Industry body makes S$15 million push to enlarge pool of Singapore chartered accountants
SINGAPORE’S accounting industry body is putting S$15 million towards new initiatives to increase the supply of chartered accountants, including a new training centre.
The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (Isca) has budgeted this amount for the next three years to administer the Singapore Chartered Accountant Qualification (SCAQ) programme and set up the new centre.
The SCAQ, Singapore’s only pathway to obtain the Chartered Accountant (Singapore) qualification, is currently run by the government’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority. Isca will take over from Jan 1, 2024.
In taking over, Isca intends to expand total enrolment to around 4,000 candidates by end-2024, up from 2,461 in FY2021/22. This will help alleviate the local accounting sector’s perennial labour crunch, Isca president Teo Ser Luck told The Business Times.
Under SCAQ, candidates have to pass examinations on topics such as assurance, financial reporting and taxation. Before qualifying as chartered accountants, they must also have three years of related work experience.
Isca also wants to give accounting undergraduates an accelerated pathway to becoming chartered accountants.
Currently, SCAQ candidates take about three years to obtain the qualification, which includes sitting for the examinations and working full time in accounting firms to meet the work experience requirement.
Balancing work and studies can be a challenge for candidates, Teo said.
Isca is therefore in talks with autonomous and private universities in Singapore to allow accounting undergraduates to clear most of the SCAQ educational requirements during their degree instead.
This – coupled with previously announced changes to recognise up to 18 months of prior work experience – means candidates could qualify as soon as one to two years after graduation, Teo said.
This also means a lighter load for students who opt for the accelerated pathway, he added. “Their ‘full-time work’ is just to study, and they can be more focused.”
The accelerated qualification process also means that candidates can get pay rises sooner, as qualified chartered accountants typically earn more, he said.
Indeed, enrolment into the SCAQ will likely be a compelling draw for graduates from private universities with non-accounting majors, Teo noted.
Attaining the chartered accountant qualification could serve as a “leveller” in terms of remuneration, as starting salaries for private graduates typically lag those of their peers from autonomous universities.
In 2022, the median monthly gross salary for graduates from autonomous universities stood at S$4,200, compared with S$3,200 for graduates from private universities.
As hiring norms shift, candidates from other backgrounds – such as those with non-accounting degrees, polytechnic graduates or mid-career switchers – are also encouraged to enrol in SCAQ, said Teo.
KPMG in Singapore partner and head of audit Alex Koh said: “While KPMG in the past would have typically recruited mainly from the accountancy faculties of local universities, the firm has long expanded its focus to include those from non-traditional backgrounds in recognition of the cross-sector knowledge and transformative expertise they bring.”
Isca also hopes that students overseas will enrol in SCAQ, to eventually work for Singapore-based employers on a remote basis. The institute, which embarked on an internalisation push this year, has chapters in markets such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong and China.
This would facilitate the employment of foreign staff by local firms, in an offshoring arrangement. Such firms will be able to save costs with lower salaries, while being assured of the quality of the work thanks to the qualification, Teo said.
New training centre
In tandem with taking over SCAQ, Isca is setting up a SCAQ Centre to provide study spaces and revision lessons for candidates.
For a start, the new centre will be based at Isca’s premises on Cecil Street, though the institute is firming up a standalone space for it.
Isca will also engage trainers to teach classes on SCAQ modules, and ramp this up according to demand.
Classes will also be available online for foreign candidates or for those who prefer virtual learning.
The enhancements aim to make the SCAQ programme attractive to broad segments of the population and thus boost the number of future accountants, Teo said.
“I don’t care where you come from – if you decide to be an accountant, you decide to take SCAQ, I want to be able to help you through the path,” he added.
