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Kuala Lumpur – Malaysian student Tan Tiam Loong has won the prestigious Simpson Scholarship 2012, which gives a helping hand with expenses to gain the ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) Qualification. He is the first Malaysian recipient since the inception of the scholarship in 2008.

Tan is also only one of five outstanding ACCA students to win this coveted award, beating 290 other applicants around the globe. The other winners this year are Shahlimar Omar Shah from Pakistan, Goodluck Kewe from Kenya, Kasirye Moses Sendagire from Uganda and Borana Puto from Bulgaria.

As a scholarship recipient, Tan will have his exam fees, annual student or affiliate fees, and membership admission fees paid for him by the scholarship fund for up to five years, or until ACCA membership is achieved, whichever happens sooner. BPP Learning Media, ACCA's Platinum Approved Learning Partner of content, is also providing him with study materials for every ACCA paper he is studying.

Ms. Jennifer Lopez, country head of ACCA Malaysia, congratulates Tan's achievement, saying it is no small feat. "For the chance to be awarded the scholarship, applicants had to have excelled in the exams they had already sat, and submit a 1000-word essay on how the scholarship would help them achieve their full potential. The judges were particularly impressed by candidates who have clear agendas to give something back to their communities and countries, especially where they have clear goals and plans. This helped to differentiate the applicants."

Lopez shared that the talent of this year’s scholarship winners is just outstanding: "They have put in a lot of hard work into gaining their ACCA qualification and the boost of the scholarship should hopefully help them to achieve it and lead to a fulfilling and successful career in the accountancy profession.

"Tan and the other successful candidates showed they understood ACCA’s public value agenda and the role they can play. Judges also wanted to see that candidates understood and would exemplify ACCA’s core values such as opportunity, diversity and integrity. Innovation in accounting and advancing the profession were also key to the success of applicants," she said.

Tan was clearly elated to learn the good news: "As only five applicants can receive this award, I am especially thrilled to have won, and this certainly gave my self-confidence a boost! I’ve long aspired to be a professional accountant, having observed the successful careers of many top executives. Plus, I hope to run my own business in the future. As a highly recognised professional qualification with a global network, I believe ACCA will prepare me well for a solid career."

The Simpson Scholarship has been running in its current form since 2008. ACCA Fellow, Muriel Simpson, who left the remains of her finances in her will to ACCA in 1977, requested it run a scholarship to recognise the achievements of high-calibre students. Since 2008, the Simpson Scholarship has helped 25 ACCA students, from 17 different countries.

More information about the scholarship can be found at www.accaglobal.com/scholarship

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