TWO UUM-TISSA STUDENTS OBTAINED HIGHEST MARKS FOR TWO ACCA PAPERS

UUM ONLINE: The Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) brand maintained its global dominance when two students from the Tunku Puteri Intan Safinaz School of Accountancy (UUM-TISSA) received the highest marks in two examination papers of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) programme.

Ms. Looi Pui Mun, a graduate of the Bachelor of Accounting (Information Systems) programme, received the highest marks for the Advanced Financial Management (AFM) paper in December 2021, while Ms. Tan Yi Wen, a final-year student in the Bachelor of Accounting programme, received the highest marks for the Advanced Performance Management (APM) paper in December 2021.

Ms. Pui Mun was ranked first in both the world and Malaysia, while Ms. Yi Wen was ranked first in Malaysia and 14th in the world.

Ms. Pui Mun expressed her delight at having received the highest score, but she never expected to reach that level for the final paper to complete the ACCA programme.

Despite the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic was far from over, she saw it as an advantage because she had plenty of time to focus on learning after completing her industry training.

“To complete the AFM paper, I had to calculate the business valuation, investment valuation, and risk management of foreign exchange and interest rates.

"I also had to make consideration and provide insights about business decisions based on the calculated numbers," she added. She is now working as a consultant for one of the Big Four corporations.

Ms. Pui Mun expressed her excitement to begin her new journey and hoped that her achievement would serve as a catalyst for other students to pursue their own ideals and goals, thus making the UUM and UUM-TISSA proud.

She also expressed her heartfelt appreciation to UUM, ACCA, her family, and friends for their encouragement and support, which enabled her to achieve her goal. She was also encouraged to keep working hard.

Ms. Yi Wen, meanwhile, felt the same joy when the results for the APM paper were announced via e-mail on 21 January.

“I am both excited and surprised because I did not expect to receive the highest score in the country. All of my hard work has finally paid off, but I still have a long way to go before I can finish the ACCA examination papers.

“Discipline is critical for success. In addition to allocating my time wisely, I will complete my assignments, then watch video recordings of extra classes, revise, and practise answering questions from previous years. This is where I put what I've learned at UUM into practise," she explained.

Meanwhile, Ms. Yi Wen stated that the main challenge during the preparations for the completion of this paper was time management, as many assignments had to be completed at the same time.

She admitted that after taking the exam, she had the opportunity to learn new things, such as techniques and skills related to strategic performance management and how to apply them in the business environment.

Prof. Dr. Haim Hilman Abdullah, Vice-Chancellor, expressed his pride in the success of both students, who have not only made UUM and Malaysia proud, but have also made Malaysia proud globally.

According to him, facing the challenge was difficult because it required mental and physical strength to succeed, to the point where students had to schedule time for the ACCA exams as well as their studies at UUM.

He expressed hope that the success stories of Ms. Pui Mun and Ms. Yi Wen will inspire all UUM residents to work hard because nothing is impossible if there is passion and vision to achieve ambitious goals.