
techniques and concepts of management accounting
to lead their organisations to outstanding success.
In recognition of the contributions
made by management accountants’
to their respective organisations and
the accounting profession as a whole,
the Malaysian Institute of Accountants
(MIA) together with the Chartered
44
accountants today | SEPT / OCT 2014
Institute of Management Accountants
(CIMA) recently conferred the National
Award for Management Accounting
(NA f MA) awards on deserving
individuals and organisations.
MIA President Johan Idris
said by winning at NA f MA, these
individuals have clearly demonstrated
the ability to successfully apply
innovative techniques and concepts
of management accounting in their
business environment, while displaying
leadership qualities and upholding the
integrity of the accounting profession.
“’Adopting best practices in
management accounting will empower
finance professionals with the ability to
develop innovative business strategies
and to unlock the organisation’s
potential growth,’ he said. Datuk Ahmad
Maslan, Malaysian Deputy Minister of
Finance, presented the awards during a
dinner on 8 September 2014.
According to CIMA Chief Executive
Charles Tilley, these awards are
about showcasing the evolving role
that finance professionals are playing
in driving organisations that are both
successful and sustainable. Today, many
Malaysian businesses are embracing
Celebrating Talent At NAfMA 2014
the value that management accounting
can bring to businesses in both the
public and private sectors.
He added that in terms of helping
current business leaders to meet the
myriad of challenges ahead, CIMA and
its joint venture partner, the American
Institute of Certified Public Accountants
(AICPA), are currently developing a
pioneering set of Global Management
Accounting Principles which will be
launched in October 2014.
“The new principles will offer
far more than a set of good practice
guidelines. They are about enabling
organisations to make better decisions
that will create long-term stakeholder
value and drive sustainable success,’
he said.
The main sponsor of NA f MA
is Public Bank Berhad, which has
supported NA f MA since its inception
in 2004. NA f MA is also supported by
the Accountant General’s Department
of Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia, the
EU-Malaysia Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, and the Malaysian
International Chamber of Commerce
and Industry. The supporting partners
of NA f MA are KPMG and Universiti
Teknologi MARA. n
NAfMA 2014 Winners & Award Categories
Award Categories
Winner
CEO of the Year
Datuk Mustafha Abd Razak of Bank Kerjasama Rakyat
Malaysia Berhad
CFO of the Year
Faizal Mansor of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad
Organisation of the Year
Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad
Outstanding Contribution to Business
Boonsiri Somchit-Ong of AMD Global Services Malaysia
Performance
Business Manager of the Year
Dr. Azman Adnan of Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia
Berhad
CIMA Star of the Year
Leevanraj Magendren of Maybank Group
CIMA Lecturer of the Year
Arshad Adam Saleh Mohamed of FTMS Global
CIMA Student of the Year
Wong Yew Jin of Deutsche Bank
engagement
n by Subashini Selvaratnam
Tapping
Young
Talent
The Accounting Quiz (AQ) 2014
aims to motivate and reward young
students who could very well be the
future leaders in Malaysian business
and accountancy.
MIA is committed to creating
new talent pools to fulfil business
demand for accountants and finance
professionals. A key strategy is to
target and engage youth through
interesting accounting-oriented
initiatives.
The recently-concluded nationallevel Accounting Quiz 2014 is one such
46
accountants today | SEPT / OCT 2014
effort which successfully attracted
participation from thousands of 16
and 17-year old students from across
the nation.
Open to all Form 4 and Form 5
students throughout Malaysia, the
main objective of this competition is
to spark interest amongst students
in the field of accountancy.
Tapping Young Talent
All smiles: The top three winners of the Accounting Quiz 2014.
The competition was conducted
in five stages. The first four stages
were conducted online while the
final stage was conducted live at
Sunway College on 13 September
2014.
The Winners
Despite the stiff competition from
thousands of their peers, the Science
students of SMK USJ 13 won the top
spot in the AQ 2014. They walked
away with a RM1,000 cash prize and
RM160,000 worth of scholarships to
study accountancy at Sunway College.
“Winning the competition was a
wonderful experience. It was stressful
but well worth it at the end. Our
parents, teachers and friends were
ver y supportive throughout the
competition,” said Liaw Jia Yoong, 17,
the team leader of Elite of 13 from
SMK USJ 13, Selangor.
Despite being from the Science
stream, Liaw and his three teammates
enjoyed learning accounting as they
find the concepts interesting and easy
to understand.
According to SMK USJ 13’s
Head of Accounting Unit, Kok Gan
Cheng, the students are bright and
hardworking. Their effort in taking
up Prinsip Perakaunan or Principles
of Accounting as an extra subject
demonstrates their dedication.
“I am very happy that their hard
work has paid off. I have always
encouraged my students to learn
accounting as it is a very useful subject
especially when it comes to dealing
with business and finance matters. I
am happy that despite the tremendous
pressure, the students performed
very well,” she said.
The first runner-up of the AQ
2014 went to Team Revenue, from
SMK Bandar Puchong Jaya (A), who
walked away with a RM500 cash prize
and RM48,000 worth of scholarships.
Second runner-up Team Leaf, also
from SMK USJ 13, took home a RM250
cash prize and RM24,000 worth of
scholarships. All three teams were
from Selangor, which also had the
highest number of qualifying teams
making it past the preliminary rounds.
The prizes and trophies were
presented by MIA Chief Operating
Officer Datin SK Yap. A total of 10
teams from nine schools in Selangor,
Sarawak, Penang, Negeri Sembilan
and Perlis made it to the finals.
Supporting Talent
Many stakeholders came together
to ensure the success of the AQ 2014,
which was organised by MIA and
SEPT / OCT 2014 | accountants today
47
engagement
Tapping Young Talent
(L to R) Sunway TES, Manager of Admissions and Student Support, Tnay Hui
Moi, MIA Chief Operating Officer Datin SK Yap, Liaw Jia Yoong, Puan Kok
Gan Cheng, Janice Kung Shu-En, Huong Sue Yuen and Ching Wen Ning. The
SMK USJ 13 team won the first prize in the Accounting Quiz 2014 competition.
Sunway TES. The competition is open
to all Form 4 and Form 5 students
throughout Malaysia. The main
objective of this competition is to spark
interest amongst students in the field
of accountancy. The competition was
conducted in five stages. The first four
stages was conducted online while
the final stage was conducted live
at Sunway College on 13 September
2014.
The AQ 2014 was supported by
the Ministr y of Education (MoE)
and professional accounting bodies
such as ACCA and ICAEW. The
other sponsors who came for ward
to support this competition include
professional
accounting
and
assurance ser vices firms namely
BDO, Crowe Hor wath, Deloitte,
Ernst & Young, Gow & Tan, KHR,
KPMG, PwC, Salihin Consulting,
IMRAN, SJ Grant Thornton,
Ahamad Naina Mydin & Associates,
and Cheng & Co, as well as CUIR
Boutique and ABX Express. n

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