KUCHING: Kolej Sunway Kuching has successfully maintained its Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Platinum Approved Learning Partner status for the eighth consecutive year, over 16 consecutive examination sittings.
The college remains the first and only institution of higher learning in East Malaysia to achieve this prestigious accolade.
Platinum status is bestowed by ACCA to give formal recognition to leading tuition providers who offer quality tuition and support to ACCA students. To sustain this respected ranking, Kolej Sunway Kuching must continue to meet five (5) performance indicators; tuition (pass rate to match that of the World), course materials, facilities, student support and course management. Kolej Sunway Kuching CEO, Joseph Lim thanked his lecturing team for their effort and dedication.
“Meeting the challenging Platinum targets would not be possible without the hard work of our excellent team of lecturers.
“In addition, I would also like to thank both students and their parents for putting their trust in us”, Lim said.
Lim attributed his college’s accomplishments to the ‘Sunway Success Strategy’, a quality assurance programme that enhances technical as well as academic skills.
“Our system of filtering students via progress tests, mock exams, assignments and extra classes is one of the prime reasons why we have been able to consistently maintain such high pass rates and produce so many prize winning students,” he said.
Through a series of lectures conducted by industry experts, Kolej Sunway Kuching continues to develop and provide ACCA students with industry exposure.
“We are inviting the managing partners from big, small and medium-sized firms to speak to students on topics such as GST, deferred taxation, real property gains tax (RPGT), mergers and acquisitions, internal control, corporate governance and ethics and risk management.
“A guest lecturer from Birmingham City University will conduct a talk on audit and assurance”, said Lim.
In addition to guest lectures, Sunway Kuching also ran workshops to equip students with practical skills in accounting software like AutoCount, a GST compliant software that conform to the rules placed by the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD), and AXP Audit Express, an audit software endorsed by ACCA that is widely used in Malaysia and Singapore.
“In the coming months, we will also be conducting soft-skills workshops on CV writing, business research methodology and ‘how to ace your first job interview’.
“Ernst and Young had conducted a talk entitled ‘A Career in Professional Accountancy’. In addition, we will be presenting various ACCA best graduating students awards from Ernst and Young and other accounting firms”, said Lim.
Lim also revealed that Kolej Sunway Kuching is placing their full-time students for internship at various firms under a corporate client scheme.
“We also offer to train staff from our corporate clients to do ACCA or simply to improve their competency in accountancy, Business English and business communications”, Lim said.
According to Lim, more than 60% of Sunway Kuching’s Diploma in Accounting (DIA) holders have converted to the ACCA professional qualification on a part-time basis under a special internship programme with Crowe Horwath Kuching.
In a related development, Sunway Kuching’s CEO disclosed that his college is prepared for the changes to the ACCA qualification that will come into effect in September 2018 with the introduction of Strategic Business Leader (SBL) and Strategic Business Reporting (SBR).
“We will be offering these new modules as early as June 2018. We have been developing the module structure and teaching methodology of these two subjects as early as in 2016 when ACCA first announced the changes. Our lecturing team is prepared to deliver SBL and SBR for the first examination in Dec 2018”, said Lim.
Lim indicated that Sunway TES Centre for Accountancy Excellence, the parent company of Kolej Sunway Kuching, is the first to deliver SBL commencing April 2018 to August 2018 for students to take their first exam in September 2018.
“We are using the same module and structure from our parent company to deliver SBL.
“Our academic team has consulted with Sunway’s Industrial Advisory Board, which comprises professional accountants and business leaders, on the delivery and type of resources to use for conducting SBL in the most efficient and effective way to ensure that students can pass with their first attempt”, Lim said.
“Moving forward, Sunway’s continuous professional development in delivering its ACCA qualification will ensure that we continue to achieve and exceed world pass rates and produce graduates that are highly sought after”, said Lim.
The next intake of ACCA classes will commence on 9th July 2018.
