Our school years are essentially a time when we discover ourselves and our identity.

How were those years for you?

When I think about my high school years, there are many good memories, some bad, lessons, but overall, it was definitely a good time in my life. I had great friends, opportunity to take part in many exciting things, such as robotics competitions, other competitions within the school itself, connecting with people who I’m still friends with currently and developing my identity as I was growing. I had the fortune of having great classmates, great teachers and genuinely great friends which shaped me into the person I am today.

What extra-curricular activities appealed to you whilst in school and in university? What about now?

Well, when I was in school, I was really active in Robotics and Scouts, but as I joined pre-university and majored in Accounting and Finance, I quickly realised I didn’t really had the in-depth knowledge or skill to build higher skill level robots, so I decided to try something different.

I joined the Sunway Australian Matriculation (“AUSMAT”) Student Council in 2014 and the Sunway University Business School (“SUBS”) Student Concilium from 2015-2016 to represent a voice for my peers in developing new activities or planning events for the students. There I had the opportunity to be a part of planning of several events, such as the AUSMAT Futsal Tournament and the AUSMAT Night, which was like a graduation and prom night combined. Being in the SUBS Student Concilium, I had the opportunity to be a part of planning of more events, including the SUBS Run 2015 and the Yule Ball 2015, both which were the one of the bigger events where I was fortunate enough to be a part of the planning committee.

As I joined EY in 2017, I volunteered to be a part of the Ernst & Young Sports Club Committee, where I started out as a department representative in 2017, moved my way up to treasurer of the club in 2018, and of Vice-President in 2019 up till now. Here, I had the opportunity to be a part of as well as lead the planning of several events, such as the EY Social Night 2018 and 2018, the Intra EY Games 2017 and 2018, as well as being one of the key lead planners for one of largest event among the accounting firms in Malaysia, the Inter Accounting Firm Games (“IAFG”) 2019, the year where EY was the host for IAFG.

Which University did you attend? What were your best moments there?

I attended Sunway University. I think Sunway University were one of those universities which gave a wholistic campus experience where there were always some events going on within the campus. I believe, my best moments were taking part in those events. Either that or staying in the library and having group study sessions with my friends until the library closes and having mamak sessions after.

How do you think your university experience has helped shape you as an individual?

In my university days, I had the opportunity of having great lecturers whom I could have casual conversations with after classes. Some of my lecturers shared their life stories and gave me plentiful insights that gave me some perspective in making my decisions on my current career path. I am grateful for that interaction because it really helped me to form a perspective on what it means to be a professional in the audit line of work, and I’ve also gotten tips from my lecturers on time management, something I believe to be absolutely necessary in the line of work I am in currently.

There are many bodies which offer professional accounting qualifications. What made you choose the MICPA Programme?

In my conversations that I had with my audit lecturer during my university days, one of the advices I asked was what the different programmes had to offer, and which programme does he think is most suitable for me. Ultimately, I choose the MICPA programme because I found three things about this programme that I liked better than other programmes, the first was the dual-qualification aspect of the programme. Firstly, I qualify to be a member of both MICPA and CAANZ professional bodies. Secondly, this programme was rather quick to complete, I took 1 subject each term and completed the programme within 2 and a half years of starting the programme. Finally, this programme offered the flexibility of self-studying rather than requiring students to attend classes. I’ve always been the kind who enjoys studying at my own pace within my own schedule rather than being forced to attend classes.

It can be challenging working whilst pursuing a professional qualification at the same time. How did you cope?

The difficult part is making time to self-study and being disciplined to study weekly. I ensured I allocated at least a day within the week to study on the subject material and cover at least 3 chapters a week or as recommended by the study guide and attempt the practice questions which were shared to us. Having a study schedule and a designated day and time within the day allocated to study the material is necessary otherwise you risk falling behind on your studies. Also, I took sufficient study leave to ensure I had ample time to revise and prepare myself prior to the examinations. I also developed a study plan during my revision weeks to make sure I have sufficiently covered the revision of all the chapters in depth and explored all the practice questions that were made available to us.

What do you think contributed to you doing well in the Programme?

I believe my time management and discipline in ensuring I committed a designated time every week to study on the material helped a lot in being familiar with the subject contents. I also used to have the habit of summarizing the chapters I studied into notes based on my own understanding to ensure that I have sufficient familiarity. That was very helpful to me in developing a comprehensive understanding of the subject.

What aspects of the Programme did you enjoy most / found most beneficial?

There were a lot of resources available which were shared to the students. The study guide itself was structured really well, and it had a suggested timeline on which chapters to cover in which weeks as well as other study tips, which I definitely implemented in my study plan. The study guide was definitely one of the things I enjoyed most about the programme. I still have all my study guides with me as reference material sometimes.

How do you feel about winning MICPA’s Most Outstanding CPA award?

I’m honoured to receive this award from MICPA. Was surprised to hear my name announced, I genuinely felt that the other nominees were as capable of winning the award. Ultimately, I’m grateful of this recognition, and happy to make my family and friends proud of my achievement.

