Currently undergoing her industrial training, Yi Han hopes to pursue a career in financial management and eventually become an entrepreneur.
Attempting professional examinations is particularly daunting especially during the pandemic currently roiling the world. As for Wong Yi Han, a final year Bachelor of Business (Hons) Accounting and Finance student from TAR UC's Penang Branch Campus, the experience was even more stressful as she was attempting the Advanced Financial Management (‘AFM’) paper of ACCA strategic professional examinations in the September 2021 sitting. Nevertheless, her hard work and effort had paid off handsomely when she emerged as 2nd in Malaysia and 3rd in the World for the AFM paper.
Recognising it as her biggest achievement so far, Yi Han shared that she initially struggled to understand some concepts covered in the subject and had put in a lot of effort into overcoming the problem she faced. “This achievement proves that nothing is impossible and I can accomplish anything if I work hard and believe in myself,” she said.
Currently working as an audit intern at Ernst & Young, Yi Han also shared that her studies at TAR UC have helped enhance her soft skills, which highlights TAR UC’s emphasis on instilling its students with the necessary skills and experiences outside the classroom to reach their full potential through learning Beyond Education.
“My programme is conducted in a way that encourages students to cultivate teamwork by creating many opportunities for students to work in teams during assignments. This has helped me learn how to work well with others to achieve a common goal,” she shared. “Aside from this, I also learned how to improve my presentation and communication skills throughout my studies.”
Reflecting on her study experience at TAR UC, Yi Han noted that the most significant thing she has learned throughout her studies is to be agile and adapt to new situations quickly. “We were suddenly thrown into unchartered territory when physical classes were shifted online due to the pandemic. Being receptive to change is important for me to adapt to the new learning method and it also helps to avoid getting stressed out. Besides that, being flexible has also helped me to keep tasks on track by being able to respond quickly. I believe that the ability to hit the ground running is important once I step into the working world to build my future career.”
Yi Han also recalled that sitting for the September 2021 exam, at the peak of Covid-19 pandemic in Malaysia, was an interesting experience. While she was able to still study efficiently via online lessons, she shared that sitting for the exam physically did raise some concerns as she was putting herself at high risk.
“Online learning did not impede me from understanding the syllabus. Conversely, it helped me prepare for the examination more effectively as I was able to replay recorded lessons during revision. The strict standard operating procedures (‘SOP’) put in place when I sat for the exam also eased my worries and I am grateful that I managed to successfully complete the exam.”
Currently interning in one of the big four accounting firms, Yi Han hopes to pursue her career in financial management upon graduation to gain experience in business, which would prepare her for her ultimate goal of becoming a successful entrepreneur.
