The air of the new environment

Assalamualaikum and hi everyone.

Welcome back to my channel – My Crystal.

Some of you were asking me about my condition to my new workplace, hence this is my detailed reply. Peace.. (“)(^_^)(“)

 

 How are you?

I am good Alhamdulillah. Emotionally and physically.

I am so happy.. Reason being is of course, number one is I can go home earlier as compared to the time when I was an auditor. I can cook every day. Yeay!. It is not because I had to cook, but because I want to cook. See the differences. My husband always advices me that if I am exhausted, he doesn’t mind eating outside. But for me, cooking is like a therapy. I am enjoying the process and preparing good food. Even though it’s just two of us. So yeah..

The distances of my current workplace to my home is just around 15 to 20 minutes. I am actually taking my sweet time during the ‘back home’ journey it is really near. I am extremely grateful. Alhamdulillah.

There was this one time that I went back home around 8.30pm at the office and my colleagues said that it is too late. I am like are you freaking serious?? Haha. My normal time to go home is around 5.30pm to 6.30pm. At least my target is I can perform Maghrib prayer at home. But I admit during the closing period, I will need to stay longer but the cut off is like 10pm. So having the peak vibes once in a while makes me even more grateful with my current job. And it’s just two days in a month.. Alhamdulillah.

The stress levels are very much tolerable and manageable. I need to handle ad hoc matter for the company but seriously it is not difficult, at all. (Maybe because my benchmark is the audit life, so this one will be very much easier).

Frankly speaking, transitioning from being an auditor to an accountant is not an easy process. There are a lot of systems that I need to master within a short time of period. System to post journal, system to pull full set of accounting report, system to attach the supporting document, training database and etc. You name it.  

Alhamdulillah, I have been blessed with a lot of helpful and nicest colleagues ever. They are willing to accept me joining the finance team and guiding me during my transition.

And I believe my excel skills actually expedite my learning and working process too. Well there are just simple excel formulae like ‘VLOOKUP’ , ‘PIVOT’, ‘SUMIF’, ‘SUBTOTAL9’, but these formulae are very important to get things done. I am glad that the excel tricks will still be useful and beneficial to my current post.

What is your current job scope?

I am a local tax person for the company. I need to deal with all different types of taxes that my company had to adhere and comply with. I handle tax expenses, deferred taxes, withholding taxes, transfer pricing as well as sales and service taxes.

 

I am a rule based person. I love taxes very much. I like knowing all the rules related to taxes, whether it is deductible or not, whether it is claimable as qualifying expenditures or not and what is the tax planning so that we can be in compliance with taxes rules but at the same time with paying lesser pay to the tax authority. This is what we called tax avoidance – which means avoiding the tax but by adhering to the laws. You really need to be good with the tax standards.

 

I noticed my love for taxes has been growing ever since I took ACCA papers (F6- Malaysian Taxation and P6- Advanced Taxation). Then the love continue grows when I have been promoted to Senior back then during my audit life where I was in charge mostly for complex sections like reviewing inventory and tax. Again, tax is like becoming so important and huge in my life.

I am also will be the key person that my superior will refer to for any accounting updates. I believe being ACCA member is not adequate to become a top notch chartered accountant. I need to keep up with latest accounting updates and not being adamant for the change. Change is inevitable and if I am not being updated with the changes, I might be left behind. Right?

 

Do I missed my former firm? 

Yes and No.

Yes, I missed the office building. I missed waiting the KTM and complaining about it (lol). I missed standing inside the KTM for one hour and a half when I got no seat in KTM. I missed the hustle and bustle in KL Sentral as well as Nu Sentral. I missed walking to the office. I missed lunch at Bank Rakyat (haha). I missed doing audit. I missed literally everything. Working in Big 4 for four solid years is no joke and how funny I am to tell myself and to tell you that I missed them.

 

Don’t forget the No.

No, I don’t miss the heavy workload. I don’t miss the crazy deadline. I don’t miss peak period. I don’t miss the nasty clients. I don’t miss staying back at client’s place. I don’t miss working on weekend every day. I don’t miss the need to continue working when I reach home.

Some people, when they resigned from the big firm. They don’t actually know what they want in life. They opted to join commercial and later on, they will be joining the firm again. Reason being is because they are passionate with audit but the passion in them has been blurred with the intolerable stress that they faced every day. Then when they are being less challenged, they are kind of missing the hectic life that they had before.  

There are a lot of things going on in my life and my ultimate goal is to find my inner peace. Meaning that I want my prayer to be more focused and not being with distracted with working thingy. If you got what I mean.

So I guess that’s about it.  

Talk to yourself and know what you want in life.

Find His blessings in every step that you take in life.
And that is all that matters.

 

Until then,
Bye bye and have a nice day ahead!

 

p/s: have you smile and say selawat today?

@)----------------------------------------------------

 

Q&A #1 : Working in a big 4 and studying ACCA

Assalamualaikum and hi everyone.

It has been 4 years plus since I last updated my blog on last May 2014.

The main reason behind my long absence are because I have been working with audit firm for 4 years (Dec 2014 to Nov 2018) and pursuing ACCA part time. These working and studying part time thingy has really made me so occupied that I don’t have time to update my blog (read : My Crystal).

I have been receiving quite a number of questions from my dear friends related to working as well as study experience. Hence, I believe it’s good to start my comeback with the Q&A session as my writing skill has been quite rusty. I will copy the exact questions raised by them.

And I will separate my blog update into 2 sections ie. (1) work related and (2) study experience.

