What is the Talent Demand & Future for Accountants in Malaysia that Students need to know?
Malaysia is growing and due to its economic developments, global investments, and evolving regulatory requirements, demand for qualified accountants is increasing however, the talent pipeline is shrinking. Furthermore, Accounting is recognized as one of the professions most affected by labor and skills shortages globally by OECD. These professions, crucial for financial transparency, economic stability, and regulatory compliance, are now under immense strain due to a growing mismatch between the demand for skilled professionals and the supply of qualified talent. In Malaysia, the shortage of accountants and auditors has become a systemic issue requiring urgent attention.
There are currently about 33,000 accountancy professionals in Malaysia, of which 28 per cent are registered chartered accountants. The Malaysian government has reported the need for an additional 60,000 qualified accountants by 2030. Despite high student intakes in accounting programs, only 40% of graduates pursue careers in the field. Moreover, this shortage extends beyond private firms to government agencies and financial institutions, straining operational and strategic capabilities and driving up recruitment costs by 25% according to KPMG.
What are some of the Reasons for such a Dire Need for Accountants?
- Malaysia’s increasing popularity as the location of choice for multinationals around the world to set up their service centres. Malaysia hosts a number of SS servicing global operations and will likely stay that way for time to come owing to its low overhead costs for multinationals and abundant multilingual workforce, which is an essential requisite for an SSC location. This was also the reason why SS remained an area of strength in recruitment even during the MCO.
- Regulatory Requirements
- The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which are adopted in Malaysia, require accountants to comply with more rigorous reporting requirements.Insurance companies have had to implement the new IFRS 17 financial reporting standard over recent years, which has led to a huge demand for technical accountants.
- The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), Bursa Malaysia and the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) have intensified their scrutiny of corporate reporting practices.the SC’s introduction of updated corporate governance practices (through the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance [MCCG] 2021) to improve accountability and transparency within organisations in line with global expectations; and evolving taxation regulations within Malaysia and globally to address emerging issues such as transfer pricing changes, global minimum tax rules and sealing loopholes.
- Retiring Accountants
- According to the AICPA, 75% of today’s public accounting CPAs will retire within the next 15 years, reflecting global challenges in retaining expertise (CPA, 2023; Blood & Yong, 2024). Research by the International Federation of Accountants (2022) highlights that 60% of accounting professionals in Southeast Asia are expected to retire within the next decade, leading to an anticipated depletion of expertise and institutional knowledge. This retirement trend is not being matched by sufficient inflows of younger professionals, resulting in a widening talent gap. In Malaysia, organizations face particular challenges in recruiting for senior roles that demand years of experience and specialized knowledge. Reports by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (2022) indicate that between 2019 and 2022, the profession experienced a 15% decline in new entrants, further compounding the impact of retirements.
What do Accountants do?
Accounting is the study of how businesses track their income and assets over time. Accountants engage in a wide variety of activities besides preparing financial statements and recording business transactions including computing costs and efficiency gains from new technologies, participating in strategies for mergers and acquisitions, quality management, developing and using information systems to track financial performance, tax strategy, and health care benefits management.
What does a Career in Accounting in Malaysia look like?
Beyond carrying out the fundamental tasks of the occupation—preparing, analyzing, and verifying financial documents in order to provide information to clients—many accountants also offer budget analysis, financial and investment planning, information technology consulting, and limited legal services. Specific job duties vary widely among the four major fields of accounting and auditing:
- public
- management
- government accounting
- internal auditing
What are some of the Job Positions you will work in?
- Public accountants perform a broad range of accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting activities for their clients, which may be corporations, governments, nonprofit organizations, or individuals. For example, some public accountants concentrate on tax matters, such as advising companies about the tax advantages and disadvantages of certain business decisions and preparing individual income tax returns.
- Others offer advice in areas such as compensation or employee health care benefits, the design of accounting and data-processing systems, and the selection of controls to safeguard assets. Still others audit clients’ financial statements and inform investors and authorities that the statements have been correctly prepared and reported. These accountants are also referred to as external auditors.
- Public accountants, many of whom are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) or Chartered Accountants, generally have their own businesses or work for public accounting firms. Some public accountants specialize in forensic accounting—investigating and interpreting white-collar crimes such as securities fraud and embezzlement, bankruptcies and contract disputes, and other complex and possibly criminal financial transactions, including money laundering by organized criminals.
- Forensic accountants combine their knowledge of accounting and finance with law and investigative techniques to determine whether an activity is illegal. Many forensic accountants work closely with law enforcement personnel and lawyers during investigations and often appear as expert witnesses during trials.
- Management accountants—also called cost, managerial, industrial, corporate, or private accountants—record and analyze the financial information of the companies for which they work. Among their other responsibilities are budgeting, performance evaluation, cost management, and asset management. Usually, management accountants are part of executive teams involved in strategic planning or the development of new products.
- They analyze and interpret the financial information that corporate executives need in order to make sound business decisions. They also prepare financial reports for other groups, including stockholders, creditors, regulatory agencies, and tax authorities. Within accounting departments, management accountants may work in various areas, including financial analysis, planning and budgeting, and cost accounting.
