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Helping Small and Medium Practices Grow
Expedition Log: Act 8
Small and medium practices (SMPs) play a vital role in Singapore’s economy by providing crucial support to businesses. With the majority of enterprises in Singapore being Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), many of which seek professional services offered by SMPs, supporting SMPs has always been a significant part of ISCA’s mission.
ISCA continues to drive quality, digitalisation, upskilling, and the growth of SMPs via the SMP Centre of Excellence, a one-stop hub offering a holistic suite of initiatives, services and resources catered to the varying needs of audit practices through quality, digital and practice management.
ISCA led a delegation of 20 practitioners from small and medium practices (SMPs) to Shanghai for a business study mission from 22 to 25 August 2023.
The delegates participated in networking events, business matching sessions, and business visits where they learnt about Shanghai’s regulatory and investment landscape and showcased their firms and offerings to Chinese accounting firms and companies.
ACRA-ISCA Outreach Session
In line with the Amendments to the Accountants Act, ISCA and ACRA jointly organised an outreach session for over 200 practitioners to share about the inspection frameworks for firm-wide and engagement-level reviews. Attendees delved into the benefits and strategies for effectively deploying data analytics in financial statement audits.
Supporting SMPs in implementing Quality Management System
Arising from the introduction of new quality management standards, ISCA organised two workshops, aiming to equip SMPs with the knowledge, tools, and resources to meet high-quality standards in their professional practice.
ISCA collaborated with tech startup Skybots to share key monitoring activities that are integral to a firm’s quality management system and how Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can enhance operational efficiency for monitoring activities. The workshop empowered practitioners to tackle the challenges of quality management while leveraging automation solutions for efficiency.
Talent Management Workshop
To address manpower challenges faced by the profession, practitioners and their HR directors engaged in meaningful discussions at the Talent Management Workshop on 8 August 2023, an event tailored for SMPs who are Corporate Members. Participants learned about the AEcensus, HR best practices and hiring tips for SMPs.
Quality Assurance Review
Firms can also tap on ISCA’s Quality Assurance Review (QAR) Programme, designed to help public accountants and firms maintain high-quality standards in their practice. From conducting engagement-level reviews for compliance with Singapore Standards on Auditing to firm-level reviews for compliance with SSQM, ISCA helps SMPs identify gaps in their practice and provides guidance on how to improve their quality standards.
In collaboration with ACRA, ISCA launched the Accountancy PSG, which aims to support SMPs in their digital transformation to scale up, improve productivity and offer greater value-added services to their clients. It was unveiled at the ISCA Tech Fair on 8 September 2023, attended by over 160 SMPs. The funding scheme covers 7 digital solution categories specific to the accountancy sector - External Audit, Internal Audit, Tax, Corporate Secretarial, Practice Management, Data Analytics and Business Advisory. The ISCA Tech Fair also served as a technical showcase, featuring a diverse selection of over 10 solutions tailored to the accountancy sector.
Tech talks and digital advisory
ISCA continues to advance digitalisation in the profession by collaborating with technology solutions providers to conduct tech talks. The talks enhance awareness and understanding of various digital tools that SMPs can tap on to embark or further their digitalisation journey. In addition, ISCA boosts SMPs’ digital adoption via its digital advisory service, which provides one-on-one consultation and personalised recommendations on suitable digital tools or support schemes for their practice.
Singapore Professional Services Partner Guide
Developed by the Ministry of Law and Enterprise Singapore in collaboration with ISCA and Law Society of Singapore, the Singapore Professional Services Partner Guide contains a curated list of professional services firms who can support overseas enterprises when they expand their businesses to Singapore and Southeast Asia.
With the growing importance of sustainability, the expanded version launched by Minister Indranee Rajah at the 17th meeting of the Singapore-Jiangsu Cooperation Council includes a new Sustainability Chapter. ISCA reached out to accounting firms with sustainability-related capabilities and offerings such as sustainability reporting and advisory to be listed and showcase their sustainability services in the new chapter.
Practitioners Connect
ISCA organised 3 sessions this year that brought together over 200 practitioners. Participants gathered for evenings of candid conversations, meaningful exchange of experiences and gained fresh viewpoints and insights on pertinent practice-related topics, such as the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in audit and advisory.
