Closing the study gap

There are various pathways to gain accountancy qualifications

THERE are various accountancy pathways that can be pursued to gain accountancy qualifications. These qualifications are undeniably subject to unique needs and expectations of the labour market across the world.

The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) states that the learning and development of professional accountants must include professional accounting education, practical experience and assessment.

There is a reason to design a more holistic professional accounting educational programme to support professional accountants to develop appropriate professional competencies.

Currently, the accounting education programmes in Malaysia are delivered through degrees and courses offered by universities, as well as professional accountancy bodies. While professional accountancy bodies have developed their own frameworks that emphasise practice-based approaches in their respective programmes, Malaysian universities must not only address the requirements of the International Education Standards (IES), but also the accreditation requirements of those bodies. The overall objective of an accounting education programme is to develop appropriate professional competencies.

Accounting graduates are expected to develop their proficiency and competency by undergoing and passing all three (foundation, intermediate and advanced) levels. The two earlier levels are concerned with polishing the basic technical knowledge, apart from enhancing students’ intellectual capability, ability and professionalism. Such concerns can be achieved by allowing them to engage in teamwork, which will further develop their good personal attributes. The advanced level concerns the integration of technical competence and professional skills to address more advanced issues. This requires students to make informed judgements on appropriate courses of action to be taken by drawing on their professional values, ethics and attitudes. Undeniably, there appear to be gaps between different levels of proficiency and competency among accounting stu- dents in Malaysia.

As the Committee to Strengthen the Accountancy Profession (CSAP) reports, the skills and competency gaps between accountancy degrees and professional bodies’ and/or industry’s expectations in Malaysia are somehow huge. Since CSAP has been established to advocate the accountancy profession’s transformation as part of the national agenda, its report has amplified the concern over the need for the country to narrow the existing gaps. Nevertheless, the capabilities and competencies of accounting graduates do not develop out of nowhere and their proficiency and professionalism should also not be unfairly compared against those of experienced professional accountants. Instead, for accounting graduates to become professional accountants, they must experience lifelong learning by undergoing a three-year working experience in accounting-related fields, in addition to some attributes of learning process and outcomes.

Generally, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has multiple learning methods to help account- ing students learn. Typically, each course consists of weekly lectures, seminars and/or tutorials, as well as workshops. The lectures are structured to cover specific aspects of the course. There is always an opportunity in lectures to ask questions, but this teaching method is primarily held to offer an introduction to a topic. Students are expected to attempt tutorial questions in advance, covering the lecture materials. This is to ensure that students come with specific questions to enhance their understanding. Tutorials are designed in small groups so they may find it easier to ask questions and participate in the teaching and learning activities.

USM’s Accounting Programme consists of an array of subjects as the course structure is made up of core accounting subjects and electives from relevant fields. There are also other non-accounting courses offered in the programme. Meanwhile, elective subjects include those accounting and non-accounting courses in which students can mix and match base on interests. All subjects are meant to give students a more well-rounded experience, which will then lead to developing holistic students. As with any degree programme, USM’s Accounting Programme requires students to complete assignments, group work and sit for class tests on top of their final exams. They will need to have good time management and study consistently to be on top of their game.

An important aspect of learning in USM is the focus on developing holistic students. They must be proactive, manage their own time and develop independent learning skills. The tertiary learning experience is different from the secondary school level, in which students need to get used to the different types of lessons and studying methods as they progress to more advanced levels over time.