Remarks by ISCA President Mr Kon Yin Tong at the MOU signing ceremony between Family Justice Courts and ISCA on 30 December 2020

Justice Debbie Ong, Presiding Judge of Family Justice Courts,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to be here, representing ISCA to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the Family Justice Courts.  As Justice Ong mentioned, we are living in the “new normal” brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. We have to adopt new behaviors, including practicing social distancing to minimise community spread of the virus. Thankfully, with technology, we can meet virtually and proceed with the MOU signing ceremony.

ISCA is honoured to collaborate with the FJC on the forming of the Panel of Financial Experts.  As part of our collaboration, selected ISCA members will provide expert reports to assist the judges in issues relating to the division of matrimonial assets at the mediation and ancillary matters stages of divorce proceedings.  

The appointment of ISCA members as financial experts is a form of recognition for our members’ qualifications, skills and expertise. We are pleased that this arrangement enables our members to be of service by exercising their unique skill sets as chartered accountants – professional judgment, analytical abilities and financial expertise. The ISCA members selected to be on the panel either have relevant experience in providing advice on the division of matrimonial assets, dispute resolution or as expert witnesses in court cases.   They are either public accountants or ISCA Financial Forensic Professional (ISCA FFP) credential holders.

Divorce can be an emotionally as well as financially taxing experience. Our collaboration with the Family Justice Courts enables qualified ISCA members to act as a neutral party to provide an objective valuation of the matrimonial assets in dispute. We hope that this arrangement will lessen the pain and smoothen the process for the divorcing parties.

I am honoured to be among the six ISCA members on the panel.  Besides myself, the other five ISCA members on the panel are Mr Ravi Arumugam, CEO, Managing Partner, RT LLP, Mr Lee Dah Khang; Director, Yang Lee Consulting Pte Ltd; Mr Michael Peer, Partner, PwC Singapore; Mr Wayne Soo, Managing Partner, Fiducia LLP and Mr Tan Wei Cheong, Partner, Deloitte Singapore.

On behalf of the panel members, I thank the Family Justice Courts for organising the training session for us to better understand the divorce process and where the financial valuation reports can be most relevant and beneficial in this process. We are thankful for the opportunity to serve and look forward to contributing our skills and expertise.

The pilot programme will commence in the first quarter of 2021. We look forward to working closely with the Family Justice Courts to fine-tune the details of the scheme, and possibly having more ISCA members on board to serve as financial experts.

Thank you.