- Internal auditors verify the effectiveness of their organization’s internal controls and check for mismanagement, waste, or fraud. They examine and evaluate their firms’ financial and information systems, management procedures, and internal controls to ensure that records are accurate and controls are adequate. They also review company operations, evaluating their efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with corporate policies and government regulations.
- Because computer systems commonly automate transactions and make information readily available, internal auditors may also help management evaluate the effectiveness of their controls based on real-time data, rather than personal observation. They may recommend and review controls for their organization’s computer systems, to ensure their reliability and integrity of the data.
- Technology is rapidly changing the nature of the work of most accountants and auditors. With the aid of special software packages, accountants summarize transactions in the standard formats of financial records and organize data in special formats employed in financial analysis. These accounting packages greatly reduce the tedious work associated with data management and record keeping. Computers enable accountants and auditors to be more mobile and to use their clients’ computer systems to extract information from databases and the Internet.
- As a result, a growing number of accountants and auditors with extensive computer skills specialize in correcting problems with software or in developing software to meet unique data management and analytical needs. Accountants also are beginning to perform more technical duties, such as implementing, controlling, and auditing computer systems and networks and developing a business’s technology plans.
- Accountants also act as personal advisors. They not only provide clients with accounting and tax help, but also help them develop personal budgets, manage assets and investments, plan for retirement, and recognize and reduce their exposure to risks. This role is in response to clients’ demands for a single trustworthy individual or firm to meet all of their financial needs.
Where can you work as an Accountant?
Nature of work upon progression to being a Chartered Accountants and auditors help to ensure that the companies are run efficiently, its public records kept accurately, and its taxes paid properly and on time. They analyze and communicate financial information for various entities such as companies, individual clients, and government.
The beauty of a career in accounting is that jobs abound as every company or industry in Malaysia needs qualified staff proficient in accounting. Graduates can work in industries like property, FMCG, retail, fashion, construction, trading, hotel, travel, restaurants, Food & Beverage, SMEs, entertainment, automotive, education, and more. Graduates can also find work in top Accounting & Auditing firms in Malaysia such as Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, KPMG, Baker Tilly Monteiro Heng, Moore Stephens AC, Steven Chin & Co, BDO, Grant Thornton, RSM, Mazars, Crowe Horwarth International, DFK International, Halim & Lee, Begbies Traynor, etc
Careers in accounting
- Financial reporting accountant
- Auditor
- Bookkeeper
- Cost accounting manager
- Accounts receivable clerk
- Accounts payable clerk
- Controller
- Treasurer
- Technical accounting manager
- Tax accountant
Accounting Job Functions & Responsibilities
- Bookkeeping
- Tracking of revenues and expenses
- Internal reporting
- Financial reporting
- Auditing
- Risk management
Required Skills for Accounting
Similar to pursuing a career in finance, aspiring accounting professionals need to have a combination of accounting expertise, general business knowledge and soft skills to be successful.
Hard skills in demand for accountants include expertise in technology and software systems, including Excel, ERP experience, SQL, Microsoft Visual Basic and business intelligence software. Soft skills include communication, leadership and customer service.
Setting up a Public Practice in Malaysia
Public practice is governed by the Act, the Rules and the By-Laws (On Professional Ethics, Conduct and Practice) of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.
Under the Act, the person must be a member of the Institute, and is prohibited from public practice through a body corporate save where this is allowed by other statutes for limited areas of public practice, namely tax.
A member, in most instances, is allowed to be engaged in public practice as a sole practitioner or in partnership only with another member(s) as the Act and By-Laws prohibits the sharing of profits with non-members. All firms in public practice are described as firms of chartered accountants (or licensed accountants, where applicable).
Only members registered as chartered accountants with valid practising certificate can describe and hold themselves out as chartered accountants in public practice and are able to set up firms providing public practice services.
Members in public practice may carry out public practice services such as accounting, audit, liquidation, tax and other related services. However, the practice of audit, liquidation and tax are licensed under other legislation.
Career Opportunities for Accountants in Malaysia
- Chartered Certified Accountants
- Chartered Management Accountant
- Chartered Public Finance Accountant
- Corporate Treasurer
- Internal Auditor
- Tax Advisor
- Tax Inspector
- Credit Manager
- Financial Analyst
- Financial Controller
- Investment Fund Manager
- Risk Management Manager
- Chief Financial Officer
- Tax Head/Director
- Shared Service Director
- Finance Director Treasury Head/Director
- SS Finance Head/Director
- FP&A Head/Director
- Audit Head/Director
- Operations Manager
- Finance Manager/Controller
- Tax Accountant/Manager
- Financial Controller
- Finance Business Partner
- Treasury Accountant/Manager
- RTR Team Lead/Manager
- Financial Accountant
- Internal Auditor/Manager
- PTP Team Lead/Manager
- Management Accountant
- Systems Accountant
- OTC Team Lead/Manager
- FP&A Analyst
- Technical Accountant
- Executive/Accountant