Singapore Accountancy Academy

FOR three years, the line between day and night blurred for Yin Feiran, 24 (left).

Virtually all his waking hours were spent in class.

That's because Feiran, a China national, was alternating his time between two schools. In the day, he was doing an information technology diploma course at Ngee Ann Polytechnic at Clementi.

And at night, he studied accounting at the Singapore Accountancy Academy's (SAA) Aljunied campus.

Now a tax officer at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, Feiran said he did the accountancy course because it gave him a professional qualification from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Another advantage was that he could obtain a degree in applied accounting from UK's Oxford Brookes University if he completed the two levels of ACCA and an analysis project.

Feiran said: "By doing this course, I effectively obtain two qualifications - the ACCA and a degree. I save time by getting both in three years."

But the juggling act was tough.

Study till 4am

Sometimes, his night classes at SAA would wrap up close to 11pm, and he regularly stayed up till 4am to study.

This continued even after graduating from the polytechnic, when he landed a job as a project coordinator for an IT company.

But the "sacrifice" paid off when he graduated in July last year as one of the top five students in a batch of 300.

Feiran aspires to set up a financial firm or tax consultancy.

While he declined to reveal his current pay, an SAA spokesman said accountancy graduates can earn between $2,500 as a junior auditor and $2,900 as a tax accountant.

For Mariam Riza, 18, it's not just about attractive pay prospects.

The full-time SAA student and Sri Lankan national said: "It's stressful but you're assured that you're on the right track.

"Besides, I love numbers and calculating stuff, that's why I want to be an accountant."

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