Do you need an accounting degree to be an accountant?

No, it is not necessary.

But having an accounting degree will give you many exemptions when you sign up for the professional exam. For example, some accounting degree holders are exempted up to 9 papers for the ACCA professional exams leaving only 5 papers to be studied.

I was told that there are engineering graduates working in some accounting firms and they are studying the professional exams on a part time basis. This is not surprising.

I have met two financial controllers who do not have accounting degrees. But most importantly, they are CPA holders. One of them holds a degree in political science while the other is an engineering graduate.

To be an accountant, a professional membership is a must. On the other hand, to be an academic, an undergraduate degree is more important because you need the degree as a prerequisite to further your studies to the postgraduate level.

You might want to read this:
How to become an accountant in Malaysia?

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).