What do you think were the key factors that led to you winning this Award?

Frankly, it was a tight competition between the nominees, I genuinely felt so. They were all equally capable if not more of winning this Award. I believe the key distinguishing factor was how I balanced my commitments to work, studies and being a key committee member as the Vice-President of the Ernst & Young Sports Club. Balancing the three, all of which took quite a huge chunk of my time, required a feat of excellent time management, something which I believe MICPA recognised in giving me this Award. Of course, I was fortunate to be given a key position in the Ernst & Young Sports Club, which allowed me to demonstrate my time management skills. Absent of that, I believe it would have been a level playing field between me and the other nominees.

How has the Programme helped in paving a professional pathway for you?

The Programme helped in giving me the latest updates relating to my profession and helped to equip me with up-to-date changes in the accounting standards, which was transferrable to my professional career pathway. The structure of the Programme was also very useful in developing critical thinking and public speaking skills, especially with the Capstone module, which required us to showcase our public speaking skills, and to study case studies and give our response using critical thinking, and application of the knowledge from the other modules. The Capstone module really helped in tying all the knowledge from the other modules together and giving a good conclusion to the overall programme. This was something key which helped a lot in my professional pathway, especially in the public speaking and critical thinking aspect.

What are some notable experiences that have contributed to your career growth at your current workplace?

Having good colleagues and leaders contributed to my career growth in EY. I have been fortunate to work under great leaders who have inspired me to be a better leader and have empowered me to do more and give me the recognition where deserved. My colleagues have also taught me how to be a better team player, to be a better listener to be a more empathetic teammate and leader. This have helped to shape me into a better empathetic leader which has helped in my career growth in EY.

How do you envision your future career path?

I envision to explore big data analytics for corporations in the future where we deliver valuable analysis which can help corporations make key value-added business decisions.

For the most part we are all molded by our upbringing and family values. Please share with us what are some of the key values and personal beliefs that you hold close to your heart.

Compassion, respect, hard work and taking responsibility. My parents have always reminded me the benefits of putting in effort in everything I do, to excel and do my best. That is something they have always reminded me time and time again, and I still hold that close to my heart. Compassion and respect come hand in hand, my parents have always reminded me to respect every individual regardless of who they are or what their background is, and to act with compassion to everyone and to be understanding of others. Taking responsibility and being accountable is a value that I developed over the years growing up. I realised the importance of having someone taking responsibility and being accountable and to take control of situations and to have a plan for the worst-case scenario. These are values that I still actively practice today and will continue to hold close to me.

What inspires you?

My biggest inspiration is my parents. They have been one of the most hardworking and selfless people I have met in my life. They have done a lot to ensure that me and my siblings had a great upbringing and were able to achieve our dreams. They have been great role models in my upbringing, and I am grateful for all the advice and lessons they have taught me which shaped me into the individual I am today.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. How do you reward yourself after a tough day at work?

Pre-COVID, I used to reward myself with either a mamak session with my friends or go for a nice meal. Food has always been the best way to a good mood for me.

Recently, I’ve been exercising, I find going for a jog after a tough day at work helps to get my mind off things and reset my mood.

How would you advise a student who is undecided on their career pathway and how would you encourage them to consider accounting as an option?

I would advise them to speak as many different people as possible from the different professional backgrounds (i.e. Engineers, Doctors, Accountants, etc) and try to get an understanding on what a day in the life of these individual looks like. It helps to give perspective of what the job is like on a normal day, and it helps to give undecided students an understand of what aspects they may or may not like for that profession.

Personally, I find accounting a profession has its fair share of problem solving, especially in applying the right accounting treatment for business transactions, which differs from companies within different industries. Furthermore, combining accounting knowledge with business knowledge can turn accountants into valuable analysts as they know how to analyse the accounting numbers, as well as add value from business perspective by defining what the numbers means to the business and help decision making, which is often known as management accounting. Also, accounting is a profession which is high in demand globally, with global opportunities. Thus, I believe its worthwhile to consider accounting as an option for a career pathway.

What would you say to an accounting undergraduate who needs motivation and inspiration to continue their pursuit of a professional accounting career?

My advice is if accounting is a professional career that you want to pursue, you must persevere and be patient. You may feel that it may be hectic to balance professional studies and a career simultaneously, but it is doable, and you need to trust you can pull through. Give yourself more credit. You may not be able to see the end as you are in the middle of it, but just keep moving forward, you will reap the fruits of your labor in the end once you become a Certified Public Accountant & Chartered Accountant.

If you were given the opportunity, how would you make a difference for accounting students and the accounting world in the long run? What are the changes that you would like to see in the accounting industry?

I’d like to see automation in the accounting industry, specifically in the auditing line of work. I believe there are a lot of hours spent doing audit procedures which are time consuming which with sufficient advancement in technology and investment in the development of the right tools, it can be automated. I believe, this will help a lot of auditors/accountants reduce the hours spent in their work, and better achieve an overall work-life balance.

 

 

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