Local accountants attracted by foreign greener pastures

KUALA LUMPUR: Despite unwavering interest in accountancy courses at
universities and colleges, mid-tier accounting and auditing firms are
finding it difficult to hire and retain their accountants. The problem: the outflow of local talents to foreign “greener pastures”. Baker Tilly International chief executive officer and president Geoff Barnes told StarBiz
that something needs to be done about this, as “a strong audit
profession underpins an economy with good corporate governance, a strong
capital market and an economic environment that can cross borders.” Barnes
said the accounting profession has always demanded the brightest of
people globally and that good firms have always had this “war for
talent, because we are all looking for the best people”. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Barnes (left) and Heng stressing on the importance of retaining accounting talents.
Local
member firm, Baker Tilly Monteiro Heng (BTMH) chief executive partner
Heng Ji Keng said many Malaysian accounting graduates see better
opportunities in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Singapore and Australia. Heng
added that many graduates left mainly due to the salary disparity. To
counter this, he said firms needed assistance from the Government as “a
word from the Government is better than a thousand words from
practitioners”. “We need to slowly bridge the gap between the
salary we pay here and that offered in the countries attracting our
talents. We need assistance from the regulators to impress upon clients
that low fees also affect the quality of an auditing job,” Heng said. A
fresh graduate can earn up to RM100,000 per annum in China, around
RM85,000 per annum in Singapore while Australian firms pay about
RM160,000 per annum. Locally, they would earn about RM30,000 only. SJ Grant Thornton (SJGT) managing partner Datuk Narendra Jasani said an estimated 500 accounting graduates out of 1,500 from local universities leave the country every year. Both
firms, BTMH and SJGT, said the Government could further benefit the
country's accounting profession by liberalising immigration policies. Heng
said the many foreign students studying here could be a good source of
accountants for local firms, provided the Government revises the related
immigration restrictions. “We must acknowledge their potential and train them to become qualified professional accountants,” he said. Both
Heng and Jasani suggested that the Government could look into giving
foreign students a work permit of three to four years after their
studies. “To avoid disheartening our Malaysian accountants, a
quota could be set for firms to employ no more than 20% foreign
accountants,” Jasani further suggested. Heng pointed out that
another turn-off for young accountants to begin their career here is the
difficulty in getting a licence to practise. “The accountants
have to go through about a decade of university education and training,
topped off with a scrutinising interview that tests them on the
technicalities of the industry before the Finance Ministry issues a
licence,” Heng said. Specifically, Malaysian accountants need
three years for a university degree, three years of working experience,
another three years of post-Malaysian Institute of Accountants
membership and an interview to determine whether they would qualify for a
licence. The tedious process and no guarantee of getting a licence to
practise has become a deterrent to young accountants when embarking on
their careers. “We also have to change work procedures. One
aspect is to change the audit methodolgy no more ticking and checking
all the time but more thought-processing, overviews and comparative
analysis which is more suited to the younger generation,” SGJT's Jasani
said. Grant Thorton International chief executive officer Ed Nusbaum said the rapid economic growth and expansion in the entire Asia-Pacific region has caused the shortage of talent. “The
demand is greater than the number of students graduating from
universities and qualified experienced talent within the region. Whether
you are talking about Malaysia, China or India, we need to attract
people to the accounting profession,” he said, adding that dynamic firms
also contributed to attracting young accountants. “Being part of
a growing organisation makes (one's career) interesting and employee
retention is better because people see opportunities,” Nusbaum
concluded.