WORK

1. Kak.. standard ke keje audit ni balik sampai 5-6 pagi?

Not standard. But sometimes, we have to.

I have once not going back home at all because my associate decides to stay back at client’s place.

Reason being is because of crazy deadline that we have to adhere.

To be frank, I don’t like to stay late at office or at client’s place. There are a few times that I fell asleep while driving and it is really dangerous. I got few cars and lorries honking at me, and thank God I am awake because of that. To die because of working late is really not worth it.

So, to solve ‘the need’ to stay and work very late, I am a kind of a problem solver instead of complainer. I admit, sometimes we need to do the sacrifice and work late to get the job done on time. But if we can manage it earlier, it will be better.

I plan my time every single day. I will list down all of my task and numbering them based on the priority. It’s feel very therapeutic for me to cross out the task one by one. So, at the end of the day, I know that I have accomplished something.

I take the initiative to know the deadlines and I will work back ward. So, at least if something went wrong, I knew that I have done my best. Most of the people have certain KPI to achieve for their bonus and promotion, I on the other hand have expectation on myself. I need to get the job done to satisfy myself and to prove myself that I actually can do it.   

In some normal days, that we are not really rushing, I actually went back at 5.30pm or 6pm. If I got something to do, I set a target and I will limit myself to go home after Maghrib prayer.

 So yeah, at the end of the day, time management is really important to complete the job and to manage the expectations.

2. Tirah. Tak nak tanya pasal ACCA/audit firm. Nak tanya, kenapa quit Big 4?

Good question.

Not many of you know that I am actually bonded with the audit firm for 4 years and I need to complete my ACCA studies within that 4 years timeframe. I have been sponsored by Yayasan Peneraju for ACCA study and Alhamdulillah I managed to complete my ACCA within 3.5 years working in audit firm. I have become ACCA member before I left the firm, again, Alhamdulillah.

My target

Actually, to be a chartered accountant, you only need 3 years relevant experience in accounting field. Either you are working in accounting, tax or finance line. So for me, my target is only to complete the bond and working in the big 4 for 4 years only as per stated in the agreement. Nothing more and nothing less. See, I have been working extra 1 year to be a CA. And having said that, when I finished the fight that I have started, it is really a personal achievement for me.

Working in international company is not easy. You have a lot of expectations to manage. Your bosses, your managers, your associates, your clients and even to yourself. Then you have a lot of deadlines to follow. In addition, your career progression is really based on your performance. It is not like commercial environment where you need to wait for a vacant position, only then you can move up.

It is a good place to climb the corporate ladder but proofing yourself that you deserve the promotion is a different story. We need to be able to show that we have leadership skills, adequate accounting and auditing knowledge to be able to lead the audit team.

I have one friend that cannot stand the audit culture and left after a month joining the company.

At the same time, I have a friend that have joined the big firm for 10 years and still staying in the auditing line because she knows what she is doing and she is passionate about it.

So yeah, that’s it depends on what do you want in life.

Location

Another thing is because of the location. My former employee is based at the heart of the KL city center. During the first 2 years working as a single lady, I stayed with my parent in Rawang. Then the next 2 years, I moved to Seremban after married.

Hence, do imagine that I have been travelling quite far every day. The distance of Rawang to KL is around 45 minutes to 1 hour and the distance of Seremban to KL is 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the traffic. It is really tiring to travel and by the time I reach my office or my client’s place, I am really exhausted and I lost a lot of energy being stuck in the traffic jam and the long haul journey.

Priority change

Another main reason is because when I got married, priority changed.

I love my family more than my work (even though I love audit).

Fullstop.
 

ACCA

3. Kak, apa first thing first perlu buat untuk sambung ACCA, nak sambung tapi tak tahu nak start mana dulu.. apply scholars ke? sebab rasa macam tak boleh kalau tanggung sendiri..

4. Athirah.. kita kerja account sekarang. Small medium company.. nak tanya, untuk ambil ACCA, apa persediaan dan medium (sponsorship) dan apa pula selepas itu?

Okay, I will combine question 3 and 4 as they are quite similar.

There are a lot of universities and institutions in Malaysia that you can study and sit for ACCA exam. For this matter, I believe you need to search and google it yourself. I only knew few institutions like Sunway University and UiTM Shah Alam.


Then for the scholarship also you need to do your own research ya. Nowadays, there are a lot of scholarship being offered for us to do professional paper like Yayasan Peneraju and MyPAC. There are also other organization offering the scholarship.

So what I suggest you to do is to search for the college nearby to your place and call them to ask about the scholarship.

You also can also read my previous post in relation to why we want to be a chartered accountant and the programs offered by Yayasan Peneraju.

è Sharing on accountacy expo

     If we have become ACCA member, so what’s next?

Actually I took ACCA just to check whether it is really tough and difficult like most of the people said. But now I took it, yes I can confirm that it is difficult but it is doable. I also took it because of the knowledge. The depth of the knowledge that it offers really helps me to become a better accountant in term of the theory and the application.

If let say you want to stay at your current company, it is okay because you will see that ACCA really helps you to understand further on what you are doing right now.

And if you decide to leave the company, it is also okay because by having the professional certificate, you are very demanded by the market. You also can bargain a higher salary and position in the industry.

So you need to see this professional paper as a stepping stone for your long term investment in your career. It is really worth it.

5. How to pass if I have failed many times?

Erm.. I don’t think I am in a right position to answer this. Because Alhamdulillah, I managed to pass all of ACCA papers in my first attempt. I need to do 7 papers by the way.  

