ACCA appoints Jeyasothy Palakrishnar as new Head of Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur – ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has appointed Jeyasothy Palakrishnar to the role of ACCA Malaysia Country Head effective 13 March 2017.

Jeyasothy has over 20 years’ experience in senior roles in business strategy, sales and business development in Malaysia and the Asia region. Formerly the Business Development Director at Microsoft, he also held the Vice President role at INTI – Laureate International Universities where he led a strategic transformation programme in curriculum design and delivery of higher education, in partnership with key industry players and employers.

Speaking on the appointment, Leong Soo Yee, ACCA’s Asia Pacific director, said: “Jeyasothy joins ACCA at an exciting time as we prepare to roll out developments to the ACCA Qualification based on employer requirements. His experience in education delivery and commercial partnerships will prove invaluable in driving ACCA’s strategy to be number one in developing the professional accountants that Malaysia and the world needs.”

Jeyasothy shared that his focus will be on strengthening and developing the Association’s relations with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), learning partners, universities and colleges, employers, and key government stakeholders. 

“I’m thrilled to lead the Malaysia team at an exciting period of development in the profession. Our country needs at least 60,000 accountants for the national Economic Transformation Plans to be achieved; the MIA recorded just over 33,000 Chartered Accountants to date, which is still notably short of the national target. I look forward to working with our strategic partners to develop the talent pipeline to support Malaysia’s progressive economy.”

Jeyasothy pointed out how the accounting profession has become more interesting as a result of increasing business expectations on the finance function and trade regulations becoming more complex.

He added: “There’s truly no better time to join the profession. Professional accountants enjoy rewarding career prospects across industries and countries, as demonstrated by over 188,000 ACCA members around the world. This reinforces how the ACCA Qualification remains an excellent qualification to build successful careers in accounting, finance and business.”