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- Students
- Why Become a Professional Accountant?
Why Become a Professional Accountant?
Why Should You?
Accountants today play a critical role in business not only as a financial advisor, but also as strategic business advisor and this is what drives me to excel in my career as a professional accountant and is the reason why I chose this Programme – it gives me the right foundation to succeed.
Xavier Tan
Gold Medal Winner of MICPA’s Financial Accounting & Reporting Module
Employee of Tenaga Nasional Berhad
Bachelor of Accounting Graduate, University of Melbourne, Australia
Attributes of a Professional
What makes you valuable as a Professional Accountant? Here are some of the attributes that a professional should possess:
Well-informed
A professional accountant keeps up-to-date about the latest developments and news that affects the accounting and business world. How best can they provide advice to their clients? They continually reflect on and update their knowledge and skills in the context of a changing business, social and political environment, and they identify ways for self-improvement.
Innovative problem-solver
A professional accountant has to be able to think out of the box to present solutions that are practical, effective and cost-efficient. For a given problem, they should be able to identify alternative courses of action and assess the merits of each course of action, including commercial and ethical considerations.
Forward-thinking change managers
Change is inevitable in any organisation. A forward-thinking change manager is able to operate strategically and provide leadership in planning and responding to change. They should be able to participate in organisational change and design and apply strategic process improvement.
Technology-literate
A professional accountant should be able to effectively utilise business software to gather, manipulate, analyse and communicate information to be used for business decision-making. They should also be able to contribute to the development of IT strategies that work hand-in-hand with business strategies.
A collaborative team worker
There is a strong need to understand the dynamics of teamwork and the characteristics of high-performing teams. A professional accountant must possess the interpersonal, management and leadership skills necessary to achieve organisational objectives, resolve conflicts that may arise and create a healthy working culture.
A capable communicator of shared understanding
A professional accountant must have high-level oral, written and interpersonal skills, and the ability to analyse the specific needs and interests of particular audiences to determine the best way to communicate information and opinion.
Service-oriented
A service-oriented professional accountant must understand clients’/customers’ needs and strive to exceed their expectations. They must be able to develop positive relationships with their clients/customers, be empathetic and possess highly-developed interpersonal communication skills.
Ethical & Professional
An ethical professional accountant must understand and uphold the profession’s codes of conduct in all of their dealings, applying the fundamental ethical principles of honesty, integrity, objectivity, independence, commitment to professional competence and due care, and confidentiality. They are expected to understand the relationship between ethics, laws, regulations and public interest, and the consequences of unethical behaviour to the individual, the profession and society at large. A professional accountant is expected to convey a professional image and demonstrate professional courtesy, professional behaviour and compliance with technical standards.
These attributes form the basis of the MICPA-CAANZ programme objectives and are reflected in the learning outcomes for each of the programme modules. Developing these attributes in a holistic manner is an integral feature of the programme. It is structured in such a way so as to provide candidates with an all-rounded foundation for their professional career, teaching them soft skills besides learning to apply technical accounting knowledge to their field of work.
I have always appreciated the Australian education system. The MICPA program has the greatest syllabus that combines theory with practical real-life problem-solving training through a combination of exams, focus sessions and assignments. Besides, Chartered Accountants are widely regarded as being at the top of their game and are renowned for their capacity to bring higher-order thinking to their career, employers and the organizations they serve. Finally, the dual membership that the MICPA Programmme offers opens doors to a world of new opportunities – both within Malaysia and offshore. The designation will give me the edge in the employment market with more choices and financial rewards.
Chanelle Che
World Top Scorer in MICPA’s Management Accounting & Analysis module
Gold Medal Winner of MICPA’s Management Accounting & Analysis and Audit & Assurance Modules
Employee of PwC
Bachelor of Accounting Graduate, University of Melbourne, Australia