But since you asked, I will share what I know and hopefully this can help you to regain your confidence in passing the paper.

Each of us has different method in studying. There are 5 types of people when it comes to study method, 1) Reading, 2) Writing 3) Talking 4) Hearing and 5) Imagination.

-Some people prefer to read and they will understand and remember fast.
-Some people prefer to write their own notes and re-write to remember them.

-Some people prefer to explain the knowledge to other people.

-Some people prefer to listen than doing the talking.

-And lastly, some people prefer to see picture and draw the mind map to simplify the chapter and easy to remember.

So check what kind of person are you?

What I know is, if we combine all of this method, our memory will be strengthen and we can understand and remember better.

For me, I do my own notes. I re-write them.

I explain each chapters to my friends, sibling or even to my husband in my own words.

I do all pass year questions twice.

Whenever I face roadblock, I will quickly reach my lecturer to ask about my uncertainty about the topic that we have learnt.

But the most important thing, I will ask my parent to pray and make doa for me. I believe my success today is not merely coming from my own effort, but it also comes from all the doa of the people around me. Alhamdulillah.

You also need to be responsible to uplift the motivation of yourself. I can say anything and a loooot of things but at the end of the day, you decide what you feel and most importantly if you fail now, so what’s next move?

Do you decide to give up?

Or do you decide to give it another go and give your best shot again?

 Fall 7 times, wake up again 8.

I understand you may feel dry and boring to study the same thing.

But take this opportunity to unlearn and relearn.

If you come into a class with a full of glass, you won’t learn anything because you refuse to.

But if you reset your mind and renew your intention, you need to throw the water in your glass now and be humble to relearn and fill up the glass again.

 Like my life motto – nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

The one sitting in the middle between you and passing the paper is actually yourself. You can do this, sooner or later. Just trust yourself, study hard and insha Allah you will pass the paper. Okay?

6. Satu paper ACCA takes how long period?

Before this, there are only 2 exam sittings which are in June and December. Then starting what year I can’t recall, there are 4 exam sittings which are in March, June, September and December.

Previously, when I studied in Sunway University, we are only allowed to take our new paper in June and December and the re-sit paper can be taken on all 4 exam sittings period.

When you ask the question of how long an ACCA paper can be taken, well what can I say is the pace of passing ACCA is different from one person to another person.

Let’s say you are coming from public university, out of 13 papers, you got 9 exemption of the papers. Hence, the remaining 4 papers is the one that you need to sit for.

Let say, you want to do 2 papers in 1 sitting, you can actually complete the 4 papers in a year. 2 papers in June and 2 papers in December. This is doable if you are actually studying full time.

But if you ask me, I would prefer to take only 1 paper in one sitting. Reason being is because the paper itself is very heavy, comprised of a lot of chapters and I am doing it part time. Instead of being rushing to complete it fast and having the risk of failing both papers, I will choose the safer road and focus on 1 paper only at 1 sitting.

FYI, nowadays we have the 7 years rule where you need to complete the ACCA paper once you started it within 7 years time. So yeah, run your own race in your own pace.

Okay, I think that’s all for now.

I apologise if I am not really answering questions raised by you guys, but I do hope that this post can help you to understand a little bit better about working in big 4 and studying ACCA. Do note that this is my personal view only.

If you have anymore questions, feel free to reach me by any means.

Thank you.

Till then.

Assalamualaikum =)

 

Sharing on Accountacy Expo

Assalamualaikum and good night everyone!

It is such a pleasure to be able to write after 2 months getting busy with the task and case given since most of the audit firms are having peak period currently. Alhamdulillah, I have just attended one amazing event namely Accountancy Expo that was held in Sunway College and organised by Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera.

Before I am going to explain further about the fantastic event, it's better for you to understand how this Yayasan functions.

Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera is an initiative under the 'Hala Tuju Ekonomi Bumiputera' launched through TERAJU under the Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister's Office that focuses on the strengthening of Bumiputera's capacity building. The objectives include increasing the quality, quantity and relevance of Bumiputera talents in line with the Government's effort to lead Malaysia to a high income nation status through academic and vocational education. Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera's task is to ensure that the capabilities and expertise of the Bumiputera will continue to develop competitively at the global level through quality education.

In short word, Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera is focusing on helping the bumiputera to up-skill their talents by giving scholarship for the professional certificates to the interested bumiputera.

Wait a second !!! I am sure you are getting puzzle and this kind of question come into your mind "Why on earth should you take the professional certificates? "

I tell you what, currently holding degree in accounting is not enough. We already have thousands of accounting graduates every year. Not to mention graduates from overseas. So, what makes you different ? . This is where professional certificates come in, it serves as added value for you and makes you different, distinct and unique from other candidates. This is what the most of the employers are seeking right now.

But i have to inform you upfront, taking the professional certificate is difficult. It's much way different from sitting examination back in university. People just don't give you a damn question like how much your CGPA, instead they will ask you 'did you pass the papers'? Focus on the word 'PASS', but if you are able to go beyond than just 'PASS', then go ahead ! I would be delighted to do the same.

Yes, it is difficult, but it is not impossible. Just have a look around you, those who are the successful people were used to be charted accountants and having professional certificates.

1. Dato' Seri Abdul Wahid Omar - former Chief Executive Officer for Malayan Banking Berhad (Maybank) who is recently appointed as Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Financial Affairs. Prior to his ministerial appointment, Abdul Wahid served as the CEO of Maybank. After the Malaysia's General Election 2013, he was appointed as one of the Ministers in the Prime Ministers department as he was appointed as a senator by the Prime Minister.

