UNIVERSITY TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN (UTAR) alumnus Lee Woei Hao who majored in accounting, has done both the university and the nation proud with his outstanding results in the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) A-Star Programme.
The 23-year-old who was ranked No.23 and was named among the Top 50 in the world, said he was very surprised to hear the good news, as it was not an easy feat to achieve.
“I am thankful to my lecturer who has taught me to improve my critical thinking skills as critical thinking was crucial for this examination. The Strategic Case Study (SCS) paper featured a case study on the current business situation. We must understand the case as we are tasked to critique, evaluate and make appropriate recommendations,” said Lee who scored 124 out of 150 in the CIMA SCS paper.
“My lecturer from the Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM) Tan Suk Shiang encouraged me to take this exam. She also encouraged me to hold on to my big dreams and said that it didn’t matter whether I succeeded or failed; what matters the most is that I tried. Besides, I am also grateful to CIMA for giving me the opportunity to justify my judgment in the exam.”
The CIMA A-Star Programme is a unique one-exam pathway for high achieving university students and graduates with a CGPA above 3.5 to become Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMAs).
The candidate who fulfils the aforementioned requirement is eligible to apply for the CIMA membership and can be certified as a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).
With three years of relevant working experience, they will be entitled to earn the prestigious professional designation that is renowned in the finance profession and recognised by employers globally. Besides the recognition, it also provides them with a lifelong learning opportunity with the right skills set competencies to stay relevant to their organisation.
“I believe that it is important to have a solid foundation of theoretical knowledge, however, gaining various practical experiences are equally important as it enables us to build a stronger career pathway. Apart from that, be daring to pursue the things that you are passionate about and see things from a different perspective.
“In the near future, I would like to gain more experience in my current work and also to venture into internal audits as I expand my career path,” said Lee who is currently working as an audit associate at Allan Ong & Co. PLT, Chartered Accountants.
Lee emphasised: “I enjoy learning. If you enjoy the learning process, you will be sure to benefit from it and from there you will be able to unlock a much larger world of opportunities. We need to equip ourselves with proper business and technical knowledge as it will be tested in the Strategic Case Study exam, so keep learning.
“I managed to enhance my skills to measure, analyse, manage risks and investigate potential business developments and investments with the help of my lecturer. It was also due to the Accounting programme I undertook in UTAR.
“UTAR’s Accounting programme provided me with a solid foundation, and comprehensive knowledge and skills. The course helped me to expedite my preparation for the SCS paper as most of the topics were already covered in the Bachelor of Accounting programme.
“I believe the knowledge and skills gained from my studies at UTAR have been essential to help me cope with the intense preparations for the CIMA SCS exam, I could easily apply the business theories to the case studies in the exam.”
Lee added that UTAR was one of the Malaysian universities chosen for the CIMA A-Star Programme, a fast track avenue for top achievers in some of Malaysia’s top universities to gain the CIMA professional qualification.
The programme was also held for the first time in 2019, and Malaysia was one of the countries involved in the programme’s pilot testing.
Other undergraduate programmes offered by FAM are Bachelor of Economics (Honours) Global Economics, Bachelor of International Business (Honours), and Bachelor of Building and Property Management (Honours).
The postgraduate programmes include:
> Master of Business Administration,
> Master of Business Administration (Corporate Governance),
> Master of Business Administration (Building Management),
> Master of Philosophy, and
> Doctor of Philosophy.
These programmes have attracted students from all over the world and ensured students’ employability rate of 95% to 97% within six months of graduation.
The University currently offers more than 110 programmes from Foundation Studies to Bachelor’s, Master’s, and PhD degrees in the fields of Accounting, Business, Finance and Economics, Actuarial Science, Mathematics and Process Management, Agriculture and Food Science, Arts, Social Sciences and Education, Chinese Studies, Creative Industries, Digital Animation, Multimedia and Design, Engineering and Built Environment, Information and Communication Technology, Life and Physical Sciences, and Medicine and Health Sciences.
UTAR is ranked #501-600 in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2020, ranked #181 in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia University Rankings 2020 and was awarded Self-Accreditation Status by the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA).
For more information, visit www.utar.edu.my or call 05-468 8888 (Kampar Campus), 03- 9086 0288 (Sungai Long Campus).
