J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 0 5 • NEW SUNDAY TIMES Advertorial EDUCATION

SUNWAY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE Group won't rest on ACCA laurels

THE Association of Char­tered Certified Accountants (ACCA) is one of the largest professional accountancy bodies in the UK and is recognised worldwide for setting the standards for a professional accounting qualification.

In 1994, Sunway TES was incorporated as a subsidiary of Sunway College University (SyUC), offering professional accounting programmes.

Currently, it offers three programmes — ACCA, Cer­tified Accounting Technician (CAT) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales ACA qualification (ICAEW).

Under the helm of exec­utive director Teo Eee Sing, Sunway TES has been ranked as a key player among tuition providers of professional accounting courses.

" I wanted to provide ed­ucation where students are marketable and can get a professional certificate through the fastest path," he said, adding that students could complete ACCA in two

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to three years. With the aim of bringing

teaching to be on par with the UK, Teo and his team worked hard. Not surpris­ingly, Sunway TES was awarded the ACCA Premier Plus Status in 2003.

"Our status is subject to verification. Every six months, our ACCA results will be looked at and must be on par with the world and the international pass rate in order to maintain the Pre­mier Plus Status. Hence, we must make sure we deliver," said Teo, adding that Sunway

TES has maintained its sta­tus since 2003.

"Students can finish the ACCA in two to three years and along the way obtain a BSc (Hons) in Applied Ac­counting from Oxford Brookes University, UK (OBU).

"Our unique partnership with the university enables students who completed Part 1 and Part 2 of the ACCA examination together with a Research and Analysis Pro­ject to receive a degree from OBU," said Teo.

Upon completion of ACCA Professional scheme and three years of supervised practical experience, grad­uates will obtain ACCA sta­tus.

" I think this is one of the shortest routes for one to become a professional ac­countant. Even if you enrol with SPM results, the du­ration it takes to get a degree and professional qualifica­tion is merely three years," he said.

With SPM results, students would have to enrol in the CAT for a year before pur­

suing the ACCA. "However, they would be

exempted from ACCA Part 1 and that saves them a year. If you do decide to pursue your degree at other universities before getting the ACCA, you would have to study for about seven years to get the same qualification that Sun­way TES ACCA students get in three years," explained Teo.

The beauty of the pro­gramme is that students don't have to go to the UK to get the degree.

"Hence, it is cost and time effective. Students also have the option to do it part-time as we understand that there may be working adults who are interested to get the cov­eted qualification," he said.

Sunway TES has consis­tently produced high achiev­ers. Its phenomenal trail of achievers includes 19 ACCA world prize winners and 113 ACCA Malaysian prize win­ners. Its first batch of stu­dents for the ICAEW ACA examination last year saw a student being conferred a subject order of merit.

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AMBITIOUS: Teo makes sure Sunway TES delivers world-class results.

"Producing prize winners is a big challenge but we will continue to strive for the best and hopefully produce more every year. My aim is to pro­duce prize winners for all 14 papers. I believe that our students can do it," Teo added confidently.

Intakes are in January and July (full-time and part-time) and April and September (full-time).

The number of students at Sunway TES is increasing tremendously, an indication of the quality of education that Sunway TES provides. To date, more than 700 stu­dents have graduated and gone on to secure jobs in finance-related fields with the "Big Four" firms.

"We place our graduates in the corporate world and this has made us one of the key

tuition providers. We have a dominant position in the market," said Teo, who is also the adviser to Malaysia's first public-sector-initiated specialist training academy in management, strategic and leadership develop­ment: the Academy for Ac­counting and Leadership (Akal).

Intakes are in January and July (full-time and part-time) and April and Septem­ber (full-time).

Entry requirements are minimum of five credits in SPM including English and Mathematics or 0-Levels, two passes at STPM or A-Levels or three passes at LCCI Higher Stage or Level 3 or pre-university pro­grammes' pass with distinc­tion or a degree from an approved university.

CONDUCIVE ENVIRONMENT: The library is well stocked and one of the best spots to be in, come exam time. ATTENTION PLEASE: A class in session.

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