He serves as a Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), United Kingdom and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants.

2. Tan Sri Anthony Francis "Tony" Fernandes, CBE is a Malaysian-British entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune AirSdn. Bhd., who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline "Now everyone can fly". Fernandes managed to turn AirAsia, a failing government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful budget airline public-listed company. He has since founded the Tune Group of companies.

Tony was admitted as Associate Member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in 1991 and became Fellow Member in 1996. He is currently a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
To name the successful person is just a few, you can go dig in for your self by using the various sources. By the way, back to our business, let me explain the difference between professional accountants with chartered accountants.

Chartered Accountant : If you are having relevant working experience for at least 3 years in the field of taxation, audit or finance - you can apply becoming member of MIA and be a chartered accountant. You can officially put CA after your name.

For instances - Nurul Athirah Mohd Sobri, CA. [THIS IS MARKETABLE]

Professional Accountant :  Accountant who manage to complete the professional certs ( i.e ACCA, ICAEW, MICPA or CPA Australia) and are having 3 years working experience and more.

For instances - Nurul Athirah Mohd Sobri, CA, ICAEW [THIS IS MUCH MORE MARKETABLE]

Which one is desirable? Which one is more demanded ?
Answer : I know you understand. So, you answer it okay? :)

So let move on to how can you getting the fund for the professional certificates since the fees, examination, classes quite expensive. Below are the options or paths that you can take to bring you to your destination and what you want to be :

1. Use your saving. Working while study part time. But i find this method is not very practical since it's quite expensive and getting financial aids are much more helpful, unless you are a daughter of a rich man. No offense, seriously.

2. Working with a firm that offer the scholarship for the professional certificates. As far as I am concerned, all the big 5 namely Pricewaterhousecoopers, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, KPMG and BDO are sponsoring for the professional certs like ACCA, ICAEW, MICPA and CPA (Australia). I am also noted that medium audit firm like KHR and AFTAAS are also sponsoring their employees to up-skill their talent by taken the professional certs. But you have to understand, nothing is free in this world. There must be give and take and as the firms are sponsoring you, you will have to get bonded with the firm for 3 to 4 years depend on the contract and agreement with the firm.

3. Good news for the BUMIPUTERAs !! Currently, Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera is seeking for 200 bumiputera candidates that are interested in pursuing professional certs, Yayasan is offering you a SCHOLARSHIP !!  Well, actually it's kind of loan where you have to payback 20% of the total fees of classes and examination. But, if you are able to succeed and pass all papers in just one sitting, they could consider to transform your loan into full sponsorship. All you need to do is burn the desire, boost your motivation up and work hard for the better future.

Currently, there are two offers by Yayasan at the moment. I will explain to you each of the program thoroughly so you can see the whole pictures, okay ? :)

i - Peneraju Professional - Pensijilan Perakaunan (PPPP)

see the tab 'application opens'? click there, fill the form online if you are interested. 

what you have to understand about PPPP is :

1. It is designed for those who interested to sit for the professional certs but still want to remain working at the current company.

2. You can choose any professional certs that caught your attention and interest whether ACCA, ICAEW, MICPA or CPA (Australia).

What differences between those certs? (I guess you should do the research by your own because if i am going to write it, it would be another post). But one thing for sure, those professional certs will give you an added value and for the better future =)

3. Yayasan will give you sponsorship but it's not that easy. You have to fill the online application, go through interview and some assessment and then you can be one of the scholars. Sounds quite different but it's worth trying huh?

4. The application closing date for PPPP is 31 May 2014.

ii - Peneraju Profesional Akauntan (PPA) 

the deal with PPA is :

1. It is a very good start for the freshie to get into this kind of program. The big difference between PPPP with PPA is by choosing PPA, you have to resign from your company if you are working. You will have 2 months bridging program in Sunway College that prepares you to enter the real world.

2. The best thing is you will get the placement in BIG 5. Which one, i don't know, but you can inform them during the interview about your preference of the audit firms. As for me, they just the same but being able to work in big 5 will turns you into a shining star that most of the employer are seeking to.

3. You will be bonded with big 5 for four years and during that period, you have to complete your professional certs part time. The fact that you have to understand is you have to work on weekdays and spend your weekends attending the classes.

4. Under PPA, you will have a team. You will get a mentor. They also will be part of your support system where you could share your feeling and how to cope with work life pressure and studying at the same time. So, you just get to learn and know that you are not alone facing the problems since you got friends that face the same prob as you do. Just embrace it and move on !

5. How can I put this into word? Being able to work for one of the Big 5, completing the professional certificates, being able to be professional accountant, sitting the professional certs by using scholarship by Yayasan, where else can you find this opportunity? . Note to remember, there are only 8% of professional accountant of bumiputera and you can find it is very scarce for having bumiputera working for the BIG 5.

6. No pain no gain. Trust me, after you get yourself it brings you to another level, you can just achieve beyond your imagination and it is very rewarding.

7. The application closing date is 16 May 2014 (you just got few days left, dude!)

----------

Lastly, i just want you not to narrow your vision that sitting for professional certs would only turn you to be an accountant or auditor that stuck with piles of working papers. You always have options for what do you want to do with your life and as professional certs holder - you can have 3 choices for your pathways.

1. Specialist . (Accountant, Auditor, CFO)

2. Management. (CEO, COO)

3. Entreprenuership

So, to keep updated with Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera info and offers,

like their Facebook 

and

visit their Homepage to fill up the online application if you are interested to be part of PPPP or PPA

Lastly,

Be focus, know what you want !!

