13 May 2010   

Committee to Develop the Accountancy Sector

The Committee to Develop the Accountancy Sector (CDAS) submitted its final report “Transforming Singapore into a Leading Global Accountancy Hub for Asia-Pacific” to the Minister for Finance and the recommendations have been accepted.

One key recommendation was for ICPAS to transform into a global professional accountancy body. In the report, two strategic areas were identified to enable the ICPAS to move towards the achievement of this goal:

(a) Reviewing its Constitution – A comprehensive independent study of the ICPAS Constitution should ensure its relevance and alignment with ICPAS’ mission as the national professional body and that the ensuing governance and leadership structure and system are consistent with that of a professional accountancy body with a global membership, outlook and standing; and

(b) Reviewing its Infrastructure - A study of the ICPAS’s existing processes and systems to ensure that they support the vision of the ICPAS becoming a professional accountancy body with a global membership, outlook and standing. This includes refocusing the strategic direction of the Singapore Accountancy Academy as that of a leading professional development centre which meets the needs of its members and the accountancy sector.

As part of the strategic thrust to establish Singapore as the leading global centre for accountancy talent, education, thought leadership and professional development, CDAS recommended two developments which ICPAS will be involved in.

Recommendation 1: To develop a globally-recognised, Singapore-branded, post-university professional accountancy qualification programme (“Qualification Programme”). This Qualification Programme should be relevant for training audit professionals and commercial accountants. It should have a unique value proposition, with the following characteristics:

(a) Global recognition;

(b)International portability; and

(c) An “Asian market value factor”.

This Qualification Programme would be administered by the ICPAS, under the independent oversight of the would-be established Singapore Accountancy Council (SAC).

Recommendation 2: To develop Singapore into a Centre of Excellence in the areas of the professional development of Chief Financial Officers, as well as the development of specialisation pathways in internal audit and risk management expertise, business valuation expertise (especially in the areas relating to intellectual property, brands, corporate finance and arbitration proceedings), and international tax expertise.

The SAC will provide the oversight on the development of these professional specialisation pathways. Steering Committees should be set up for the development of these specialisation pathways, which includes the development of professional qualifications, job-specific competency frameworks, certification programmes and a regional examination centre. A CFO Institute for the professional development of Chief Financial Officers should also be established.

The CFO Steering Committee will include CFOs and representatives from the ICPAS.

Read CDAS’ final report on “Transforming Singapore into a Leading Global Accountancy Hub for Asia-Pacific” at http://www.acra.gov.sg/Publications/CDAS+Final+Report.htm