Annual Report 2011 - The Malaysian Institute Of Certified Public ...

38President’s Statementinvestigation and disciplinaryDuring the year under the review, the Investigation Committee considered ten cases of complaints, two of which were brought forwardfrom the previous year. The Committee has completed the inquiry into eight of the cases, of which one of the cases was dismissed as itwas determined that a prima facie case had not been made against the member and in the other seven cases, the Committee has made anorder against the members concerned by consent that the members be reprimanded and fined. The remaining cases were under stillconsideration at the time of this report.The Disciplinary Committee considered three cases of complaint, one of which was brought forward from the previous year. The cases ofcomplaint were still under consideration.international relationsOperating in a global environment, it is crucial that the Institute maintains active relationships with the international accountingorganisations and fellow professional bodies around the world. It is also important that the Institute keep abreast of significantinternational development in accounting, auditing, education and other professional standards.The Institute continues to contribute and support the work of IFAC.We have actively promulgated convergence with internationalauditing standards issued by the International Auditing andAssurance Standards Board (IAASB) of IFAC. The Institutecontinued to review and provide feedback on exposure drafts anddiscussion documents issued by the IAASB of IFAC.During the year, the Institute visited the Institute of CharteredAccountants in Australia. The visit provides an opportunity for theexchange of information on the latest developments in theprofession and sharing of information on the conduct ofexamination.The delegations from The Accountant and Appraiser SupervisoryCenter of the Ministry of Finance, Republic of Indonesia has visitedthe Institute during the year. The visit provides an opportunity forthe Institute to share with the delegations the Institute’s processesin regulating and monitoring members.During the year, representatives from The World Bank has alsovisited the Institute. The Institute has shared with therepresentatives the Institute’s roles and responsibility in theMalaysia’s accounting and auditing professions to facilitate them inthe preparation of the Report on the Observance of Standards andCodes (ROSC) for Malaysia that focuses on accounting and auditing.The Institute has also received a number of visitors fromprofessional bodies. These include the President of the Institute ofChartered Accountants in Australia, the President of The Institute ofChartered Accountants in England and Wales, and the delegationsfrom the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India.In September 2011, the Executive Director of the Institute wasnominated by the Ministry of International Trade and IndustryMalaysia (MITI) to participate in the Asia-Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC) Accounting Services Initiative Workshop inSan Francisco. The Workshop was held with the aim of drafting anon-binding guidelines for the regulation of foreign accountancyprofessionals.The Institute maintains on-going professional relationships withfellow professional bodies around the world to keep abreast ofsignificant national developments in the profession and to share andexchange technical resources.registered studentsThere has been an increase in student enrolment during the year. A total of 159 new students were admitted showing a significant increaseof 65% compared to the previous year. The new intake comprised predominantly accounting graduates from local universities andAustralian universities. After taking into account 90 students who were excluded from the register of students for non-payment of annualfees, 29 students who terminated their registration and 25 students who were admitted as members or provisional members, the totalnumber of students stood at 510 on December 31, 2011.It was reported last year that the Institute has introduced Students Sponsorship Programme (MICPA-SSP) in February 2011. MICPA-SSPhas attracted an encouraging number of final year accountancy students from local universities with good academic records to enroll inthe revised MICPA programme. This was evidenced from the new student intake whereby 55% of the new recruits were students in thefinal year of the Bachelor of Accountancy degree.training schemesThe Institute provides for the two streams of training.Stream I is the traditional route of training where a student worksin the office of a CPA in public practice under a training contract,and sits for the CPA examination at the same time. This stream oftraining is targeted at students who plan to build a career in publicaccounting practice.Stream II is designed for students who wish to seek a career incommerce, industry or public sector. The students are notrequired to enter into a training contract but must maintain atraining log book as a record of their practical experience, whichmust be obtained in an approved training organisation (ATO)under the supervision of a member of the Institute or one of theprofessional bodies approved by the Institute. The students mayundertake the CPA examination prior to the commencement ofpractical training or during the training period.The Institute also provides for a special stream of registration forstudents in the final year programme of an approved degree inaccountancy who wish to enroll for the Taxation module and theFinancial Accounting and Reporting module in the Advanced StageExamination.As at December 31, 2011, a total of 275 students were registeredunder Stream I, 33 students under Stream II and 202 studentsunder Special Stream II. There are over 480 firms and 78 ATOsproviding CPA training under Stream I and Stream II respectively.