CHAPTER 1: FORGING CONNECTIONS

We are shaping a stronger future for accountancy by building trust through relationships, helping members widen their network of connections, and achieving mutually beneficial outcomes for our members and our ecosystem of stakeholders and partners in government and industry.

Our strategies to foster deeper connections are multifold, including modernising communications with members and bridging the gap between our members and the business community. We provide members with on-site and digital platforms to connect and collaborate. In addition, we create opportunities for our members to expand their professional networks and deepen their connection to the business community.

We signed MoUs with other associations to tap synergies and collaboration opportunities. We launched our Corporate Membership to welcome businesses into the vibrant ISCA community and deepen the ties between the accountancy profession and the business community.

Through our collaboration with diverse stakeholders, we contribute to the advancement of the accountancy profession.

ISCA HOUSE REPURPOSED FOR CONNECTION

ISCA House was repurposed to deepen ISCA’s connection with its members. The renovated ISCA House features a members’ lounge with a café style pantry, a reading lounge, meeting rooms of different sizes and function rooms of varying configurations that can fit between 15 and 115 people.

Members can enter the members’ lounge and reading lounge with their digital card from the ISCA Mobile App.

ISCA House
MOBILE APP
Mobile App

The ISCA Mobile App, which was developed in phases, became fully operational in mid-July 2022. It connects members to the Institute’s offerings, making it more convenient for them to access common e-services on the go.

Via the app, members can:

  • Receive curated newsfeeds on business and accountancy-related news
  • Read the latest and past issues of IS Chartered Accountant Journal
  • Access technical guidance materials
  • Renew their membership, search and register for courses and events
  • Access the latest promotions related to CPD activities
  • Track and update CPD hours
  • Use vouchers for the next course/event purchase
  • Download the invoices and receipts of past transactions
  • View the membership e-card
  • View candidature information via the Professional Qualifications portal
MEMBERS RECOGNITION CEREMONY

The ISCA Members Recognition Ceremony returned as a physical ceremony in November 2022. At the ceremony, we honoured top performers of our qualification programmes, cheered on newly-conferred members, including Fellow Chartered Accountants, Chartered Accountants and ISCA Professional Business Accountants, and honoured longstanding members of 30 and 50 years.

Recognition
PIE FIRMS NETWORK

ISCA formed the Public Interest Entity (PIE) Firms Network, comprising leaders of the top 15 firms that audit public interest entities, in 2022. Via the network, the firms have an avenue to express how ISCA can bring greater value to the PIE sector and champion change on matters relevant to the profession. The launch in September 2022 was attended by representatives from 13 audit firms and government agencies including ACRA, AGD, SAC and EnterpriseSG.

PIE Firms
PIE Firms 2
MINGLES

The quarterly Mingles virtual sessions, which were coorganised with CA ANZ and ICAEW, provided networking opportunities for members of the three professional bodies.

CONNECTING WITH FINANCIAL FORENSICS COMMUNITY

Networking Event

The inaugural networking session in July 2022 brought together aspiring and experienced financial forensic professionals to network. The attendees heard from Mr Lem Chin Kok who shared his experiences and thoughts on the importance of financial forensics in strengthening corporate governance. Mr Lem is the Chairman of the ISCA Financial Forensics Accounting Oversight Committee.

Networking Event
Telegram

Telegram Channel

ISCA also started its Financial Forensics Connect Telegram channel in July 2022, adding to its other Telegram Channels – Practitioners Connect and ISCA Youth. The channel supports the financial forensics community with news, event details, course updates, and the latest developments.

ISCA CFO MENTORING PROGRAMME

Commencing in April 2022, the fifth edition of the ISCA CFO Mentoring Programme incorporated the ISCA Volunteer Programme, an initiative held in partnership with MCCY. The ISCA Volunteer Programme aims to enhance the mentoring experience for mentor-mentee pairs by having them engaging in meaningful skills-based volunteerism together. In 2022, a total of 29 pairs of mentors and mentees participated in the nine-month-long programme.

At the Mid-point Get-together Workshop, the mentors and mentees learnt key elements for effective business storytelling, different types of coaching approaches and tips to effectively structure a coaching conversation.

CFO
FINANCE LEADERS ROUNDTABLE SERIES

ISCA collaborated with various partners to host the Finance Leaders Roundtable Series. These roundtables enabled finance leaders to learn about a wide range of topics and tools.

The topics included automation for digital finance transformation, data analytics, fraud prevention and driving value creation in an uncertain world.

Roundtable
SUPPORTING MEMBERS’ MENTAL WELLNESS

With mental wellness being an important issue, ISCA is committed to supporting members in maintaining their mental well-being. In 2022, ISCA held a series of webinars on mental well-being.

