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.

CIMA vs ACCA

If you want a qualification that is respected by American companies - take CIMA; if you want a qualification respected by non-americas - take ACCA

CIMA is designed for those that are planning to work at management accounting or financial planning and analysis department.

ACCA is designed for those that are in statutory reporting, auditing and taxation.

Both are equally strong in their scope and knowledge.

CIMA used to be harder than ACCA due to their need to pass all papers in one go, but this requirements has been removed.

It would be ranked equally.

One of the unique features of CIMA exams is that it is a single case study with computer based answering - this imitates real life.

If you are not sure which is better - then consider what you want to be in the future before you decide - CEO or CFO

CEO does CIMA; CFO does ACCA

Taylor re-starts ACCA

Taylor College Subang re-starts ACCA after they had tried it out in the past.

This is the 3rd time Taylor is trying to enter the ACCA market with their first entry early in 2011 and then again in 2014 and now finally in 2019.

The first time they did this venture, they had brought in a team of elite lecturer and expected to break into the market by challenging the market leader Sunway College - that was a complete disaster with the college taking a huge write off on their venture.

They then decided to move to Hartamas and try their luck there - this was also a major failure since they had to close shortly after that.

This is the next try - we hope that history does not repeat itself again.....wait to see the outcome in 2019.

ACCA - Getting started in Malaysia?

Are you studying your degree in accounting now?

If so, you want to know what are the plans after completion of the degree?

Here is a guide for students that are starting out in ACCA or thinking about being a chartered accountants.

1. Check if your degree is accelerated?
If your degree is accelerated, it will allow you to join ACCA before you complete the finals for your degree.

Accelerated degree's have an advantage of allowing the students to start the course earlier - you can take 1 or 2 papers before you complete your degree.

This will give you an advantage as it may be synergistic with the papers that you have to prepare for the final exams of your degree.

2. Check if your degree has exemptions from ACCA?

If you have completed the degree and want to check your exemptions - ask your university department head.

If they do not know, check back with ACCA exemption database.

It should tell you whether you get full 9 paper exemptions for ACCA, allowing you to jump directly to ACCA final stage.

However, there is an exemption fee and also registration fee for the papers that was given an exemption

3. Sign up with a tuition provider
It would be good to start looking around for a tuition provider to support your preparation for the ACCA exams.

In this case - looking out for what your friends and parents recommend may not actually be the best choice for you.

Brand name may be considered, but in the ACCA market, this may not weigh too strong since a professional is identified from where they obtain chartered status rather than studied.

Brand name is more relevant for bragging rights is family gathering and also friends - but remember you may struggle to cope in a location that has many "full ACCA" students - since the lecturers will assume that all students are the same.

Also consider whether you want the facilities that a tuition provider has to offer - after all during your time at a university, you have already experienced the facilities.

Some tuition providers charge a significant fee for their resources and facilities - up to RM1,500 - which is equal to tuition cost of 1 or 2 papers.

Also consider whether you are going to be working during your study period - not all the players design their timetable for those working.

In my experience, studying in a class for more than 5 hours in a day is the maximum a student can take - there are many providers that assumes that students can cope with this - practically it is not valid - so consider whether it is worth it to pay for that?

Finally, consider whether you can commit to the time required for studies - are you discipline?


4. Talk or WhatsApp jpro
If you need more information on preparing for ACCA and want a great place to study for the ACCA exams - consider visiting Jpro for more details.