Impossibility is never impossible

Run the Marathon !!  

Hope you get something beneficial from this post since my writing skill is kind of rusty due to long gap of updating My Crystal. Sorry for that. My bad.

That's all from me. Enough said.

Hands down. Keep smiling. Stay cool and be the best !


Till we meet again
May Allah Bless You.

-1113 : 100514 -

Risk Taker (Part 2)

Assalamualaikum w.b.t

How are you guys? It has been such a looooooooooooong time since my last update on my cystal. heh.
quite busy then.

1. How's practical ? COOL.. haha..
as for your information, now i have become one of audit trainee in a medium audit firm. There a a lot of things that i will learn everyday and i really meant it...  A LOT.. but, it's okay though.. we should realize that working in a workplace are much way too different from university and campus environment.

I got a lot of friends, my colleagues are very friendly and the seniors are kind of sporting too.. Most of them are about my age, so it's easy to communicate with, rather than somebody older.

2. As an accounting student, I would suggest the accounting students to have their practical training in a big or medium audit firm instead of any other type of firm or jump into industries. Why ? To audit an account, you need to know the whole process of making the account. So, audit firm is very good place to apply most of knowledge that you learnt in university. However, bear in mind that working is DIFFERENT from studying. you have to catch up faster and to feel that you have commitment with the work.

Frankly speaking, being an auditor is a tough job. That's why there are shortage of auditors in Malaysia. So, grab the challenge, seek for professional certificates like ACCA, ICAEW, CPA, FCCA or any other professional exam to adds on your value in the market.


3. For these 2 weeks, I got a lot of hikmahs.

3.1  Always have faith with Allah.

Some of you know that I am having my industrial training in the heart of the country, i.e Kuala Lumpur. I met a lot of people, that comes from different background, life experience, religion, age and paradigm. Sometimes, well most of the time, deep in my heart I felt really scared to survive in this big city. Even though I was born in KL literally, but spending 5 years in boarding school, 4 years in university put me away from the hectic and dizziness of the city.

Since I lived in Rawang, i have to take KTM to reach my workplace and usually I will take KTM at 7am since the journey to KL is about 45 mins. I have to be punctual since I have the responsibility, remember? ..

My working hour ends at 6pm but usually I will left my office at 6.30pm, reaching KTM Rawang at 8.30pm and home at 9pm. The parking space at KTM is really scaryyyyyyy, there are a lot of dogs. Whenever I saw them, I feel like want to scream or cry, my body shiver, my heart keep beating faster than usual and my lip non-stop reciting selawat with the hope that the dogs will never sees me or abandoned me. I can't walk faster, since I am afraid.. I can't run, because the dogs may be chasing me.. so, I walk slowly to my car and feel so relieved that Allah saved me from the dogs and keeps my heart calm in such a dangerous situation. Can you imagine facing those situations everyday?  :'(

It's such a relieve that Allah never leave me alone. =)

3.2 Be considerate

Taking public transport like KTM as a transport, meeting a lot of passengers makes me realize and teach me who I want to be.

One day, I enter the KTM with the hope that I got a seat since standing 45 minutes will be really tiring. It's such a long way to go.. However, my heart burst when I saw two seats that full with bags of the other passengers. It's really annoyed me. Be considerate people ! the seats are for the passengers to sit, put your bags on your lap or on the floor. Okay?

Oh, one more things. Please be considerate for old man/woman, pregnant woman, blind person and the OKUs.

3.3 The calmness, tranquality, serenity lies in your heart, not in the place.

Being an auditor, getting busy with the working papers and all those works related to audit, sometimes i miss my free time. (well most of the time actually). So, I learn that time management is very important.

In a hectic place, you can still be calm and feel calmness. As the calm lies in your heart, do things that will relax and bring peace to your inner heart. My own initiative is to read Quran whenever I got the chance. Brings the sacred books, Quran and the beneficial books anywhere I go. Just manage the time wisely.

I believe that everyday is a brand new day. And everyday is a learning process. A continues one.
طلب العلم من المهد إلى اللهد - tuntutlah ilmu dari buaian hingga liang lahad.



That's all from me. Till the next sharing session.

Have a barakah day everyone!

Assalamualaikum ^_^

Risk Taker (Part 1)

Assalamualaikum and a very good morning..

It has been quiet a long time that I did not update anything. kind of busy with student's life, i guess.

by they way, i just want to let you know that currently i am a forth year student of accounting. so this is my final year and on the early February next year, we will be having our industrial training where it is compulsory for accounting students to have 6 months training while students from another courses just to make it within 4 to 5 months.

i just want to share my experience where at first, i am having dilemma about where should i go for my industrial training. Is it big 4 company ? EY? KPMG? Deloitte? or even PWc?
or should i seek opportunity from  small or middle audit firm ?.. I AM REALLY IN DILEMMA.. uhuh T_T

after all, i tried to go for big 4 where i have to fill up all the documents in the forms given via online in their websites, and i have to scan all my certificates. at last, i end up not submitting all the required information and try to find for other opportunities. (don't be like me, if you really want to go for big 4, then just follow all the requirements and procedures, okayy?) when there is a will, there is a way!

i also try to apply at Bursa Malaysia where it also urges me to fill up the form online..
i guess, i am a little bit lazy.. aigoo =_='

i still do not stop. i keep on searching for any other audit firms in Google where it brings me to a website that has listed all the top 10 audit firm in Malaysia. Instead of Big 4, there are other 6 audit firm that is very well known in Malaysia.

