Accounting is one of the most versatile fields of study.
It always stays relevant as accounting continues to adapt its rules and standards to the constantly evolving business world.
This article covers everything you need to know about studying accounting in Malaysia.
What is Accounting?
Accounting is the process of documenting a company’s financial transactions.
These transactions are compiled, examined, and reported to oversight organisations, regulatory bodies, and tax collecting organisations as part of the accounting process.
A company’s activities, financial condition, and cash flows are summarised in the financial statements that are used in accounting.
They provide a succinct overview of financial events across an accounting period.
Accounting is an important step for decision-making, budgeting, and measuring economic success in every firm.
Why Should You Study Accounting?
To better understand the Business field
To be a successful business owner or entrepreneur, you must understand basic accounting principles.
Managing expenses, cash flow, bills, vendors, and payroll is an essential part of running a business.
Preparing financial accounts, evaluating how profitable your firm is, estimating future sales, and conveying financial information to stakeholders and investors are all the critical accounting skills for a business owner.
Studying accounting can get you one step closer to realising your dreams of starting your own company.
Develop transferable skills
Financial statements like balance sheets and income statements are used by organisations to make data-driven choices about potential investments, budgets, and resource allocation.
Accounting will teach you how to examine financial accounts to assist in making business choices and improving communication inside your firm and with its stakeholders. Accounting skills will not only help you make better business judgments, but you will also learn to make more evidence-based decisions in your daily life.
You want to work in different industries
Every company requires accounting expertise in order for them to function properly.
The versatility of an Accounting degree means you can explore your passion and work in Accounting-related jobs at the same time.
For instance, if you love sports you can opt to work for a sports team in their Accounting department.
What Are the Accounting Fields?
Financial Accounting
The process of gathering information for financial reports for external reporting is important to financial accounting.
Financial accountants work with their managers and coworkers to devise strategies for increasing a company’s profitability.
Managerial Accounting
This form of accounting records, oversees, and supports an organisation’s financial strategy.
Instead of the general public, their documentation is often intended for internal stakeholders.
Tax Accounting
When companies file their annual tax returns, tax accountants help them comply with the Internal Revenue Code.
Additionally, they help businesses prepare for future tax returns by helping them comprehend the effects of particular tax actions and avoid certain tax liabilities.
Auditing
External auditing is the process through which a corporation engages a third party for a review of its financial records.
Internal accounting processes are determined by internal auditing.
Forensic Accounting
Forensic accounting is used to analyse individuals’ or corporations’ financial records.
When certain financial information is missing or unavailable for inspection, accountants may need to reconstruct it.
What Are the Popular Accounting Pathways?
After earning your SPM or O-Level qualification, you have the option of enrolling in a Foundation in Arts or Business programme for 1 year or a Pre-University (A-Level, SACE, etc.) course for up to 2 years.
After completion of your pre-university course you can then pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting programme.
Alternatively, you could also pursue a Diploma in Accounting, which will take up to 2.5 years.
After completing your Diploma in Accounting, you have the option of going into the workforce or continuing on to a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting (often enrolling from Year 2 onwards).
If you wish to further your career or enhance your professional accounting knowledge, you may pursue a professional accounting qualification, for instance Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Australia, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), and Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
So what does your pathway look like?
Diploma in Accounting
To qualify for a diploma course, you only need to have 3 credits in SPM/O-Level, including a credit in Mathematics and a pass in English.
Diploma courses usually take between 2 to 2.5 years to complete and cost from RM 27,000.
You can enter the workforce immediately after graduation.
Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting/Accountancy
For degree courses, you will need to have 5 credits in SPM/O-Level qualification, including Mathematics, and the following pre-university course:
- STPM: min. 2Cs
- A-Level: min. 2Ds
- AUSMAT/SACE: min. ATAR 60
- CIMP: min. average of 55%
- Relevant Foundation: min. CGPA of 2.50
- Relevant Diploma: min. CGPA of 2.50
A pre-university course can take up to 2 years to complete and cost from RM 17,000.
Once you’ve completed your pre-university course, you can then move on to the degree course.
Degree courses take 3 years (4 years for Accountancy degree) to complete and cost from RM 75,000.
Diploma students who want to continue with a degree course can begin in Year 2.
After graduation you can enter the workforce and gain work experience while you work on professional certification.
Professional certification is optional and requires you to take multiple exam papers to qualify.
For Accountancy degree, students can immediately register with Malaysian Institute of Accountant (MIA) as a chartered accountant after getting 3 years working experience upon graduation from Multimedia University, INTI University & Colleges (Nilai campus), UTAR (Sungai Long campus), and Management & Science University.
ACCA
To take the ACCA path, you will begin with the ACCA-Foundation in Accountancy.
