More than 15,000 sign up for national accounting body’s AI programme in two months

[SINGAPORE] More than 15,000 accountants and finance professionals have enrolled in a national artificial intelligence training programme within two months of its launch, the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (Isca) said on Friday (Aug 28).

This means it is a quarter of the way towards its three-year target of 60,000 participants.

Isca is also looking to take the programme beyond Singapore, with Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese versions being prepared, and discussions under way with professional accountancy bodies, accounting firms and companies across Asean.

The regional push comes a week after Isca signed an agreement with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) to deepen cooperation on AI training and professional recognition.

Under the AI collaboration, the two bodies are looking to extend Singapore-developed AI training to ICAI’s more than 1.5 million members and students.

The Isca AI Fluency Programme aims to equip accountancy and corporate finance professionals with practical skills to use AI effectively and responsibly at work.

It includes more than 180 practical AI use cases across six professional roles – including audit, finance, tax, internal audit, governance and board reporting – as well as over 600 learning activities.

These cover tasks ranging from financial analysis and reporting, to audit planning and tax research.

Participants so far span different career stages and workplaces, from students and small firm practitioners to senior business leaders.

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Employers including EY, Deloitte and SP Group have employees participating in the programme.

The programme is also beginning to translate into workplace applications. At credentials platform Accredify, AI workflows have been developed to cut the time spent on selected finance and contract-processing activities by an estimated 50 to 80 per cent.

Isca president Lee Boon Teck said: “AI will not replace professional judgment. Its greatest value will come from professionals who can combine AI capabilities with their expertise and judgment to deliver better outcomes for clients, employers and society.”

He added that the response to the programme showed that the profession was ready to embrace AI as Isca works towards building an “AI-fluent accountancy profession” in Singapore.