Welcome Address by ISCA President Gerard Ee at the Singapore Accountancy Convention 2015 on 12 November 2015 at Marina Bay Sands at 8.30am

Ms Lim Soo Hoon

Permanent Secretary (Finance) (Performance), Ministry of Finance

Ms Olivia Kirtley

President of the International Federation of Accountants

Distinguished guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

Good Morning  

On behalf of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants, it is my honour to welcome you to the Singapore Accountancy Convention 2015. We are pleased to welcome many leaders of accountancy bodies from around the world, who are also in Singapore for global events such as the International Federation of Accountants Council Meeting as well as the Chartered Accountants Worldwide Critical Success Factors Summit.  Thank you for attending today’s Convention. I hope you are enjoying your stay here.  Do take some time to explore the sights and sounds of Singapore too.  

Leading Change, the Asian Way

The accountancy profession is undergoing an exciting transformation. Technological advancement presents new opportunities and threats. At the same time, more is expected of accountants, who must move towards a more strategic role and lead their organisations through the rapidly changing business landscape. Hence, today’s Convention, with the theme “Leading Change, the Asian Way”, is aimed at helping our participants gain the latest industry knowledge, to enable them to lead in a rapidly changing global landscape, from a uniquely Asian perspective.  

Our speakers and panelists today will share their perspectives on the leading issues facing the profession.  They will discuss how the digital revolution can create opportunities for accountants and how it will change their roles within their organisations. With digitalisation comes cyber security risks; our speaker will share why the profession should take active steps to create a cyber resilient organisation to ensure security of financial information and intellectual property. In today’s dynamic business environment, accountants must also harness data analytics to create a competitive advantage for their organisations and add value to their clients. This topic will be expounded on in one of today’s segment.

You will hear thought-provoking discussions about risk management, Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, and enhancements to ethics standards and guidelines to combat money laundering. Our panelists will also share how their organisations are preparing to implement the new financial reporting standard on revenue recognition. We hope you will gain useful insights from today’s line-up.

The Singapore Accountancy Convention is one of ISCA’s many initiatives to support the development of the profession, and has grown to be one of the key events for the accountancy profession in Singapore

New Pathways to Enter the Profession

On this note, I am pleased to announce new ISCA initiatives that will further strengthen the profession. The changes will create more pathways for individuals to enter the accountancy profession.  With the changes, we aim to widen the accountancy talent pipeline and add to the diversity of the talent pool. This is also in line with the SkillsFuture national movement to provide Singaporeans with the opportunities to develop their fullest potential throughout life, regardless of their starting points.

 ISCA will now have an affiliate membership class that enables non-graduates to be ISCA members, providing them with professional support and recognition. The Affiliate membership is for accounting technicians who are able to perform a wide variety of accounting and financial roles, including accounts preparation, budgeting, payroll administration and tax returns.  With this new membership class, we aim to professionalise the accounting technician segment, and provide them support in continuing professional development.  Employers will also gain assurance from the fact that accounting technicians can now be part of the national accountancy body, as well as adhere to its professional and ethical standards.  

We also aim to address the skills shortage and increasing demand for entry to mid level accounting professionals. [1]  We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Accounting Technicians in the UK to offer the ISCA Accredited Accounting Technician (ISCA AAT) Diploma.  The ISCA AAT Diploma is a flexible skills-based programme for accounting technicians and is designed to meet the demands of the workplace. It is designed to enable those from different educational levels, including O level and ITE graduates, to pursue and education and eventual career in accountancy. Upon completion of the programme as well as one year’s relevant work experience, the ISCA AAT students will attain the Accredited Accounting Technician (Singapore) designation and be eligible for Affiliate ISCA membership.

 We have also broadened the admission criteria for Associate members to include accountancy graduates of recognised foreign universities. With this, we aim to add to the diversity of the talent pool, as well as attract and retain more accountancy graduates to contribute to the profession.

Global Recognition as a Member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide 

Ensuring that we have a long and wide accountancy pipeline is increasingly important as Singapore works towards becoming a global accountancy hub. In tandem with Singapore’s aspirations, ISCA has similarly been striving towards with our vision to be a globally recognised professional accountancy body. I am heartened that we have made good progress, from strengthening our partnerships with global accountancy bodies to raising our visibility on the global accountancy arena.

In July this year, ISCA was admitted as the first Associate member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide, a prestigious group made up of the leading institutes of Chartered Accountants to support, develop and promote the vital role that Chartered Accountants play throughout the global economy.  With ISCA becoming part of the globally-recognised Chartered Accountants Worldwide, the stature and employability of Singapore accountants will be enhanced, especially in a business environment that is increasingly globalised.  Joining the organisation is a mark of recognition that our members adhere to the highest professional, technical and ethical standards.

Conclusion

Our induction into Chartered Accountants Worldwide underscores our commitment to add value to our members by giving them greater career mobility and professional visibility in an increasingly globalised business environment. We continue to be motivated by our commitment to our members and the profession. And we will continue to do our best to help the profession scale greater heights. 

Thank you.

Footnote

[1] Singapore’s Tight Labour Market: The Skills Shortage May Hinder Growth, Warns Hays http://www.hays.com.sg/press-releases/HAYS_249854