Just to give you a clear picture, this is what i have found :

***

Deloitte

Also part of the Big Four auditing firms is Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, more commonly known as Deloitte. As the second largest professional services network in the work, Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, enterprise risk and financial advisory services. The firm employs some 182,000 employees that are spread across 150 countries. Deloitte KassimChan and its affiliates provide these services in Malaysia and is part of Deloitte Southeast Asia Ltd.Deloitte Southeast Asia was established to cater to the demands of the increasingly intro-regional and fast growing companies and enterprises.

Ernst & Young

The fourth accounting firm to make the Big Four is Ernst & Young and was founded in the 19th century. Its headquarters is now located in London and has 695 member firms in more than 140 countries across the world. The services it provides include assurance, advisory, tax and transaction advisory

services.

PwC

PwC or PricewaterhouseCoopers as it was previously known is the world’s largest audit and accountancy firm and one of the Big Four auditors. Headquartered in London, PwC spans over 771 cities in 158 countries including Malaysia and boasts a strong body of more than 169,000 people supporting its operations.PwC began its operations in Malaysia (then Malaya) as early as 1900 and since then it has been supporting large MNCs, public sector entities and Malaysian companies by delivering solutions to them through its assurance, tax and advisory services.

KPMG

One of the Big Four auditors, KPMG’s global headquarters is situated in the Netherlands. The audit firm employs some 140,000 people in its member firms scattered across the globe. The Malaysian arm of the KPMG network of firms is KPMG DesaMegat& Co. It was established in 1983 and now has 66 partners and more than 1,600 staff in 10 offices.

BDO

The fifth largest accountancy network in the world, BDO International was founded in 1963 as the Binder Seidman International Group through a convergence of firms form the UK, Netherlands, Germany, the US and Canada. Then in 1973, the abbreviation BDO which stands for Binder DjikerOtte& Co was adopted.Since then, the firm has grown tremendously and now serves clients in 135 countries with almost 48,800 people working out of its 1,118 offices.

Grant Thornton

A global professional services network, Grant Thornton International and its member firms operate in 521 cities in more than 113 countries across the world. Its Malaysian arm SJ Grant Thornton was established in 1974 and has four offices with the main office situated in Kuala Lumpur. Its other offices are situated in Kuantan, Johor Bahru and Penang. It has 13 partners, directors and principals and more than 250 personnel supporting its operations.

Crowe Horwarth International

Crowe Horwarth International was founded in 1907 and is ranked among the top 10 accounting firms in the world providing audit, tax, advisory, risk and performance services. It boasts personnel of 2,500 and has 150 independent accounting and management consulting firms that have offices that are spread out in over 580 offices across the globe.

Baker Tilly MonteiroHeng

Baker Tilly is ranked the eighth largest accountancy and business service network and has 572 offices which employ more than 26,000 staff in 114 countries. An independent member-firm of Baker Tilly International, Baker Tilly MonteiroHeng is Malaysia’s second largest mid-tier accounting firm with local offices in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Melaka, Seremban and BatuPahat as well as a branch office in Cambodia.

Halim & Lee

Halim & Lee was established in 1983 and is a firm of chartered accountants providing accounting, payroll, insolvency, advisory, tax, auditing and corporate services. Situated in Damansara, the firm is helmed by its two partners – Kevin Lee Chew Yam and Hasan bin Husin.

DFK International

DFK International is ranked among the top 10 accounting firms and business advisors and has been offering its services to the public for more than 50 years. DFK has 202 member firms and 308 offices worldwide with its headquarters situated in London. It has a total of 1,179 partners and more than 10,040 staff in its offices across the world. In Malaysia, the independent member of DFK International is Folks DFK & Co.

*****

so, after making some research. I personally has called the other 6 audit firm asking for the method of applying internship whether they prefer by email or by letter.  I also asked about is there any vacancy for internship in the firm.

well, frankly speaking.. at first i am really scared and terrified to call those companies. It feels like an adult while i am still teenager.. heh =_='.. sounds childish then. but at last, i managed to call and be processional while speaking and interacting with the staff via phone call. Now, i know that they are not monsters and they won't eat me if I ask questions. lol

oh.. for your information, in the email, you should attach your cover letter as well as your curriculum vitae (CV).. well, the cv should be compact and precise and 2-3 pages will be enough. If you kind of having a lot of activities and participation that you have involved in university, you can just explain about the most significant contribution and experience that you have. you may be asked further about it during the interview session..

there are some firms or even companies that will be conducting interview to shortlist the applicants for the internship. when you are being called for an interview, it means that your cv has meet the requirement and standards of the companies.

what matters now is that they want to look at you in personal, the way you bring yourself, either you are scared or you are very enthusiasm to join the company? they will look at your communication skills and also may ask you about the general knowledge too. (then, you should start prepare and read a lot from now) reading books is not  a crime, dude! .. you also need to find out about the company is really doing at the moment, so at least it will give you some ideas about the job scope and what you will be doing in the company.

after all the effort that i have done plus the most important thing, the help by Almighty..
finally, i got a phone call by HR officer from a company, who is arranging the interview for me.

(heart beat).

 i don't know how to react actually. it is too sudden.. OMG!!
 ............................

i found this picture after 'googling' my own name. 

ohoi~

i used to be very certain that someday i will end up being a lecturer.

now. not anymore.

i think it is better for me to experience the industrial environment first

i am also have many opportunities to get involved in other field as well like being charted accountants, auditor, tax agent or up to the extent i could be CEO or CFO for a company.

if it still did not suits with me, then i should restructure my plan

further study maybe ? 

