Innovation, Growth and Excellence Lauded at Singapore Accountancy Awards

• PwC, Crowe Horwath and Ardent bag Best Practice Award
• Deloitte, EY, Nexia TS and Precursor AssurancePAC firm garner Innovation Award
• CA Trust PAC wins new Outstanding Growth award, introduced to encourage Small and Medium Practices’ development efforts
• Chua Sock Koong wins Outstanding Professional Accountant award, and Outstanding Practitioner award goes to Yeoh Oon Jin and Kon Yin Tong

Singapore, 25 August 2016 – The winners of the Singapore Accountancy Awards 2016 were unveiled at the Awards Dinner held in conjunction with the Singapore Accountancy Convention 2016. Organised by the national accountancy body, the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), the Singapore Accountancy Awards are a mark of excellence for businesses and individuals while promoting good practices and strengthening the branding of the profession and industry. The event was officiated this evening by Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State for Manpower and ISCA Advisor.

Centred on the theme of “Ovation for Excellence”, the Singapore Accountancy Awards 2016 comprises two main awards, the “Business Excellence Awards” and the “Individual Excellence Awards”. 

Mr Lee Fook Chiew, Chief Executive Officer of ISCA, said “The accountancy sector has been identified by the Committee on the Future Economy as playing a vital role in Singapore’s economic development. Through the Singapore Accountancy Awards, we honour these outstanding organisations and individuals, who represent the best in the sector, for their contribution towards the profession and Singapore’s business landscape.”

“We congratulate the winners on their achievements. As the national accountancy body, we encourage all members of the profession to continue to strive towards excellence and raise the bar for the sector.” added Mr Lee.

 Winners of the Business Excellence Awards

The Business Excellence Awards seek to honour accounting firms that stand out for their dedication to building a distinguished practice and are leaders in quality assurance and control, talent management, innovation, thought leadership, business achievements, client service, and corporate social responsibility.

This year, the Business Excellence Awards have been streamlined to two categories, the Best Practice Awards and the Innovation Award. PwC Singapore bagged the Best Practice Award for the Open category¹. Deloitte Singapore and Ernst & Young LLP (EY) are joint winners of the Innovation Award in the Open category.

“The new categories for Business Excellence are in line with the national focus on innovation and productivity. With the awards, we aim to encourage firms to continue to find new ways to innovate and contribute towards the future economy of Singapore.” said Mr Lee. 

The winners of the Business Excellence Awards are:

Best Practice Award:

• PwC Singapore (Open Category)
• Crowe Horwath First Trust LLP (Large Practice Category)
• Ardent (Small & Medium Practice Category)

The judges have also decided to recognise Precursor Assurance PAC’s achievements by giving them a ‘Highly Commended’ accolade.

Best Practice Award, Highly Commended:

• Precursor Assurance PAC, formerly known as K.G Tan & Co. PAC (Small & Medium Practice Category)

 Innovation Award:

• Deloitte Singapore and Ernst & Young LLP (Open Category) – Joint Winners
• Nexia TS (Large Practice Category)
• Precursor Assurance PAC (Small & Medium Practice Category)

New Outstanding Growth Award

This year’s Singapore Accountancy Awards saw the introduction of a new award category, the Outstanding Growth Award. Open to firms in the Small & Medium Practice Category, this award recognises the firm’s efforts in attaining growth, either organically or through mergers and acquisitions, or internationalisation.

Mergers and acquisitions, as well as internationalisation among practices, provide firms with a host of benefits, such as the expansion of expertise, infrastructure, client base and service offerings. In this globalised economy, there is a need for Small & Medium Practices to think of ways to grow their business, to differentiate themselves and compete more effectively in a crowded marketplace.

The Outstanding Growth Award for this year goes to CA Trust PAC for exhibiting strong organic growth complemented by timely acquisitions. They have also been commended by the judges for building up in a steady and methodical manner.

Individual Excellence Awards - Accountants of the Year

Accounting professionals who embody strong leadership and professional qualities, possess sound technical knowledge and experience are awarded the Individual Excellence Awards. The Award seeks to honour exemplary individuals in the accountancy profession for their contributions to the industry as well as to spur young accountants to play a greater role in charting the future of the profession.

“The winners of the Individual Excellence Awards have produced outstanding achievements in the course of their career, and have also made significant contributions to diverse business sectors and the wider community. We hope that these awards serve as a form of encouragement and inspiration for the profession to attain even greater heights.” said Mr Lee.

The winners of the Individual Excellence Awards are:

Accountants in Practice

Outstanding Practitioner Award (Joint Winners):

• Yeoh Oon Jin, Executive Chairman, PwC Singapore, and
• Kon Yin Tong, Managing Partner, Foo Kon Tan LLP

Young Accountant in Practice Award:

• Belinda Teo, Manager, Assurance, Ernst & Young LLP

The judges have also decided to give Ms Koh Kai Ling of Deloitte the ‘Highly Commended’ accolade based on her achievements.

 Young Accountant in Practice Award, Highly Commended:

• Koh Kai Ling, Audit Learning Senior Manager, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Professional Accountants in Business

Outstanding Professional Accountant Award:

• Chua Sock Koong, Group CEO, Singtel

Young Accountant in Business Award:

• Andy Neo, Vice President, United Overseas Bank Limited

 Quotes from the winners can be found in the Annex I.  For more information on the Awards, criteria, and judging process, please refer to Annex II.

The Singapore Accountancy Awards is supported by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority and the Singapore Accountancy Commission.

-End-

Notes to Editors:

¹ Qualifying Criteria for the Singapore Accountancy Awards

Media Contacts

Betsy Tan, Senior Communications Manager

Tel: 6597 5608 / 9641 6920

Email: betsy.tan@isca.org.sg

Shaun Tay, Communications Executive

Tel: 6597 5613 / 9147 7633

Email: shaun.tay@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. There are over 30,000 ISCA members making their stride in businesses across industries in Singapore and around the world.

 Established in 1963, ISCA is an advocate of 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.

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

 ISCA is an Associate of Chartered Accountants Worldwide – supporting, developing and promoting over 325,000 Chartered Accountants in more than 180 countries around the world.

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