Monday, January 3, 2011

How to become an accountant in Malaysia?

To become a Chartered Accountant in Malaysia, getting an MIA (Malaysian Institute of Accountants) membership is a must! There are three paths you can choose from to be a Chartered Accountant in Malaysia. No matter which path is chosen, you need to gain three years of relevant working experience in the area of accounting/audit/tax/finance.

Path #1
Get a full membership of one of the recognised professional accounting bodies eg. ACCA, CIMA, MICPA
I believe this is a common path taken by many accountants. Just sign up to any of the professional bodies such as ACCA, MICPA, CPA Australia, CIMA, ICAEW and pass their professional exams. Upon graduation, you need to gain three years of relevant accounting working experience and you can apply for a membership with MIA.

Path #2
Get an MIA recognised accounting degree and gain the three years of relevant accounting experience
If you have an MIA recognised Accounting degree especially from the Malaysian public universities, then you don't need to study for any professional exams like ACCA or CPA Australia. You just need to work for three years with the required relevant accounting experience and you can apply for a membership with MIA. You can check the list of MIA recognised accounting degrees right here. The MIA recognised accounting degrees are only from the public universities with the exception of Multimedia University and Universiti Tenaga Nasional. So, if you are studying accountancy in a private college, you have to go for Path#1 or Path#3.


Path#3
Sign up for the MIA Qualifying Exams (QE)
The MIA QE was only launched in March 2003 offering an alternative route to accountants wannabe. If your accounting degree is not an MIA recognised degree and yet you do not want to study for any of the professional exams like ACCA, then you can choose to study the MIA QE. The MIA QE consists of four papers. Upon passing the four papers together with the required three-year relevant working experience, you can apply for a membership with MIA. This route is also suitable for those who are members of a professional body which is not recognised by MIA. So those people will have to go through this MIA QE to become a Chartered Accountant in Malaysia. You can see the list of professional accounting bodies recognised by MIA right here. Hmmm...Singapore is just next door and MIA did not even recognise the prestigious Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS).

29 comments:

MapleLeaf - YL said...

So, which path did u from?!

gabe said...

I took the first path.

Fairplay said...

Regarding your comment on MIA not recognising Singapore's Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS)is probably because Singapore does not recognise our MIA or MICPA. Why should our MIA or MICPA recognise ICPAS when they don't recognise MIA or MICPA?

ubaidullah said...

I am not an accountant myself but running a blog in accounting niche...

Dolly said...

thank you for the information

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the information!

I am interested to take CPA Australia, currently having a accounting and finance degree holder (UK) is it possible?

Any website that I can look for more information about this?

johnseomaven said...

Becoming a CPA is a rewarding career. The actual licensing exam is not only the challenge in becoming a CPA. You should also renew your license in order to retain it by taking an online CPA CPE every two or three years depending on which state you work in. This continuing education or renewal course will help you get updated with current trends and practices in the field of Public Accountancy.

Unknown said...

I got a question. Currently I am doing ACCA. I plan to work. Is it advisable to work as an accounts assistant/executive in a chartered accountant firm or a commercial firm?

Btw what's the difference between a commercial accountant and chartered accountant?

thank you.

gabe said...

Hi Anonymous,
I believe it is possible for a UK degree holder to sign up for CPA Australia. You better call CPA Australia to confirm that.

Hi Unknown,
It doesn't matter whether you are working in a chartered accountant firm or a commercial firm to gain the membership required by ACCA. ACCA covers both management accounting and financial accounting. All it matters is that you should be able to satisfy the working requirements required by ACCA.

My understanding is that a commercial accountant works in a commercial firm. Anyway, there is no such term as a commercial accountant that I know of.

A chartered accountant works in an accounting firm.

Asad said...

Hi... Thanks for posting this blog... I got a brief but compact info from this... I'm in the process to achieve my goal, which to become an Accountant. But I was sceptical by lots of questions in my mind..
I heard that taking ACCA or CIMA is really tough... I even heard that it is even tougher than Degree in Accountancy in Local Universities... The question is, is it fair for the Degree Accountancy holder's to have the title of Accountant by just having 3 years of Accounting experience, whilst others had to take ACCA/CIMA plus another 3 years experience....

Anonymous said...

Hi,
Before I jump to Path#1 or Path#2 or #3... I would need your advise on the which course should I start with. Is it better to study Bachelor of Accountant or should I start with CAT and then ACCA if the person is fresh from SPM.
Thanks.

Anonymous said...

halo.. Thanks for posting this blog...
i am currently completed my degree program (Australia) & think of further my study in professional level. I do not know which should i choose, CPA or ACCA?? Any difference between them?? Please guide me. Thanks..

gabe said...

To Asad,

Whether it's fair or not, I can't comment much because I haven't tried the syllabus of the local public universities yet.

Hi Anonymous,
It is up to your ambitions. If you want a faster route, take the CAT/ACCA route.

CPA or ACCA are both professional programs. They are the same thing. Which is more difficult? I can't say much...

Unknown said...

Like other states or countries, you have to check the requirements in getting a CPA license or becoming a CPA in your country or region. You can also start getting your credits or training via low cost online cpe classes available in the Internet.

coco said...

hye I just got my UPU result and I got degree in accounting at UNIMAS. From what I know Accounting course at Unimas is new course and we are the first batch to take it and it haven't get the recognition from MIA. So if I are going to take the offer to study there, can I still apply for MIA members (after all it is still a public university and maybe some consideration can be given) with 3 years of working experience.

Loh Soo Foo said...

U know who am I? Loh Sue Fun from St Xavier. A friend of eagle. Guess you already know who am i.

FYI. New MIA Guidelines is all local uni gra need to take MIA Qualifying Exam

Renee said...

Hi, thank you for the information. I'm a diploma holder and with 10 years working experience in accounting. I would like to know more about the way to be a qualified accountant. Or I need to follow the very beginning way which is path 1 or path 3? Or either I need to go through more steps than this? Please advise.

Johan said...

Loh Soo Foo,your statement on the MIA guideline is not correct. FYI only accounting qualifications from universities NOT LISTED in Part I and Part II of Schedule 1 of the Accountants Act 1967 need to take the Qualifying Examination. Refer: http://www.mia.org.my/new/members_being_application.asp

Unknown said...

Thanks for giving us these informative information. This is very helpful for those peoples who are diploma holders or just passed out schooling. This blog information is like a guide in their life.

Keep in touch with more updates...

Anonymous said...

Hi... that 3 years of experience, can it be with a different firm or it is not a matter as long in the same industry/field?

gabe said...

The 3-year experience can be collected from different organisations.

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Malaysia Accounting Software said...

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