By Thomas Sim, 21July 2004
This article is written after the inspiring lecture by Mr Paul Chan Wan Siew FCIS (Immediate Past President of MAICSA) on 17th July, 2004 at Merdeka Palace, Kuching. It was later published in MAICSA Magazine of the same year.
EVOLUTION OF ICSA PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMME
I came to know about ICSA from TAR College, although I was then an undergraduate of UKM. It was during my time that many unfortunate students of Chinese ethnic origin were turned away from state run tertiary institutions because of various reasons sensitive to discuss here. Many of them had to turn to TAR College and take up professional programmes like ICSA, ACCA and CIMA at the first-degree level. Thanks to the British Educational System, the less fortunate had a chance of becoming the best and earned good names in the society.
This could have become history. These programmes have become postgraduate degrees overseas (equivalent to Masters in UK) and locally. Probably the single most distinctive reason is that these examinations are difficult to pass for an average person. However, in our local setting, many still take them as inferior to MBA as there is the 'M' in the Money to run these MBA programmes. My views on MBAs can be obtained from my website http://justletak.blogspot.com.
It is both sad and disappointing to see that the educators and students prefer an easier and more general route to education rather than the emphasis of specialisation and focus. There is even a wrong perception that ICSA is for the female gender and appeal to them as somewhat easier to pass than ACCA or CIMA. Mass-production is the market trend now. However, I strongly believe competition will make differentiation prevail in the future.
Is MAICSA heading to this post-grad direction is an interesting question to ask both from the aspect of academics and economics of survival. However, over and above, we definitely need a re-positioning of ICSA.
FEATURES OF ICSA
ICSA happens to be a very focus professional programme at the same time being broad in its content. It is like a notebook computer that is required to be small despite being powerful to do many things. Although I now study ACCA for the depth of Accounting, I studied ICSA earlier because it is better structured than MBA (being broad spectrum) and professionally focused to practice Corporate Law and Corporate Secretarialship. Besides, ICSA is of high international standard and very affordable as fees are paid in Ringgit Malaysia.
This is the situation with ICSA. Many of our youngsters now take up general business degree for ease of passing rather than the purpose of acquiring knowledge. Universities and colleges from Australia, New Zealand, US and UK are promoting their twining programmes like wild fires and their message is 'flexible and achievable' for the sack of that piece of paper. These people want to be accountants, engineers, doctors or lawyers from a reputable university, best be there for convocation too. Company Secretary to them is not a profession and lesser as a career. Neither have they heard of the title 'Chartered Secretary' nor do their parents. They don't know what knowledge education is all about.
THE 'CHICKEN OR EGG' ISSUE
The reason of decreasing students taking up ICSA and the graduates' career opportunities can be viewed as a 'Chicken or Egg' issue. More qualified members for MAICSA would enhance popularity of the profession. However, the potential job opportunity for graduates is the discouraging factor when they enter the job market. ICSA can be an 'exclusive' qualification for company secretarial practice with the focus and in-depth training of Chartered Secretarialship. On the other hand, it could mean the job opportunity is restricted to the numbers of PLCs in Malaysia as Group Company Secretary alone.
That could be the reason many choose not to study ICSA. They rather do ACCA, CIMA or any Bachelors Degree with 60% in Accounting and later qualify as Accountant through MIA qualifying examination (MIA QE). Then on, they can have wider scope of career choices as Accountant, Auditor, Company Secretary or Tax Consultant. No matter how we rate ourselves as the specialised breed, the public and the employer view the profession as lack of flexibility. In short, it is so little you could do with ICSA.
The qualification (Chicken) or the employment/clients (Egg) are two interrelated yet distinctly different variables. We need the rightful qualification to carry out the specialised function but employers/clients need to exist to provide that business platform. Without the employers/clients, Chartered Secretaries are jobless and this is a universal rule to all professions. Thus, the recognition of ICSA should be employer driven.