It takes 1 year to complete and costs from RM 16,000.
This course covers 7 from a total of 13 papers from the ACCA exams.
Next you can take the ACCA course.
To take the course, you will need to have 5 credits in SPM/O-Level qualification, including Mathematics and English.
After graduation you can gain 3 years of work experience before getting your ACCA certification.
Different universities may have varying entry requirements. Feel free to contact us for more information!
What Are the Skills Required in Accounting?
Good with numbers: As an accountant, you will need to comprehend and evaluate numerical data, as well as generate relevant conclusions in order to make the best decision.
Detail oriented: One of the most important accounting skills is the ability to pay attention to detail since any miscalculation in financial reporting can result in monetary repercussions.
Communication: Part of an accountant’s tasks include preparing reports and presenting them to management.
Top Accounting Universities in Malaysia
Taylor’s University
Taylor’s University is one of the few Asian universities to receive a 5-star rating for Online Learning, in recognition of the top-tier education offered to the students.
Taylor’s offers Malaysia’s 1st Accounting with Fintech Major in a degree programme.
Accounting courses offered:
- Foundation in Business (Accounting)
- ACCA-Foundation in Accountancy (ACCA-FiA)
- Foundation in Business
- Diploma in Accounting
- Bachelor in Accounting (Fintech) (Hons)
- Bachelor of Accounting and Finance (Hons) 3+0, UWE, UK
- ACCA
UOW Malaysia KDU University College
UOW has 45% of its faculty members stacked with industry experience and active in industry research, corporate training, and consultancy.
Its programmes offer exemptions for professional papers such as ACCA, ICAEW, CPA Australia, and CIMA.
Accounting courses offered:
- Foundation in Arts (Accounting)
- Foundation Studies (Art & Technology – Accounting)
- Foundation in Arts (Accounting & IT)
- ACCA-Foundation in Accountancy (ACCA-FiA)
- Diploma in Accounting
- Diploma in Accountancy
- Bachelor of Accounting (Hons)
- Bachelor Of Accounting & Finance (Hons)
- Bachelor Of Accountancy (Hons) (3+0), With University Of Lincoln, UK
- ACCA
Multimedia University (MMU)
MMU students can take up a Foundation level course at MMU and use PTPTN to cover the cost.
Its 4-year Accountancy degree also gives students an immediate path to registration as a chartered accountant with the MIA once they have accumulated 3 years of work experience.
Accounting courses offered:
- Foundation in Business
- Foundation in Management
- Diploma in Accounting
- Bachelor of Accounting (Hons.)
Things You Need to Know About Accounting Career
Professional Certifications for Accounting
You must be a member of the MIA, the country’s accounting regulatory body, in order to be a registered chartered accountant in Malaysia.
MIA membership is open to members such as ACCA, CIMA, CPA Australia, and ICAEW.
Accounting professional certifications show that an individual has invested time and effort in expanding their knowledge and skills.
ACCA: ACCA is a prestigious international accounting organisation, and the qualification is recognised and regarded as equivalent to the local qualification in other countries.
CIMA: CIMA is the world’s leading provider of management accounting training and they lead to Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) status, the only designation for management accountants that is recognised throughout the world.
CPA Australia: CPA Australia teaches you the skills needed to advance to the next level of leadership, strategy, and business.
ICAEW: The ICAEW Chartered Accountant qualification, or ACA, is one of the most cutting-edge learning and professional development programmes and highly valued in the public, private, and business sectors all over the world.
Popular Accounting related Jobs
Accountant
Accountants do financial computations for a wide range of businesses.
Typical responsibilities include preparing sales and cash flow reports, administering payroll, maintaining balance sheets, performing invoicing operations, managing budgets, and maintaining inventories.
For this position, the average base salary starts from RM 50,000.
Auditor
An auditor is responsible for checking the accuracy of company records and, in some cases, attesting to their accuracy.
These records are often commercial records, but they might also be municipal records or any other form of financial records.
Auditors can expect to earn an average starting salary from RM 35,000.
Tax Consultant
Tax consultants advise customers on tax concerns such as completing a tax return.
It can be logistically and legally challenging to prepare a tax return for people and organisations with complex estates.
Tax consultants can expect an average starting base salary from RM 61,000.
Financial Analyst
A financial analyst researches market trends, demographics, and microeconomic issues to assist the organisation in making good investments.
The financial analyst may also advise corporations on issuing their own bonds, dividing shares, and other issues.
Average base salary for this position starts from RM 48,000.
Accounting Specialist
Accounting specialists are in charge of carrying out accounting duties and plans for their firms, as well as day-to-day financial operations such as filling out tax forms, documenting income and spending, and balancing cheque books.
You can expect an average base salary to start from RM 67,000.