OZ ? NZ ? UK? Malaysia??

as man proposes, Allah disposes

manusia merancang, Allah yang menentukan.

segala-galanya ada dalam perancangan Dia.

may Allah ease this path.

bismillah.

to be continued...


credit : http://top10malaysia.com/home/index.php/news-and-events/top-10-accounting-firms 

Giveaways iCeps9 !!

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim..

Assalamualaikum guys and gals !!

This is the first time i join a contest or giveaway in blog and i am excited !! yeay!!

okay.. you might wonder what on earth is iCeps 9 about..
let me tell you.. ahah.. listen listen listen ..
iCeps stands for Islamic Convention of Entrepreneurship .
The number 9 representing our batch that being involve with this project.

Tell you what, from 26 till 29 September 2013, a lot of exciting, exhilarating, enjoyable and fun program await you guys.

I am really welcome all of you to come and gather at Pavillion, Kompleks Sukan Tuanku Najihah, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia..

banyak aktiviti menarik menanti anda.. jom ajak semua ahli keluarga, jiran tetangga, sahabat handai !!

akhir zaman, betapa bahayanya ideologi syiah jika dipasakkan dalam minda ummat, kan merosak aqidah.
pentingnya ilmu dalam membuat penilaian antara yang hak dan yang batil !

berminat dalam bidang fotografi dan videografi? jom timba ilmu dan pengalaman dari yang pakar. :) hooray!

Baru menimang cahaya mata ? Create moment anda bersama si kecil dengan menyertai pertandingan bayi comel !! 

 sayang umi dengan abi !!

Anda berbakat dan kreatif dalam bidang fotografi dan videografi ?
Serlahkan kreativiti anda dengan menyertai pertandingan ini. 
Hadiah lumayan menanti anda.

Wah.. punya suara yang merdu ? ada band anda sendiri? mari kongsikan kelunakan suara anda di atas pentas !!

26 September 2013 (Khamis)
- Gerai jualan berlangsung selama 4 hari
- Pameran dari Agensi Jemputan
- Konvoi Berbasikal sempena pembukaan iCEPS9
- Forum Perdana Mesir: Revolusi atau Rampasan  HIGHLIGHT EVENT !!  8-11pm. 

27 September 2013 (Jumaat)

-PC Fair selama 3 hari
-Bicara Siswi “Muslimah & Kerjaya” 
- Konsert Simfoni Akustik bersama Syria & Gaza (Artis jemputan: Najwa Latif, Sham Kamikaze, UKAYS,  Onesoulz, The Bachelors) HIGHLIGHT EVENT !! 8-11 pm.

28 September 2013 (Sabtu)
- Radio iCEPS9 berkumandang
- Sukaneka Mahasiswa
- Go-Kart.. HIGHLIGHT EVENT
- Spell-It-Right
- Penyampaian Hadiah Bagi Pertandingan Fotografi & Videografi .. HIGHLIGHT EVENT
- Islamic Business Plan Competition 
- Mini zoo (kucing, kuda, burung) HIGHLIGHT EVENT
- Pertandingan Nasyid Terbuka
- Malam Cinta Rasul bersama Habib Syech Assegaf (Ya Hanana)..HIGLIGHT EVENT 8-11pm

29 September 2013 (Ahad)
- Explorace
- Pertandingan Mewarna,,, HIGHLIGHT EVENT
- Program Derma Darah
- Sukan Rakyat
- Pertandingan Bayi Comel   HIGHLIGHT EVENT !!

*sebarang perubahan tertakluk kepada penganjur #iCEPS9

okay.. that's all from me..
oh yeah, in case if you want to join this giveaways contest, you can check it out at cik huda hassan blog. dateline - 1 October 2013. Hurry Up !!
And for your info, there a lot of philanthropic person, i mean those who are generous enough to be sponsors for this giveaway. Thank you so much. May Allah bless you and shower you with Happiness always :)


till we meet again.
wassalam.

4 desserts 4 you !

Assalamualaikum.

Okay, kali ini, saya akan berkongsi resepi untuk 4 pencuci mulut yang sering saya sediakan untuk keluarga saya. Resepinya mestilah senang, bahan yang mudah didapati di pasaran dan paling penting rasanya mestilah sedap! in sha Allah, anda semua mesti boleh buat juga ! yeay!

1. Cheese Chocolate Moist Cake

ref recipe

Ni hasil masa first time buat. Alhamdulillah, terus jadi.

Bahan kek choc :

1 cwn koko
1cwn susu cair
1cwn minyak
1cwn gula
1/2 cwn susu pekat
(masak atas api) biar sejuk

(b)
1cwn tepung naik sendiri

(c)
3 biji telur (pukul sampai kembang)

cara2
masukkan (c) dlm bahan koko td..kacau...masukkan (b) kacau lg

bahan cheese

250g cream cheese
60g gula castor
25ml air
1 biji telur
25g tpg gandum

pukul semua bahan kecuali telur
pukul sampai kembang dan gebu
masukkan telur pukul lg

dh siap semua kukus selang seli mcm wt kuih lapis

 2. Pavlova Serenity 

First time beli pavlova. Harga RM 20 jual di Bakeri. Terus bersemangat nk cuba buat sendiri oh.

