Mr Gerard Ee Elected As President Of The Institute Of Singapore Chartered Accountants

Singapore, 22 April, 2014 - Mr Gerard Ee has been elected as the President of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), the national accountancy body. He succeeds Dr Ernest Kan as ISCA President with effect from 19 April 2014. Mr Gerard Ee is joined by re-elected office bearers Mr R. Dhinakaran, Managing Director, Jay Gee Group of Companies, as Vice-President and Mr Ho Tuck Chuen, Group Chief Financial Officer of JTC Corporation, as Treasurer.

Their election follows the conclusion of ISCA’s 2013/2014 AGM and first Council Meeting held on 19 April 2014 which also saw eight newly elected and re-elected Council Members joining ISCA’s leadership team.

Dr Ernest Kan stepped down from ISCA’s Council in accordance with the Institute’s revised constitution which seeks to regularly refresh the leadership team, inject new perspectives and involve more members of the profession in spearheading the Institute. 

Mr Gerard Ee is a Fellow Chartered Accountant of Singapore (FCA (Singapore)) with ISCA and had served as the Institute’s Vice-President and Chairman of its Investigation Committee from 2009 to 2011. He started his career as an accountant in 1974 and retired as a partner of Ernst & Young in 2005. Active across the social service, academic and corporate sectors, he currently holds the chairmanship of Changi General Hospital, Council for Third Age, Public Transport Council and Singapore Institute of Management. For his contributions to the business, social service and academic sectors, he was awarded the Public Service Medal (PBM), Public Service Star (BBM) and Meritorious Service Medal (PJG) in 1993, 2003 and 2007 respectively.

Appreciation to Dr Ernest Kan

Dr Kan had helmed ISCA as President for the last five years since April 2009. Under his leadership, the Institute’s membership base grew from about 20,500 in early 2009 to about 28,000 today, representing an increase of about 36 per cent. A number of milestones were also achieved. These include the Institute’s rebranding to ISCA last year and its appointment as the designated conferrer and administrator of the Chartered Accountant of Singapore (CA (Singapore)) designation and the Singapore Qualification Programme (Singapore QP) respectively.

Dr Kan also played an active role in establishing Singapore’s first accreditation body for tax professionals, the Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals (SIATP) and launched the profession’s signature thought-leadership event, the Singapore Accountancy Convention (SAC), in 2010. His tenure also saw ISCA actively engaging and collaborating with local and international stakeholders, including local, regional and global professional bodies, and various government agencies, to promote and strengthen the accountancy and business sectors.

In addition, Dr Kan worked tirelessly to contribute to the development of the region’s accountancy capabilities, regularly leading the Singapore delegation at the ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) Council Meetings to explore opportunities to further enhance the region’s accountancy profession.

Dr Kan also helped to shed light on issues pertinent to the development of ASEAN’s accountancy sector like talent attraction, development and retention at a number of international speaking engagements such as the International Federation of Accountants’ (IFAC) Council Workshop and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)’s Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR).

Mr Gerard Ee, ISCA President, says, “Ernest has led the Institute with a steady hand over the years, transforming and guiding ISCA in adapting to a multitude of changes on the sectoral, business and economic fronts. These changes have positioned the Institute in good stead in evolving into a globally recognised professional body.

We will build upon this firm foundation while continuing to innovate to meet the needs of a growing membership base, expand our technical expertise and thought-leadership as an advocate of the profession, grow our international footprint and leverage our unique position to contribute towards Singapore’s transformation into a global accountancy hub. These are exciting times and I look forward to working closely with ISCA’s leadership team and all stakeholders in leading the Institute to greater heights.”

Joining Mr Ee are the following:

Newly Elected ISCA Council Members:

·         Mr Anthony Mallek, Chief Financial Officer, Singapore Press Holdings Limited

·         Mr Sim Hwee Cher, Assurance Leader, Singapore Assurance and Vice Chairman, Operations, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

·         Mr Tam Chee Chong, Regional Managing Partner, Financial Advisory Services, Southeast Asia, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Re-Elected ISCA Council Members:

·         Mr Ramasamy Dhinakaran, Managing Director, Jay Gee Group of Companies  

·         Mr Frankie Chia Soo Hien, Managing Partner, BDO LLP

·         Mr Michael Chin Sek Peng, Deputy Managing Partner, PKF-CAP LLP

·         Mr Vincent Lim Boon Seng, Finance Director Asia Countries, Motorola Solutions

Hailing from a diverse range of sectors, these leaders will bring new ideas and varied expertise to the table. This is aligned with ISCA’s active leadership renewal efforts to engage more members of the profession to drive the Institute’s vision to transform into a globally recognised accountancy body bringing value to members, the profession and wider community.  

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For more information on the biographies of the Council Members, please click here. 

 For more information, please contact: 

Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants

Jennifer Toh, Deputy Director, Corporate Communications

Tel: 6597 5502 / 9877 6027 / Email: jennifer.toh@isca.org.sg

Low Xiao Jing, Executive, Corporate Communications

Tel: 6597 5609 / 9171 8852 / Email: xiaojing.low@isca.org.sg

About the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) is the national accountancy body of Singapore. ISCA’s vision is to be a globally recognised professional accountancy body, bringing value to our members, the profession and wider community.

Established in 1963, ISCA shapes the regional accountancy landscape through advocating the interests of the profession. Possessing a Global Mindset, with Asian Insights, ISCA leverages its regional expertise, knowledge, and networks with diverse stakeholders to contribute towards Singapore’s transformation into a global accountancy hub. Our stakeholders include government and industry bodies, employers, educators, and the public.

ISCA is the Administrator of the Singapore Qualification Programme (Singapore QP) and the Designated Entity to confer the Chartered Accountant of Singapore - CA (Singapore) - designation.

It aims to raise the international profile of the Singapore QP, a post-university professional accountancy qualification programme and promote it as the educational pathway of choice for professional accountants seeking to achieve the CA (Singapore) designation, a prestigious title that is expected attain global recognition and portability.

There are about 28,000 ISCA members making their stride in businesses across industries in Singapore and around the world.

For more information, please visit www.isca.org.sg.