MPI Accounting Graduate Proves Quality Education Opens Global Doors

But months before she graduated, there were already several job offers from accounting firms and audit firms in Singapore on her table.

For her, it was proof that no one should underestimate the quality of the accounting programme offered in MPI – be it Diploma or Degree.

She was not the first who testified to this – her aunt, who graduated with a Diploma in Accounting from MPI many years ago, also landed her accounting job in Singapore.

Today, she is a successful accountant in Singapore. Lisa was inspired to follow her footsteps.

“I sent in my resume to different companies in Singapore. It seems that whatever I learned in MPI is relevant to what they require, so right now, I am considering which offer I should take.

“I know working in Singapore is not easy. If I work there, I think it will be difficult at first, just like how I experienced the transition from Brunei to Sarawak, and now I am going to Singapore; different culture and it is an opportunity for me to know myself,” she enthused.

Lisa is a Sarawakian from Sibu but grew up and received her education in Brunei Darussalam. Her father works in Brunei.

Right after the confinement period after giving birth to Lisa, both mother and daughter moved to Brunei to be with the father.

The family only visits Sibu during holidays.

After completing her Cambridge O-Level in Brunei, she came to Sibu for a break before deciding what she wanted to do next.

That was in 2020. Then the Covid-19 pandemic hit and she was stuck in Sibu not knowing what to do.

Lisa, who studied pure science, dreamed of becoming a pharmacist and was thinking of pursuing a pharmacy programme abroad.

However, with travel restrictions due to the pandemic, no one knew when she could execute that plan.

Since waiting was not the answer, her parents wanted her to have a different point of view and to consider other career options.

With its reputable accounting programme, her aunt encouraged her to take up a Diploma in Accounting in MPI.

“MPI offers a solid foundation in accounting. My aunt said MPI is a good institution for me if I were to pursue accounting. My parents said that every company needs an accountant,” she
explained.

Career-wise, she could see that accounting actually offered her many pathways. Convinced, she enrolled in the programme despite having zero knowledge about accounting.

It was the beginning of her perseverance to cope, adapt and break through her comfort zone.It was then she learned that giving up was not an option.

She said there were many differences between Brunei and Sibu – lifestyles, environment and the obvious one, language.

She conversed in English with friends back in Brunei. Since staying as a student in Sibu, she forced herself to learn Mandarin and read Chinese characters.

“It was a challenge for me, as my Mandarin is not very good, but now my Mandarin has improved, and I can even read Chinese now,” she said, adding that Google Translate was her trusted teacher.

When it came to academics, she almost gave up the programme after the first semester.

While she managed to score an A in the MPU subject and IT subject, she only scored a C for her accounting papers in the final exams.

She called her mother to tell her that she wanted to give up accounting. Lisa asked if she could change to the business programme instead.

“I am quite good at memorising. I was thinking of taking a Diploma in Business Management, it is more into theory, and I love to write.

“I felt business is for me, but my parents encouraged me to continue with the second semester in accounting. They said I did not fail the paper, it is just that I was not familiar with
accounting, I found it very difficult,” she said.

She agreed to continue with the second semester and got an A- for her accounting papers that semester.

To better understand, she went the extra mile to ask her lecturer for tutoring. The lecturer was happy and willing to teach her.

“I did not have an accounting background, so I did not really understand why this is debit and why that is credit.

“I learned to classify things such as assets, expenses, incomes, liabilities, capitals and so forth. I was finally able to balance the ledger account,” she said.

After the second semester, her studies got easier. She continued to study hard and in a blink of an eye, she was in her final year and final semester.

Graduation was very close.

She completed her studies in July 2022 and graduated in September that same year.

She could have applied for the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Accounting for the September intake, but decided to take a break and spend time in Brunei instead.

That was the first time she went back to Brunei after two years. She continued her Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Accounting in January 2023.

She realised it only took five months of break for her to forget some of the lessons she learned at Diploma level.

However, with the solid foundation from the Diploma in Accounting, she felt some of the syllabus in the bachelor’s degree programme was only revision.

“It is not just about revision; it helps me to polish my skills in accounting. I understood even more,” she explained.

After completing her degree in May 2025, while waiting for graduation, she started to send resumes to different companies in Singapore.

Inspired by her aunt’s success as an accountant in Singapore despite having only a Diploma in Accounting from MPI, she believed she could do the same and maybe better as a degree graduate.

But was it only the accounting programme in MPI that helped her to land several job offers in Singapore?

It was not. Part of it could be her Cambridge O-Level qualification and her portfolios in MPI.

As a student in MPI, she served as a Student Ambassador then later became part of the MPI Student Council in which she served as a secretary.

She learned leadership, communication, customer service, administrative work, presentation skills and writing minutes throughout those times.

“During job interviews, some companies asked what did I do when I was in college? I managed to share with them, so those activities were not just on the resume, but also I could share my experience,” she said.

Lisa said being part of the Student Ambassador and later the Student Council was not only about work or completing a task, but it also built her character; it improved her
communication skills and her leadership skills.

Being an introvert, these activities built her confidence and gave her courage to step outside her comfort zone.

“It was not comfortable at first, but if I managed to break through my comfort zone then I can adapt myself to all those various environments and I did,” she said.

Asked whether she still thought of pursuing pharmacy, she said she had no regrets about choosing accounting.

“If I were to wait to pursue pharmacy, I think I am still studying and I am already 23 years old. My friends would be working already or maybe pursuing Masters already while I am still
an undergraduate.

“The time I had in MPI was good, I made some friends, I picked up Mandarin, I learned all those skills. It was actually a fair deal for me,” she enthused.

For the future, she said she would pursue her career as an accountant. She would gain working experience in Singapore and one day, with her own money, she would pursue her Masters or even ACCA.

The Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Accounting is a degree offered in MPI in collaboration with UCSI University. It is one of its most popular programmes.

This collaboration enables students to study the same syllabus and obtain the same qualification from UCSI University at MPI.

Ranking 269th in the QS World University Rankings 2026, UCSI University is within the top one per cent of universities worldwide for the fourth consecutive year.