What qualification you get doesn't matter in terms of employment. If your employer want to be picky, sure, someone get RM100-200 more at entry level. Is that a very big deal? You will even out and excel if you can perform better than the other guy.

The paper is just a paper.

When choosing a qualification, decide on:-

- which is faster to finish? (If you are UK grad, ACCA/ICAEW. If you are Aussie grad, CPA, if you are M'sian MICPA).

- which is suitable for your needs (you want to migrate? Then what is recognised in the country you want to go?)

- which is applicable to your work? (PA vs MA vs FA)

Knowledge and skills come from your own effort when you work, and your own capabilities and experience. CPA, ACCA, MICPA, ICAEW, etc etc is just a piece of paper to get you through the door.

The difference between the "quality" of the professional bodies is purely perceived.

If you are seeking employment in the professional industry in Malaysia, the major and medium players don't care what paper you have, as long as you have paper and your degree CGPA is 2nd class upper.

If you are seeking employment overseas, your experience is what matters more. Your paper qualification only serves to get you recognised by that country's local accounting body. CPA members perform just as well as any other professional paper in the field.

I make this conclusion after working in the Malaysian accounting profession for the last 10 years, as well as overseeing the training and recruitment of employees in one of the Big 4. Those who are taking something other than CPA can continue to pat themselves on the back and look down on CPA grads, but at the end of the day, its performance that matters, the paper just gets you through the door. And these days, ANY paper can get you through the door.



This post has been edited by CKJMark: Sep 25 2010, 11:57 AM

I think its based on personal experience. I know a ACCA grad and MICPA grad that failed the IQ exam when applying to the bank I work in. Imagine that. Every pool of students have good apples and bad apples. Its not fair to generalise them in that way because you paint the whole bucket black with a few rotten ones.

The CFO in the bank I work in is a CPA grad, so is the COO. One is Malaysian, the other is an expat from Australia.

2 out of the 13 Tax partners in the professional firm I previously worked in are CPA grads, and are mentors for the CPA program. A fair number of the directors and senior managers are too. They happen to be graduates from Australia and Monash Malaysia grads.

My direct boss, the head of my organisation's group tax unit, is also a CPA grad.

Audit partners I can't really say because I don't work with them extensively, but I know two whom I know are CPA grads. They also happen to be MICPA grads as well because you need MICPA for an audit licence in Malaysia.

Me, I'm neither. I never finished my ACCA and I don't have a professional qualification beyond my degree from local uni and MIA, and yet I draw a five figure salary and count these people as my peers and mentors. I also earn more than most managers who are ACCA, MICPA, ICAEW or CPA grads in the Big 4. So take it from me when I tell you the professional paper is not an indication of your earning power.

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You don't need a professional paper if you want to do anything in Malaysia, but having it will help. In most cases, no one cares about where you got your paper as long as you have a paper. So what if you got yours the easy route? ACCA and MICPA students laugh at you because your paper was "easy"? Then you can "laugh" at them for doing things the hard way. Because at the end of the day, once you are hired, they are all on par.

Even if you have MICPA, you think you can work outside Malaysia? Singapore and Australia don't even recognise MICPA. Do you still think MICPA is a "good professional paper"? Better than CPA Australia that is recognised in HK, S'pore and Australia in addition to Malaysia?

Choose the qualification that helps you finish fastest, applicable to your job and is recognised where you want to work. If you are an Aussie grad, CPA is the sensible choice. If you are UK grad, then ACCA or ICEAW is the better choice. Malaysian grad would usually opt for MICPA (but if you are not in audit, take ACCA, easier to pass than MICPA i.m.h.o). Don't be bother about what people say about your qualification because employers will look beyond your paper and judge your experience as well. If you are a fresh grad, then your paper is just the benchmark to get you in, nothing more. And if you are a fresh grad applying for the Big 4, high chance you don't even have a professional paper, and they will pay for whichever you want to take depending on which you complete faster.

So if the Big 4 are not fussy about your professional qualification (audit being the exception in Malaysia), why should you? Take the one that gets you where you want to go, regardless of what other people tell you. The people talking down to you here won't be hiring you anyway.

You want learning and experience? Get a job and pay attention to what you do. The on-the-job experience will teach you far more than anything a textbook can.

And to the joker than laughed at CPA grads using textbooks / reference books when discussing with superiors, obviously you've not worked in a professional firm before. Unless you happen to be a "walking IFRS" everyone refers to standards and books when working. Even if you are a "walking IFRS" your boss will still want you to prove where what you say you know is written. It's called "exercising due care in your professional capacity."

Sure, MICPA is tough. But would you like to slog for years and still not pass by virtue of a quota system?
ACCA? not that hard. I did all but the last stage, it was almost identical to my university degree.

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Like I said, I'm not here to pick a fight. But I do believe that there is a lot of bias here against CPA grads just because their exams is MCQ based. And having been in this industry for the last decade, I feel compelled to speak up on their behalf. Sure there are crappy CPA students, but there are a fair share of crappy ACCA, MICPA and ICAEW grads too. Knowing your stuff in the exams is very different from working. I don't think its right to talk down another person's qualification unless you work with them directly. Even then, the individual is the problem, not the qualification.

If you are an accounting student considering which qualification to take, and you want to be sure just call up the Big 4 HR and pose a general question to them, you will have your answer.

This post has been edited by CKJMark: Sep 28 2010, 10:55 PM

@ Def

I know the requirements, standard and preferences despite not having a professional qualification because its my job and role to know. It was my role as faculty student rep in Uni, and it was my role in my previous firm to be familiar with the various requirements and pros/cons of each of the qualifications.

You obviously have somethign against CPA so you can continue to say what you like. I'm done. Jamesleong sums it up nicely.