Studying ACCA in Klang Valley

There is a large number of face to face tuition providers around that provide tuition for ACCA in KL and PJ

The common advice for ACCA students picking a place to study is follow the advice of the friend.

This used to be effective advice in the past but in the current times, you have to take this with a bit of salt.  Most of them are in the biggest class, which gives the perception of you are studying with the best.

In preparing for ACCA the lecturers are critical aspect, you need an experienced person in teaching the paper and preparing you for the exam

In this, look for lecturers that have experience in teaching ACCA

If you want Tom Holland as your lecturer, look for young lecturers that will do what Spiderman did in Homecoming

If you want an experienced person like Dr.Strange or Iron man, you need to find the person who has been lecturing for some time.

The other part of your learning experience is the interaction you will have with your lecturer.

There are large classes and small classes, the quality of interaction varies significantly

It is vital to identify whether or not you need to talk to the lecturers - this will be very hard when the class is the size of 100 to 300 students.

You are not visible to the lecturer and therefore they cannot adjust for your needs, smaller classes gives a more personal attention.

Smaller classes with an experienced lecturer gives the potential for the best learning experience, especially if you can engage the lecturer in dialogue or discussion on the topic.

ACCA ATX - It is really easy?

This is another question that I get asked by ACCA students all the time when they are planning for the exams.

Is the ATX (Malaysia) an easy paper?

The paper is wide in scope because of the volume of areas to be covered in terms of syllabus.

However the exam questions for the paper tend to be easier to understand and complete.

This makes this paper a mix bag.

However GST is still examinable until 2019 September and the examiner has been trying to reduce to area examined so far.

This makes this paper still a volume based paper which is similar to SBR

In terms of teaching this paper - it is one of the most interesting paper to handle and the practical issues to be learnt from this paper is enormous.

It is a paper that is a must for those planning to enter into taxation field as the knowledge gained from this paper is absolutely the best for a tax consultant.

The paper is also easier because the examiner is generous enough to provide an ample supply of technical articles that can be examined.

The lecturers ACCA ATX Malaysia includes
- Mr. Jay @ Jpro Shah Alam
- Ms. Kok @ Sunway PJ
- Ms. Rozi @ Sunway PJ
- Mr. Siva @ Yes; Taylor
- Mr. Alan @ Kasturi
- Mr. Ho @ Malvern
- Ms. Ong @ Help college


There are lecturers at other locations - KDU; Intec; Ipaq

ACCA Choices - which paper should I do?

One of the biggest questions that I get as a lecturer from would be ACCA students over time - which papers do I do first?

This is a hard question but it also depends on your conditions when you are asking this question.

Did you do a degree - consider the last papers that was taken.  Try to find some synergy between the last papers taken and also the exam that you are about to take, if your last exam in degree had strategy and governance - go for SBL; if you had done reporting - go for SBR.


If you are studying full time and over 3 months - take 2 papers each sitting unless you are studying in Sunway College PJ, where it would not be possible to do that since the load is to high - take 1 paper

The exam for March 2019 has the following timetable

Monday 4th March 2019

• Audit and Assurance (AA)
• Advanced Audit and Assurance (AAA)

Tuesday 5th March 2019

• Taxation (TX)
• Advanced Taxation (ATX)
• Strategic Business Leader (SBL)

Wednesday 6th March 2019

• Performance Management (PM)
• Advanced Performance Management (APM)

Thursday 7th March 2019

• Financial Reporting (FR)
• Strategic Business Reporting (SBR)

Friday 8th March 2019

• Financial Management (FM)
• Advanced Financial Management (AFM)

The most important part of selecting papers for the exam is to ensure that there is adequate down time before the next exam.

For exam planning

Make sure you have a good two days apart for the exams if you are planning to do 2 papers

Example would be AFM and AAA has a good spread

In terms of synergy AAA and SBR have a good synergy

SBL and AFM has good synergy

The others need to be done one at a time.  It is best to avoid say AAA and SBL or AFM and SBR together.

So when planning to take on an ACCA exam in the future; think about the exam dates and make the decision and not your ego or your hurry to complete the paper.

Most the students that do ACCA seem to be making a decision based on their friends recommendations rather than what is important at the end.

