Published on: Thursday, May 10, 2007 |
Kota Kinabalu: Professional accountants are urged to assist Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in coordinating and designing ways to strengthen the accounting profession among graduates.
In making the call, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said UMS, in particular, needs a coordinated strategy to create an efficient and effective education pipeline to produce accounting graduates ready to serve global companies.
"I do believe UMS is striving to produce well-balanced, highly educated accounting graduates who can be deployed to contribute growth to the State's economy."
"In fact, our main challenge is to train the workforce for tomorrow's global market and thus, we need the right system, the relevant tools and highly motivated academic accountants in order to meet the needs of the profession in the 21st century," Musa said.
He was speaking at the first UMS Annual Accountants Workshop and Appreciation Dinner 2007, here, Tuesday, delivered by newly appointed Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.
Also present were UMS Chairman Tan Sri Datuk Abdul Hamid Egoh, Vice-Chancellor Professor Datuk Dr Mohd Noh Dalimin, Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) President Abdul Rahim Abdul Hamid, and UMS Dean for School of Business and Economics, Professor Madya Dr Haji Kasim Haji Md Mansur.
Musa said professional accountants were a privileged few and among the most crucial workforce in today's business world.
"Therefore, to be at par with the required professional conduct, UMS must produce accounting graduates who are only 'Transparent', 'Independent' and 'Ethical' but also highly 'Competent'," he said.
"The education system is in a constant struggle to produce required number of qualified accountants to serve the needs of our country and the world.
"Our accountants serve all sectors in government as well as in business and industry. Their expanding scope of responsibilities demands continuous education and flexible learning environment to ensure the delivery of high quality work," he said.
"To sustain the development of the profession in Sabah, we need to open our minds and learn from diverse perspectives."
"This implied not only that we have the right attitude and necessary channels to learn from one another, but also be willing to commit and contribute to academic institutions."
He said accountants whether directly or indirectly could help organisations embed sustainability issues into strategic planning and its execution.
Meanwhile, Mohd Noh said the nation required 79,000 accountants by 2020 as outlined in the 2nd Industrial Master Plan.
Based on the MIA 2006 Annual Report, he said, there were only 22,459 MIA members as at end of June 2006.
"If we fail to produce the required number, the shortages of qualified accountants may severely affect the quality of financial reporting and the value if the accountancy services.
"As an academic authority, UMS has no choice but to design effective mechanisms to meet the challenge," he said. Mohd Noh said he was informed that there were less than 700 out the MIA present members as are Sabah-based.
Hence, he said, accountants' practitioners could assist UMS to identify and design more efficient ways in delivering the basic competencies so that the students can respond better to the changing market.
He also hoped that the workshop attended by professional accountants and employers will facilitate UMS's efforts to increase the number of accountants and improve the quality.