The topics for the webinars included “Mindful Eating to Optimise Health and Well-Being”, “Is Your Mental Health Affecting Your ‘Going Concern’? – Accountants’ Mental Health And Its Implications On Ethics” and “Coping with Stress and Anxiety in Uncertain Times”.

In addition, ISCA shared several social media posts on mental health and wellbeing.

Mental Health
CORPORATE MEMBERSHIP
Benefits

ISCA launched its Corporate Membership in October 2022 to enable businesses to be part of the vibrant ISCA community and increase members’ engagement with the business community. The Corporate Membership enables organisations to grow their network through exclusive invites to events where they will meet fellow corporate members and industry leaders in the ISCA network.

Corporate Members receive a suite of privileges, including help to source for qualified chartered accountants or to fill Board, Audit Committee and Treasurer appointments. Staff of ISCA Corporate Members enjoy benefits such as complimentary training hours and members’ rates for ISCA courses and events.

EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP PATHWAY
The Experienced Membership Pathway enables individuals who may not have accounting qualifications but possess a wealth of experience in accounting or finance-related fields to become ISCA members.
Professional Membership Pathway
C-SUITE NETWORK

The C-Suite Network is exclusively for senior C-suite leaders who may or may not have an accounting background.

Through this network, we aim to engage these leaders to share business insights, enhance the breadth of knowledge and diversity of expertise among our members and facilitate discussions to champion change in the business community.

 

C-Suite 2
SINGAPORE CORPORATE AWARDS

Jointly organised by ISCA, SID and The Business Times, and supported by ACRA and SGX, the Singapore Corporate Awards is the umbrella awards for exemplary corporate governance practices for listed companies in Singapore. The Awards comprise six groups of which two – Best Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Award and Best Annual Report Award – are managed by ISCA.

Best CFO Award

For the Best Annual Report Award, ISCA worked with Ernst & Young (EY) Singapore to shortlist annual reports of SGXlisted entities for final judging. A judging panel then assessed these reports for the quality of information disclosed against a detailed marking criteria to identify winners across five award categories, including listed companies of different market capitalisation brackets and REITs and business trusts. A total of two virtual meetings and one physical meeting at EY’s office were held from May to July 2022.

For the Best CFO Award, ISCA collaborated with Deloitte to shortlist the finalists and a judging panel deliberated on the winners for the three categories of large, mid and small capitalisation companies. The final judging session was held at ISCA House in June 2022.

PITCH AND DEEP TECH COMMUNITY DAY
Pitch
ISCA representative Mr Kevin Lee participated as a panellist at IES-Incubator and Accelerator’s (IES-INCA) Pitch and Deep Tech Community Day, alongside representatives from the Institution of Engineers, Singapore, in March 2022. Mr Lee provided feedback to the incubatees on their pitch presentations.
SINGAPORE CORPORATE COUNSEL ASSOCIATION LEGAL EAGLE CHALLENGE

ISCA served as a Cross Disciplinary Consultation Partner at the Singapore Corporate Counsel Association (SCCA) Legal Eagle Challenge in July 2022. ISCA CFO Committee member Mr Chan Ying Jian was one of the panel judges. ISCA Membership Growth and Engagement Committee member Mr Paul Tan also shared his expertise with participants of the Challenge.

Legal Eagle Challenge
SINGAPORE MANUFACTURING FEDERATION

ISCA signed an MoU with the SMF in October 2022 for both parties to work together for the betterment of their members.

The MoU was signed by ISCA President Mr Teo Ser Luck and SMF President Mr Lennon Tan. Under the terms of the MoU, both bodies will facilitate inter-organisational members’ knowledge exchange in topics such as internationalisation and sustainability. There will also be areas for ISCA members to help manufacturing companies implement sustainability practices and reporting. Both organisations will also create opportunities to enable cross-industry connections.

MoU
ASSOCIATION OF SINGAPORE LISTED COMPANIES
SGListCos
ISCA signed an MoU with SGListCos in October 2022. Under the MoU, there will be advocacy and thought leadership exchanges, professional development initiatives and joint events between both organisations. ISCA also aims to expand members’ networks and bring value to the profession and community by collaborating with those who support Singapore’s capital market.
SINGAPORE CHINESE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SCCCI)
ISCA and SCCCI signed an MoU in December 2022 to partner each other in supporting their members through professional development, thought leadership and research, business missions and networking.
SCCCI
ISCA PRE-BUDGET 2022 ROUNDTABLE

ISCA held the 13th edition of its Pre-Budget 2022 Roundtable, themed “Recovery and Refocusing on Growth”, in January 2022.

