Welcome Address by ISCA President Dr Gerard Ee at ISCA New Members Ceremony at Carlton Hotel Singapore on 24 October 2017 at 7pm

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Good Evening.

Today is a special occasion for us. To our newly-minted chartered accountants, congratulations on attaining the prestigious Chartered Accountant of Singapore designation. The Institute would like to extend a warm welcome to you for joining our family of about 32,000 members.

Honouring Life Members, Fellow Members, and Former Council Members

Besides our new members, we are honoured to have with us longstanding members, who have been with the Institute for at least 30 years. We would like to extend our appreciation and honour your contributions by conferring you the ISCA life membership. With the life membership, you can continue to enjoy the benefits of the ISCA membership for life, on a complimentary basis.

We will also be conferring Fellow memberships to our senior Chartered Accountants of Singapore. This title is given to accounting professionals in senior positions who have been ISCA members for at least 10 consecutive years. I would like to congratulate you on your achievements thus far.

I am heartened to learn that some of our members have specially flown in from overseas to join us this evening, including two members who came all the way from Hong Kong and Japan, respectively. We are also grateful for the support from one of our Life members, who travelled from Malacca to attend the ceremony today. The fact that our members have gone the extra mile to celebrate this joyous event with us shows how much the ISCA membership means to you. We are deeply moved by your commitment to the Institute.

With their wealth of experience, our Life members and Fellow members can be role models and mentors for our younger members. I encourage our new members to get to know other members of the ISCA family and expand your professional network.

This evening, we will also present Appreciation Awards to two of our former Council Members, and six of our former ISCA Committee Members who stepped down in April this year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their invaluable contributions to the Institute.

Vast Opportunities as a Chartered Accountant of Singapore

As the saying goes, the best way to predict the future is to create it. This is especially true today, when the world is full of uncertainty. As the national accountancy body, ISCA has been equipping our members to be future-ready, keeping you up to date on in-demand skills, and trends in technology and business.

An example is the launch of the ISCA Financial Forensic Accounting (FFA) Qualification, the first financial forensic accounting qualification in Southeast Asia. This was just announced at the inaugural ISCA Financial Forensic Conference last month. With the FFA, we aim to develop the talent pool for financial forensic professionals, whose specialised skills will be highly sought-after as financial crime evolves in complexity and scale.

The FFA Qualification adds to the specialisation pathways that are available to Chartered Accountants, including the ISCA-CIMA Pathway to attain the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation. As Chartered Accountants, you have access to a wide range of career possibilities. Besides audit, accountancy covers a range of fields including risk management, management accounting, and Mergers and Acquisitions. Regardless of your chosen path, we strive to support you in your professional development.

In line with the increasingly globalised nature of business, ISCA has been raising our visibility internationally. This is so that our members can attain professional recognition and career portability beyond Singapore. As you may know, we have signed Reciprocal Membership Agreements (RMAs) with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS). In addition, ISCA became the first accountancy body in Asia to be admitted as a full member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW), a global body of leading chartered accountancy bodies around the world.

As one of the highest growth economic regions in the world, the ASEAN region offers vast untapped potential for the accounting profession. That is the reason why we promoted the acceptance of the ASEAN Chartered Professional Accountant (ASEAN CPA) designation across the region. As an ASEAN CPA, you will be able to provide accountancy services (except audit and other domestically regulated services) in other ASEAN markets. We welcomed the first batch of ASEAN CPAs earlier this year, and I highly encourage those of you who are keen to apply.

At every new members’ ceremony, we invite an experienced industry leader to share their experiences and valuable insights with our newly-minted chartered accountants. Tonight, we are honoured to have Mrs Chng Sok Hui, Chief Financial Officer of DBS Group, and a Fellow Chartered Accountant of Singapore as our guest speaker.

In an age of technological disruption, DBS is a shining example of how financial sevices institutions can harness innovation and digital transformation to create customer value. Its seamless digital strategy led to DBS being named the World’s Best Digital Bank last year. I would like to thank Mrs Chng, who has kindly taken time off her busy schedule to be with us here today. An established business leader, Mrs Chng was awarded Best CFO at the Singapore Corporate Awards in 2013, and the Accountant of the Year at the Singapore Accountancy Awards in 2014, among her many accolades. I am sure that her sharing will inspire and benefit many here as you embark on your chartered accountancy career.

 Support worthy and meaningful causes

I would like to also take this opportunity to share with you, amidst your career growth, on how you can support aspiring accountants to be just like you. ISCA Cares is a charity set up by ISCA as part of Singapore's Golden Jubilee celebrations in 2015. Since then, ISCA Cares has been playing an active role in supporting promising students from humble families, who are pursuing accountancy education in the local polytechnics and universities, with their school fees and basic living expenses.

Last year, ISCA Cares disbursed S$55,000 to 15 needy accountancy students from low income families. This year, ISCA Cares is disbursing over $100,000 to 29 beneficiaries. This is double the disbursement amount and the number of accountancy students who have approached ISCA Cares for financial assistance last year.

We welcome your generosity and support. ISCA Cares aims to build a compassionate and caring accountancy community that actively contributes towards the betterment of society. Together with your help, we can promote a strong social conscience and spirit of inclusivity in the accountancy community.

Conclusion

To our new members, thank you for making the decision to be part of the ISCA family. We are here to support you in your professional journey to ensure you have the latest skills in each step of your growth journey as a Chartered Accountant. To our newly conferred Fellow members and Life members, thank you for your enduring support through the years.

Thank you and have a wonderful evening.