On that note - all ACCA papers have similar level of difficulty - so please do not think that any one paper is harder or easier.

One of the difference is the amount of studying that is required - some papers appear to have more than others - this is the case for SBR and ATX.

If lecturers and your seniors say that a certain paper is harder - this is perception caused by a single mind in a narrow world of existence.

Also be aware that there is a cult like following for some lecturers just like how there are followers for Donald Trump - they recommend a person as the best for a subject without real consideration of what best is......what is best for one is poison for another.

Remember that durian is the king of fruits and not everyone can stomach it; so beware of durians that claim that they are the king of a subject or that they are the only one doing something for you.......and the fan club that comes with the durians

ACCA going CBE for Skills levels - Malaysia

It is coming close to the point when all ACCA Skills level paper will be examined using CBE based approach in Malaysia.

ACCA had already examining the ACCA Knowledge level using CBE for quite some time and now have decided to move all the other papers to CBE based approach.

It would be a good idea for you to try out the new paper format and feel at the ACCA site for each paper.

This should reduce the problems that arise from handwriting and also ensuring that presentation of paper was neat and coherent.

However, this will make the revision phase for most locations be a bit awkward as the way in which the paper is examined will not be consistent with the way in which revision will be run at most locations.

How to prepare for the new exams coming soon to the waters of Malaysia?

You have to get ready with a computer savvy provider for tuition that is in the forefront at technology and innovation.

This will require a revamp to the way you have been studying and revising.

Must I do Audit after my accounting degree?

This is not a must - it is a general solution for most accounting graduates to get trained in their profession.

Treat it the same as doctors doing work in hospitals and lawyers working in the firms.

However there is one escape clause for accountants - you have choices.

Audit is preferred training ground for would be accountants but you can begin specialisation earlier
- Investment banks
- Mergers and acquisition consultation 
- Forensic 
- Internal audit
- Advisory
- Taxation

Doing any of the above may lead to a completely different path that usual auditor path.

One more issue - accountants must not be afraid of the work load - that is part and parcel of the training to be an accountant.

So - must I do audit - YES unless you have a calling to another specialisation early.

ACCA Fresh Graduate salary in Big 4

The current salary ranges for a fresh graduate with an accounting degree with the big 4 can vary but should be in the following ranges for the KL market.

This is not the salary for Penang, Ipoh, Johor, Melaka, Kuantan, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu

KL MARKET RATES

Deloitte pays fresh graduate with 1st class honours RM3,500 and normal degree holder RM3,000

PWC pays fresh graduate holder RM2,850

KPMG & EY pays fresh graduate holder RM3,000

This has some margin of error - say about RM150

It would seem that PWC pays the worst in the market due to the brand image 

If you are planning to start with the big 4, be ready to work long hours and commit to the work load.

There is no difference for salary between a local graduate and foreign graduate.

ACCA holders will usually be paid RM150 higher than their degree holders.

Usually the big 4 will want you to complete your full ACCA or Oxford Brookes to offer you a job.

Completing the Oxford Brookes Degree would be helpful for students that had a hard time in their ACCA - it will at least give you a stepping stone to the job market.

Those that want to get mentoring for ACCA - OBU, can visit JPRO for more details 

ACCA doing MBA?

One of the big questions that come out from the students that complete ACCA - should I do a Masters?

If you plan to enter into lecturing - do a MSc or MA and not an MBA.

If you plan to be in corporate line - do a MBA

People who hold an MBA have not really studied an issue in depth - it is considering all the subjects of business at foundation level, tested at master levels.

The value of an MBA comes from the requirement for entry - any MBA that takes a fresh graduate to do the course is usually a rubbish product and not worth the salt - the MBA value comes from the network that you can get.

Most of the good MBA is US and UK has requirement for working at least 5 - 8 years before allowing admission

Some even need verification that you have achieved senior management level before coming into the course.

The network value of the MBA that requires work experience to enter is much higher and can allow you to jump later on.

An ACCA does not need an MBA since their training is focused on Accounting issues.

It would be always worthwhile for an ACCA to get an American qualification to improve their marketability.

Consider the following qualification
- FRM
- CIA
- CGMA
- CMA

as an alternative to taking the MBA.