Quay Cheng Yee who emerged as one of the top 10 finalists in the EY Young Tax Professional of The Year 2018 Malaysia, is currently an employee at the prestigious and reputable audit firm, Ernst & Young.

By Davin Dhanraj

A pioneer in the private education industry and known for its superior learning experience to nurture students to become independent and life-long learners, UOW Malaysia KDU has yet again marked a milestone with the success of Quay Cheng Yee, a KDU School of Business student in the recent CIMA A-Star Programme.

Cheng Yee, currently attached to the reputable and prestigious Ernst and Young audit firm, was nominated for the CIMA A-Star Programme by UOW Malaysia KDU School of Business. She is a First-Class Honours student who graduated in Bachelor of Accounting (Hons) and had paved the way in excellence when she emerged as one of the top 10 finalists in the EY Young Tax Professional of The Year 2018 Malaysia.

“When I enrolled into UOW Malaysia KDU’s Accounting programme, I had no idea what to expect. To be honest, all the journal entries, debits and credits were very primitive to me back then but after receiving immense guidance, patience, motivation and impeccable advices, I emerged as one of top 10 finalists in the EY Young Tax Professional of The Year 2018 Malaysia, an achievement I will always be eternally grateful for,” said Cheng Yee. She added that UOW Malaysia KDU not only provides excellent education, it also urges students to strive for excellence. Her education journey and student life at UOW Malaysia KDU has been very fulfilling and memorable because of the guidance and friendships.

The CIMA A-Star Programme is a prestigious high achievers programme catered for top graduates from CIMA’s top university partners who are keen to pursue a professional accountancy certification from CIMA. Through the CIMA A-Star Programme, the nominated students are exempted 15 out of the 16 papers to complete the CIMA professional qualification and are only required to sit for the final paper – Strategic Case Study.

Dr. Brian Wong Kee Mun, Head of School of Business at UOW Malaysia KDU University College said, “Quay’s success was definitely a euphoric moment for us, and we are very proud of her. UOW Malaysia KDU is one of the 25 Malaysian universities selected for the CIMA A-Star Programme. The partnership with CIMA has been very meaningful as our students are exposed to the other perspectives of accounting which highlights the importance of decision making and strategy setting, providing them sufficient resources to present themselves in a more holistic manner when they join the industry. Nurturing practical, enterprise-oriented, and humanistic accounting and business graduates are our aim. We strive to work closer with the industry and professional bodies in providing a go-getting attitude workforce.”

UOW Malaysia KDU School of Business is the first and only full-fledged CIMA-Accredited Business School in Malaysia. Besides the CIMA A-Star Programme, UOW Malaysia KDU has been granted maximum exemption for their accounting programmes: Bachelor of Accounting (Hons) & Bachelor in Accounting and Finance (Hons), which is equivalent to the top ranked university in Malaysia. The MBA (specializing in Enterprise Risk Management) and MBA (specializing in Financial Planning) programmes are also recognised in the CIMA’s Master’s Gateway Programme which enables MBA graduates to obtain exemptions of 13 out of the 16 papers to complete the CIMA professional qualification.

“The CIMA A-Star Programme is a successful programme in Malaysia and globally. The first batch of this programme had a high passing rate of 75% and students even scored high marks above the benchmark that were set. Through the CIMA A-Star programme, students can be certified as a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) with three years of relevant working experience to earn the prestigious professional designation that is renowned in the finance profession, recognised by employers globally. Hence, the reason why we work closely and strategically with selected education institutions such as UOW Malaysia KDU,” said Ginny Lim, Head of Southeast Asia of The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (The Association) – the unified voice of CIMA & AICPA.

Dr. Brian added that as compared to other professional certifications, CIMA has a much broader scope on costing and management angle as it focuses on business strategy and financial strategy. It covers risk management, organizational management, project and relationship management which will benefit accountants in terms of managing stakeholders. He mentioned that UOW Malaysia KDU and CIMA are also working on the CIMA Certificate in Business Accounting pathway for its Diploma in Accountancy and Diploma in Business Administration students to obtain the Dual certifications from CIMA and UOW Malaysia KDU. He is hopeful that this would encourage more diploma students to pursue a professional certification as they will be equipped with greater analytical skills, ability to solve complex business problems and ambition to achieve the best for all stakeholders, all of which, to be successful in the marketplace.