Have we got a good relationship with key employers in the country? Do we have solid networks of employers to train our young graduates and provide the career advancement? The recent introduction of MAICSA Internship Programme has breathed new life into the training of Chartered Secretaries. It is long due for implementation.
REPACKAGING OF ICSA
With the able leadership of the council members and the guidance of the past-presidents, I have great confidence that MAICSA is able to overcome the issue of shortage of students.
May be it is time now ICSA should repackage its niche area of expertise rather than trying to be broad and focus at the same time. From the functional point of view, Company Secretary, Tax Agent and Compliance Officer may not be enough to attract the students because they could study any other degree or Professional Programmes to get through MIA or MIA QE to fulfil the statutory requirements.
MAICSA may have to offer post-qualifying subjects of current interest like Human Resource Management, Information Technology Management or Advanced Corporate Governance and Business Ethics to allow current members or graduates to obtain a Masters in their related fields of expertise. For those who choose to pursue further into professional accounting, MAICSA could probably provide a bridging programme for the MIA QE to cater for the aspiring accountant-to-be.
For the postgraduate level, the collaboration of MAICSA with UUM to award Masters in Corporate Governance is a step towards this. Cost advantage should be the driving factor to encourage potential candidates to choose ICSA rather than the expensive MBAs.
Another part of the niche is the Continual Professional Development (CPD). A member or graduate should be encouraged to take up institute's final papers and be awarded individual certificate as post-grad certificates. These certificates could serve as proof of competence and excellence in the intended field of practice and future election to Fellowship. ICSA (UK) is currently offering the Corporate Governance paper to all EU members and graduates of the institute. May be the same can be done in Malaysia.
A step further in enhancing 'flexibility' is through working with UK universities via an e-learning portal at the Masters and Doctoral level. Local synergy could be established with Multi-Media University (MMU) for example, to provide post-qualifying diploma or masters in management and ICT. This is partly a benchmarking process that could enhance the recognition of ICSA in the local arena.
RE-THINKING 'PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION'
ICSA is both broad and in-depth. But, can we afford to be diluted in broad skills? Is there a need to subdivide the skills into Chartered Secretaries and Chartered Administrators? The world is moving into self and voluntary-governance rather than imposed-governance partly in order to reduce the cost of doing business. From Mr Paul W Chan's lecture, be reminded that we are going to be done away with in private limited enterprises in the very near future.
Survival based on 'prescribed body' is no more enough for job security or career advancement. Of late, it is definitely not the income driver anymore. This phenomenon has happen in all other professions, be it medicine, law, accountancy or engineering. The mentality of relying on such 'unfair advantage' of 'I can do and you can't' is obsolete in this competitive market. It has become mere 'stamping clerk' rather than anything professional.
It is necessary to re-think the profession as Chartered Secretary. Are we 'Chartered Secretaries' by mere provision of the 'Prescribed Bodies'? Or do we have more to offer in the name of the Chartered Secretaries Malaysia?
SECRETARY BIRD
The role of a secretary is taken as performing duties at the background while her boss takes all the credit of her work. This is the perception of 'secretary' to the majority of our public. Have you heard of 'a beautiful pot of flower' as a symbolic of the secretary? People think that a secretary is brainless, as she has to be told what to do by her boss.
There again, the famous law says 'never outshine your master' makes the job even harder for a secretary. Many a time, she is underpaid and overworked and occasionally having to play the role of scapegoat to her master when they make stupid mistakes.
Are we what the above scenario depicts? How I hope that the 'Bird' part would make it more forceful and assertive than merely just a 'hardworking quiet pot of flower'. Of course, we don't mind keeping the 'beautiful flower' part of the symbolism.
Having said that, apart from building our core competence in Chartered Secretarialship, we need to improve our interpersonal skills, leadership skills and language competencies in order to out shine others in the same business.
Only then we can be associated with the 'beautiful flower'.
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