Ni first trial - pavlova with strawberries, grapes and kiwis

 

Ni tatau da buat kali ke berapa - pavlova with cantaloupe, grapes and love <3 td="">

Bahan-bahan:

4 biji putih telur

1/4 cawan gula

2 sdt tepung jagung

1 sdt esen vanila

1 cwn whipping krim Rich 

Buah Hiasan (ikut suka)

Strawberry

Kiwi

Anggur

Cantaloupe/ Tembikai susu

Cara-cara

1. Pukul putih telur sampai ringan, halus dan gebu, sampai bila terlangkupkan mangkuk, putih telur tu tak jatuh.

2. Masukkan gula. Pukul lagi. Masukkan tepung jagung dan esen vanila. Pukul rata. 

3. Panaskan oven selama 15 min pada suhu 150'C, kemudian turunkan pada suhu 130'C bila nak masukkan pavlova dan bakar selama 1 jam.  Bila da siap bakar, biar je pavlova rehat dalam oven dulu.
Ini akan menghasilkan pavlova yang crispy di luar dan chewy di dalam, macam marshmallow! .

4. Kemudian, bolehlah letak whipping krim atas pavlova. Hiaskan dengan buah kesukaan. Yeay!

3. Pizza D'Tira

this is not the first time definitely, requested by Ayah . 3 pans at once. hoh

Bahan-bahan 

2 sdt yis

5 sdt air suam

175 g tepung gandum biasa 

2 sdt minyak masak

secubit garam

air secukupnya

Bahan Topping (ikut suka)

sos Tomato

daging cincang

hotdog

capsicum/ lada benggala

cheese

cendawan butang

Cara-cara

1. Larutkan yis dalam air suam dulu. Kacau dgn sudu. 

2. Letak tepung gandum dalam mangkuk. Masukkan minyak masak dan garam. Buatkan bulatan di tengah mangkuk dan masukkan yis. 

3. Uli doh sambil masukkan sedikit air. Uli lagi. Doh menjadi bila tak melekat di tangan. Agak2 melekat tu, tambah tepung sikit2. 

4. Rehatkan doh selama 1 jam untuk bagi yis naik. Kemudian, uli semula bila hendak digunakan.

5. Bentukkan doh menjadi bulat macam pizza hut tu, letakkan sos tomato atas doh sebagai topping. Hiaskan dengan daging cincang, hotdog, capsicum, cheese dan cendawan butang. 

6. Bakar dalam oven selama 20 min dengan suhu 150'C.

4. Popia Goreng Pedas 

first trial, ni resepi Mak Angkat. Memang Terangkat !!

Bahan-bahan :

1 btg lobak merah

1 btg timun

sengkuang  

 (hiris panjang-panjang dan nipis-nipis 3 bahan di atas)

 kulit popia

sedikit tepung gandum digaul dengan air (jadi gam popia).

Bahan cili 

10 cili kering (telah direndam dalam air panas terlebih dahulu, blend)

3 ulas bawang putih (dicincang halus)

3 sdt bijan

5 sdt gula

1sdt garam

Cara-cara :

1. Gaul rata lobak merah, sengkuang dan timun yang telah dipotong panjang tadi dengan sedikit garam.

2. Letakkan isi dalam kulit popia. Gulungkan dan gamkan hujung popia dengan tepung gandum.

3. Goreng dengan minyak penuh sampai garing.

4. Untuk sambal pedas atas popia, tumis bawang putih sampai wangi. Masukkan cili kering, masak sampai pecah minyak. Letak gula dan garam. Kacau rata sampai pekat dan likat. Akhir sekali, tabur bijan bagi penambah rasa. 

Ulasan Little Chef :

Untuk cheese chocolate moist Cake, resepinya sangat senang dan sedap. Nampak macam mahal tapi kos murah je sebenarnya.  Saya selalu buat untuk keluarga, even jiran pun minat makan kek coklat moist. Bila nak buat teringat orang2 yang semangat nak makan dan bagi sokongan, lagi la semangat saya nak masak. heh.

 Pavlova pula sangat senang. Resepi yang sangat ringkas dan berbaloi untuk dicuba. Kalau kat Secret Recipes mahal ow, why not buat sendiri? kos pun jimat, kepuasan pun dapat.

Membuat Pizza amat menuntut kesabaran yang tinggi. Percaya atau tidak, saya da buat pizza berpuluh-puluh kali. Cubaan yang bermula dengan kegagalan yang berturut-turut dan akhirnya membuahkan hasil bila doh yang dihasilkan gebu dan sedap. Kalau dulu orang makan topping je, tinggal crust tu. Sekarang tak lagi! .. Resepi ni adalah gabungan resepi yang saya reka sendiri plus dengan tips dari Mak Angkat. Tidakku sangka membuat pizza semudah ini. cewah.

Popia goreng pedas adalah 100% resepi Mak Angkat saya. Beliau berniaga di bazar ramadhan Melaka Baru. Bila dapat resepi dari peniaga ni, pehh memang tak lepaskan peluang la untuk belajar dan amik tips2 penting bila buat kuih. Yang penting berniaga mestilah ikhlas dan jujur.. hoho.. Saya ada juga belajar kuih tepung pelita, karipap pusing, laksa penang.. tapi belum master lagi =_='. Nanti bila da jadi saya share ye, in sha Allah. 

Pokok pangkalnya, da bagi resepi. Yang penting RAJIN untuk mencuba sesuatu yang baru. 

Kejayaan tidak datang bergolek, ia bermula dari langkah kecil dan bertemu dengan kegagalan demi kegagalan sebelum mengecap manisnya kejayaan. 

Sekian dulu dari saya,

buat akhirnya, saya ingin mengucapkan 

Selamat Hari Raya, Maaf Zahir dan Batin

Raikan Aidilfitri dengan penuh kesyukuran 

-little chef-

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