Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Jun 16, 2021 (Issuewire.com) - Tan Yi Xuan from Sunway TES in Malaysia achieved the highest worldwide score for audit and assurance amongst more than 3,000 candidates who sat for the March 2021 ICAEW Professional Level exams.
One of the world’s most advanced learning and professional development programmes, the ICAEW Chartered Accountant (ACA) qualification is a programme that constantly evolves to keep up with today’s digital environment and reflect what employers seek in the new generation of Chartered Accountants.
With accounting technologies becoming more automated and the role of the accountant shifting into that of a business advisor, ICAEW has recently refreshed its ACA qualification to include data analytics software that can accurately reflect modern workplace conditions and accountancy practices. The introduction of the new financial data analytics software allows ACA students to interrogate and interpret data, thus demonstrating their skills in a realistic simulation.
This made Tan Yi Xuan’s achievement in Audit and Assurance even more substantial, being part of the first cohort that utilised data analytics in the March 2021 ACA paper. The modified audit and assurance exam made students undertake the reviewing of company data, visualisations and financial results using data analytics. Students were then required to analyse and interpret the results, provide commentary, justify their actions, and articulate the conclusions they drew.
Tan said, “Having just started an internship at KPMG Malaysia, I found the Audit and Assurance training and exam very applicable to real-life work situations. With the breadth of raw data available nowadays, being able to look at situations from different angles is more realistic than working with static data. I feel that future cohorts sitting the ICAEW professional level exams will benefit greatly from other modules adopting this style of training and exams.”
Adrian Lee FCA, Head of Financial Services and Head of People, Performance and Culture at KPMG, said: “Data analytics and data science skills are showing the biggest growth and demand in the finance sector. The role of accountants is rapidly changing, and technology is the accelerant behind this change. We are excited to have people like Yi Xuan at KPMG who, with this style of training from ICAEW, has developed the skills required to use advanced technologies, through practical learning and examinations. We see these new sets of skills playing an increasingly pivotal role in supporting audit, assurance, and business decision-making in the current and future workplace”.
Today’s accounting firms are facing a business environment that is demanding and fluctuating due to productivity optimisation enabled by newer accounting technologies. This means there is a need for professional scepticism, judgement, and critical thinking skills. And, with big data driving the business world, accounting firms are quickly aligning with market demand to incorporate data analytics into their own business models. This shift in accounting technology requires new accountants to also have stronger analytical skills to remain competitive in the accounting job market.
To assist all accountants to develop the data analytics and visualisation skills needed to succeed in this insight-driven era, ICAEW has made its Data Analytics Community resources available for free at https://www.icaew.com/groups-and-networks/communities/join-data-analytics-community.
To further support all finance professionals, ICAEW also offers a Data Analytics Certificate Programme specifically tailored around advanced approaches to interrogating client data, which allows students to play a pivotal role in combining commercial acumen and business knowledge with data analytics expertise. Learn more here https://www.icaew.com/learning-and-development/academy/specialist-qualifications/data-analytics-certificate
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