Building Stronger Bonds with the Business Community

MOU WITH ACCOUNTANT-GENERAL’S DEPARTMENT (AGD)

ISCA signed an MOU on 9 October 2024 with the AGD to develop a talent pipeline of chartered accountants within the public sector and to advance the professional development of nearly 4,000 finance and internal audit officers in the public service. Through this partnership, public officers will be able to access specially-curated training programmes and initiatives to support their development, and take on the SCAQ programme and become Chartered Accountants of Singapore.

MOU WITH SINGAPORE COMPUTER SOCIETY

ISCA also welcomed the Singapore Computer Society (SCS) as a member of the PA Hub in October 2024, alongside an MOU between both organisations to exchange of professional development content. This includes insightful digital resources and thought leadership publication collaborations to equip both SCS and ISCA members with insights on artificial intelligence, technology innovation, ethics, sustainability, and more.

MOU WITH ISCOS AND YELLOW RIBBON

ISCA, Yellow Ribbon Singapore and Industrial & Services Co-operative Society Ltd (ISCOS) signed a two-year MOU on 26 September 2024 to offer training and employment assistance to inmates, ex-offenders and their family members. The parties will engage beneficiaries through pro-bono workshops aimed at providing skills for sustainable employment, such as financial literacy and career counselling. In conjunction with the MOU, ISCA launched the ISCA Knowledge Hub, which will be used to conduct workshops for beneficiaries as well as support groups and family bonding activities. In addition, beneficiaries will be provided career advisory services and employment opportunities in accountancy and related fields.

We celebrated our collaboration in December 2024 at Just BrewIn, a café cum community space built by ISCOS to support ex-offenders. Guests explored the new ISCA Knowledge Hub on Level 2 of Just BrewIN, which will host initiatives that empower inmates, ex-offenders, and their families through financial literacy workshops, career counselling, and job matching.

MOUS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainability Apex Programme
The strong push for companies to develop climate strategies and reduce their carbon footprint has created growing demand for sustainability-related services. In January 2024, ISCA and the Law Society of Singapore launched the Sustainability Apex Programme (SAP), which aims to foster a community of professional services firms to capture growth opportunities and provide sustainability services in Singapore and regionally. A series of roundtables, insights exchange and networking events with stakeholders in the sustainability ecosystem were held throughout the year. The SAP is supported by Enterprise SG, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the Professional Services Programme Office, a joint office between the Ministry of Law and the Economic Development Board (EDB).

Asia Pacific Green Alliance
Together with the Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI), and Singapore Business Federation (SBF), ISCA signed a joint MOU as the founding members of the Asia Pacific Green Alliance, in January 2024. Under this partnership, the group will collaborate to jointly promote green excellence among companies, futureproofing small businesses through capability development, standards development, tools (e.g. carbon accounting, sustainability reporting, etc) and advisory support.

• support businesses, especially SMEs, in adopting sustainable technologies and practices;
• grow demand and supply for sustainability professionals familiar with tech-enabled solutions;
• drive research and thought leadership in waste and emissions reduction; and
• collaborate with policy makers in developing regulations that further the Singapore Green Plan and position Singapore as a regional leader in sustainability.

DIALOGUE WITH MINISTER GRACE FU ON COP 28

On 12 March 2024, ISCA, together with the Singapore Business Federation (SBF), held “Navigating Climate & Business in 2024”, featuring an on-site capacity crowd and virtual attendance of over 1,000 ISCA and SBF members.

DIALOGUE WITH MINISTER CHAN CHUN SING

ISCA members met Education Minister Mr Chan Chun Sing for a dialogue at ISCA House in July 2024. Over a conversation facilitated by ISCA Council Member Mr Lim Him Chuan, attendees heard from Minister Chan about the impact of geopolitical developments in Singapore and how ISCA and the accountancy profession has a key role in building trust in an increasingly fragmented world.

The session was attended by finance leaders, C-Suite executives, business owners, practitioners, and young professionals. The attendees also exchanged views with Minister Chan at the post-dialogue networking session.

The Roundtable was co-chaired by Mr Liang Eng Hwa, Chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Finance, Trade & Industry, and Mr Don Wee, ISCA Council Member. The event brought together 14 distinguished leaders from trade associations, professional bodies and the business community to discuss Singapore’s 2024 economic outlook and strategies.

Prior to the Roundtable, ISCA also engaged with our members, business leaders, and industry experts to gather insights through consultative activities such as surveys and focus group discussions. This culminated in a comment letter focusing on four key areas: Geopolitical and Economic Uncertainties, Sustainability, Supporting SMEs and Startups, and Social Cohesion. This letter was submitted to the Ministry of Finance, and similar themes were explored during the Roundtable.

For the first time, the annual ISCA Budget & Tax Update was brought to a movie theatre. Nearly 500 attendees enjoyed insightful discussions on Budget 2024 over popcorn and snacks at GVmax.

Event highlights included a fireside chat with Minister Indranee Rajah, a detailed analysis of Budget 2024 by Professor Sum Yee Loong, Chairman, Singapore Chartered Tax Professionals, Professor of Accounting (Practice), SMU and a session on the evolving tax landscape by Mr Chai Wai Fook, EY Asean Tax Accounting & Risk Advisory Services Leader; Partner, Tax Services, Ernst & Young Solution LLP.

Study on Companies’ Sustainability Journey

ISCA and Schneider Electric released the study “Counting to 3: Navigating Singapore’s Emissions Journey Together” in July 2024. The study analysed the perspectives of over 500 business leaders involved in driving sustainability strategies for their organisation. These leaders represent companies ranging in size from SMEs to large multinational corporations and come from a broad range of industries.

Artificial Intelligence for the Accountancy Industry (AI for AI)

One year after ISCA started the AI for AI initiative in May 2023, we released the whitepaper “Artificial Intelligence for the Accountancy Industry – What Lies Ahead”. The whitepaper unveiled positive sentiments of willingness by the sector to adopt AI, but suggested that the accountancy industry lacked key resources, in areas like infrastructure and data readiness.

Illustrative Sustainability Report

One of the key resources developed by ISCA is the “Illustrative Sustainability Report: Based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Sustainability Disclosure Standards”. This report demonstrates how an entity can apply the climate-related requirements in IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 in conjunction with the GRI Standards. The development of the Illustrative Sustainability Report was supported by SGX RegCo and ISCA’s Sustainability and Climate Change Committee in support of the Singapore Green Plan 2030.