MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTANTS ARE VALUE CREATORS, SAYS AMIRSHAM

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- Management accountants play a critical
role in ensuring that company resources are efficiently allocated and corporate
direction and vision executed smoothly, says Minister in the Prime Minister's
department, Amirsham Abdul Aziz.

Amirsham said the management accountants are regarded as the value creators
in business, as distinct from a very specialist role of external financial
reporting.

Management accountants act as true partners within the business and
concentrate on the value creation and their decision making talents can steer
businesses to success, he said at the National Award of Accounting (NAfMA) 2008
here Wednesday.

Amirsham said although the industry remained largely unregulated, unlike
external auditing for example, the public placed great hope in management
accounting becoming a standard practice in Malaysian companies.

"I believe that with each regulation, the government will straddle the fine
line of making the right management systems are in place, but not too much to
choke a company's operation," he said.

At the same time, Amirsham said the corporate and business culture in
Malaysia must ensure that the significant element of best practice objectives
are being understood by every member of the firm or company.

Without such understanding, it would be difficult to motivate the human
resource, to make best practice goals, their own individual and personal
objective and strive to enhance efficiency and performance, he said.

Local bank Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd won Excellence Award at the
NAfMA 2008, which was awarded jointly by the Malaysian Institute of Accountants
(MIA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Malaysia
Division.

Shell Refining Company (Federation of Malaysia) Bhd won the Best Practice
Award in the public listed companies category while DHL Express (Malaysia) Sdn
Bhd and MM Vitaoils Sdn Bhd were both winners in the non-listed companies
category.

The Practice Solution Award went to Bank Muamalat (M) Sdn Bhd in the
non-listed category while the non-listed SME category won by Tex Cycle Sdn
Bhd.

Certificates of merit were presented to HICOM-Teck See Manufacturing
Malaysia Sdn Bhd, HICOM Yamaha Manufacturing Malaysia Sdn Bhd, KPJ Ampang Puteri
Specialist Hospital, KPJ Selangor Specialist Hospital and Malaysia Airports
Holdings Bhd for their commendable management accounting practices.

NAfMA winners was assessed on eight criteria -- leadership, management
accounting information, resource management, customer/market focus, partnership
management, value creation, business results, and corporate
responsibility.

These criteria are based on the management accounting concepts of the
International Federation of Accountants.
-- BERNAMA