Building interest in accounting through problem-solving

Students from five states in Malaysia learn more about accounting at the MIA-Sunway TES Accounting Quiz on 12 September 2015 in Sunway College.

The Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and the Sunway-TES Centre for Accountancy Excellence (TES CAE) recently co-organised their third accounting quiz for school students to encourage interest in accountancy among youths. This effort was supported by the Ministry of Education (MoE).

Top three winning teams to the quiz received scholarships and financial assistance worth more than RM300,000 to study accountancy at Sunway College. Students were quizzed in several subjects including accounting, business and economics in an interactive manner.

The participating schools at the quiz were from five states, namely Selangor and one (1) each from Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Perak and Sarawak.  Each of these schools were represented by a team made up of five team members.

Chief Executive Officer of MIA Ms Ho Foong Mooi at the finals stressed that accountants are "much more than number crunchers. They play a strategic role in the organisation as their ability to interpret and provide useful insights into data could reveal numerous business opportunities." This event was hence a way to reveal more about accounting to students.

Also present was Mohd Anuar Abdul Hamid,  Senior Principal Assistant Director, Co-Curricular and Arts Division, Ministry of Education Malaysia who supported this event as it encourages learning among students beyond the classroom. According to him, learning has to be supported by such supplementary events as education is a shared responsibility. It was underlined that bodies like the MIA should be taken onboard as partners because they would have the expertise within the field.

Senior Executive Director Dr Elizabeth Lee from the Sunway Education Group and Sunway University added that such competitions promoted a healthy way of presenting one's talent and strengths. It was also an opportunity for students to pursue accounting with the interest they have through the winning scholarship awards offered. In response to the government's aspirations for at least 60,000 qualified accountants by the year 2020, Dr Elizabeth said that Sunway TES is committed to making this a reality. "At Sunway, education is taken very seriously - we organise this event to prepare them not just for jobs today but professions tomorrow."

Since the competition began in March this year, some 500 teams comprising 2,000 students from over 150 schools  around the country took part in the various qualifying rounds.

Team Athena’s Berries from SMK USJ 13, Subang Jaya, Selangor emerged as the Champion under the Team Category.  Team Sin Min 1 of SM Sin Min, Sg Petani Kedah was the first runner-up and Team Eliza ACCA of SMK Saint Elizabeth (M) Sibu, Sarawak, and the second runner-up.

Meanwhile, Angela Yew Yee Jin from Team Eliza ACCA came out tops under the AQ 2015 individual category. Ong Kwan Yen from Team Sin Min 1  was the first runner-up and Ivan Chew Cheng Yi from Team Athena’s Berries, the second runner-up.

Rounding off the top 10 teams were:-

i.          Sek Men Sin Min, Sg Petani, Kedah (Team Sin Min 1);

ii.         Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) Serting, Negeri Sembilan (Team Batallion);

iii.        Sek Men Raja Perempuan Taayah, Ipoh, Perak (Team Blue Moon);

iv.        SMK St Elizabeth (M) Sibu Sarawak (Team Eliza ACCA);

v.         SMK USJ 13, Subang Jaya, Selangor (Team Athena’s Berries and Team Thiteenix);

vi.        SMK Serendah, Selangor (Team Give Me 5 and Team SEVENTEEN);

vii.       SMK Damansara Jaya, Petaling Jaya, Selangor (Team The Underdogs); and

viii.      SMK Bandar Puchong Jaya, Puchong Selangor (Team We Love ACC)

The competition which was open to all Form 4 and Form 5 students, was first held in 2013.

Also present at the final competition were Ho Foong Moi, CEO of MIA;  Teo  Ee Seng,  Executive Director of Sunway TES;  Siew Wai San, Director, Member Development & Education of MIA; David Chin, Head of ACCA Malaysia and Lim Tiew Ming, Director of Sunway TES Centre for Accountancy Excellence.

The AQ 2015 is supported by the Ministry of Education (MoE) and The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) as the strategic partner.