The Roundtable was co-chaired by Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance, Trade & Industry, and ISCA’s Immediate Past President Mr Kon Yin Tong. It brought together leaders of trade associations and chambers, and accounting firms to discuss issues impacting Singapore businesses and provide recommendations on the Singapore Budget 2022.

The Roundtable was co-chaired by Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance, Trade & Industry, and ISCA’s Immediate Past President Mr Kon Yin Tong. It brought together leaders of trade associations and chambers, and accounting firms to discuss issues impacting Singapore businesses and provide recommendations on the Singapore Budget 2022.

DIALOGUES WITH GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
To deepen our engagement with government partners, ISCA held dialogues with representatives of government agencies we work closely with in October 2022. These dialogues were hosted by ISCA CEO Ms Fann Kor and ISCA Divisional Director Ms Fua Qiu Lin, who shared ISCA’s strategic direction with the representatives. These dialogues are part of ISCA’s proactive engagement with government agencies for the benefit of our members.
Government Agencies
OUTREACH SESSIONS ON ACCOUNTANTS (AMENDMENT) BILL
Accountants Act
MOF and ACRA had conducted a public consultation on the proposed amendments on the draft Accountants (Amendment) Bill 2021. Arising from the public consultation, ISCA and ACRA co-organised two outreach sessions in June 2022 for ACRA to provide updates and discuss key feedback received before they are published. The sessions were attended by over 50 representatives from firms that had submitted responses to the public consultation.
ACRA-ISCA FOCUS GROUP ON PROPOSED ENHANCEMENTS TO PMP INSPECTION FRAMEWORK

ACRA and ISCA organised a focus group discussion in February 2022 with ISCA Public Accounting Practice Committee members to solicit views on the proposed changes to ACRA’s Practice Monitoring Programme (PMP) Inspection Framework. The session served as a useful platform for representatives of the regulator and the profession to exchange views and share inputs.

ENHANCEMENT OF THE PANEL OF FINANCIAL EXPERTS SCHEME

Following a successful pilot programme in 2021, ISCA and the Family Justice Courts enhanced the Panel of Financial Experts (POFE) scheme in 2022. POFE experts assist the Court by providing equitable and objective valuations of the matrimonial assets under contest in divorce cases, enabling justice to be administered more effectively and efficiently. The enhanced POFE Scheme has a fast-track process, an expanded panel of financial experts and improved process flow and documentation.

The enhanced scheme comprises 14 financial experts, 11 of whom are ISCA members who are public accountants, ISCA FFP credential holders and/or Chartered Valuers and Appraisers. ISCA also worked with SISV to include three SISV members with valuation expertise in real estate to the POFE Scheme.

FINANCIAL REPORTING SURVEILLANCE PROGRAMME

ISCA is in its eighth year of collaboration with ACRA on its Financial Reporting Surveillance Programme (FRSP). The FRSP guides companies in meeting the requirements of the accounting standards, which provide investors with reliable and meaningful financial statements for decision-making.

 

PARTICIPATING IN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES’ EVENTS
ISCA participated in events organised by our government partners, such as the Ethics and FRS Update Seminar by the Auditor-General’s Office in January 2022 and the International Economic Crime Course organised by SPF in July 2022.
International Economic Crime Course
COMMENT LETTERS

ISCA advocates for the interests of the profession in Singapore by providing feedback to local government bodies and international standard setters.

In 2022, ISCA provided comment letters to the following Exposure Drafts (ED), Post Implementation Review (PIR) and Stakeholder Questionnaire (SQ) issued by international standard-setters such as the IASB, IAASB, IESBA and ISSB as well as those issued by our local regulators.

IASB

  • ED: Disclosure Initiative - Targeted Standards-Level Review of Disclosures
  • ED: Supplier Finance Arrangements
  • ED: Disclosure Initiative - Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures
  • PIR: Post-Implementation Review of IFRS 9 - Classification and Measurement
  • ED: Non-current Liabilities with Covenants

IAASB

  • ED: Proposed International Standard on Auditing for Audits of Financial Statements of Less Complex Entities

IESBA

  • ED: Proposed Revisions to the Code Relating to the Definition of Engagement Team and Group Audits
  • ED: Proposed Revisions to the Code Relating to the Definition of Engagement Team and Group Audits
  • SQ: Survey on the IESBA’s Future Strategy and Work Plan

ISSB

  • ED: IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information
  • ED: IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information

ACRA

  • Public Consultation on Proposed Legislative Amendments relating to Data, Digitalisation and Corporate Transparency for a Trusted and Vibrant Business Environment in Singapore