How do we make accountancy great again in Singapore?

ACCOUNTANCY, one of the oldest professions in the world, has evolved alongside economies and technological advancements.

From ancient Mesopotamia’s simple record-keeping to the Industrial Revolution’s sophisticated practices, accountants have always played a key role in business. 

But a quiet crisis is brewing in the accounting industry in Singapore. There is a shrinking workforce, changing business demands and significant transformation unleashed by technological and economic forces. 

As we move towards the next phase of modernisation and a generational shift, we’re now in yet another era of change, one in which modern-day professional accountants are smack in the centre of action.

How did accounting fall out of vogue in Singapore?

The accountancy profession is facing a shortage of qualified accountants. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong has highlighted the more than 10 per cent decline in the number of students pursuing accounting degrees in the past five years. So grave is the situation that earlier this year, the government convened a committee to brainstorm ways to attract more talent.

What happened? How did we get here?

In the 1980s, a period of immense economic growth and prosperity, the accountancy profession was highly esteemed. This began to wane towards the end of the decade, though, as businesses entered more complex regulatory environments and the information age dawned, generating a flurry of new business models and new means to personal economic prosperity. 

Our younger generation probably started viewing the profession as rigid, traditional, less interesting and more of a backroom activity. But what they don’t realise is the profession itself has undergone significant change. Finance and accountancy now encompass a wide range of activities, including decisions on strategy, technology, performance, and payoffs well into the future. That’s why Singapore continues to be an economic bellwether for Asia.

Accountants are quietly becoming more important today

While notions of old age, lack of diversity and a shrinking talent base are worrying, not all is as it seems. Accountancy is still vibrant, progressive, transformative, and rapidly evolving with time. Just ask a nearby accountant.

Why do we need accountants? 

The modern-day organisation needs a modern-day finance function. With today’s cloud accounting software and data analytics, accountants have evolved beyond merely “pushing or crunching numbers”. Instead, they predict and analyse financial data to help organisations with actionable insights that inform business decisions.

Think of it like football. To compete, you need a balanced team, star players, solid coaches and infrastructure to make it all happen. Much like in sports, what you do on the field is planned off the field – that is, by the accountant. 

The accountant provides you with the risk assessment, the insight that prepares you to compete, and the assurance that what you have is worth something that you can rely on to develop your strategic options for your next game. 

The next frontier is building truly sustainable businesses. With climate change on the agenda of governments and businesses, we need more accountants with specialised skills and experience. Accountants have evolved to become an organisation’s sustainability trailblazers, transformation drivers, enterprise value generators, data and future insight providers, and so much more. 

Accountants, in their diverse roles, serve to enhance governance in organisations. They play a crucial role in helping protect and report on the value and the impact on people, the planet and profitability. Using their insight, they bring data to life and help manage ever-growing stakeholder demands.

As with many cycles of change we’ve seen in the last century, accountancy has kept pace with (and in some ways will even outpace) the shift to Industry 4.0, which makes it a role that continually remains high in demand.

Sparking passion for accounting from the ground up

So, what can we do to address the decline in the accountancy profession before it becomes a crisis for Singapore? Is there a workaround, such as investing in artificial intelligence (AI) to take over the role?

It’s already apparent that an accountant’s critical thinking and professional intuition cannot yet be replaced. What we could do in the immediate timeframe is to:

1. Correct misperceptions of the accountant’s role

Job seekers must know how the role has evolved to help them see the changes and remove doubts or misperceptions of accountancy being a monotonous and stuck-in-time profession. They must also be re-educated on the newfound mission and values of the job. It is a wide-ranging process involving many stakeholders, but it can be successful if done correctly.

To ensure students understand the true purpose of accountancy, teachers should communicate it clearly and incorporate real-world applications into its curriculum. Modern instructional methods require the use of technology-aided tools and practical simulated work environments. Additionally, institutions can invite professional accountants to share their experiences and discuss the field’s diverse and rewarding career opportunities. 

By working with organisations, they can also create new internship roles for students that go beyond data entry and number crunching, giving them a chance to explore the work of accountancy in greater depth.

2. Help mid-career switchers join the profession

Since the role of accountants is becoming increasingly specialised, mid-career switchers must be supported by resources to explore the capabilities one would need for the career now and in the future, and then find tailored learning and development opportunities. 

At the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), in addition to skills-focused certificate courses, we also have a career navigator tool on our website to guide their route. Through the tool, individuals can learn more about the continuous learning they should do to acquire knowledge and develop skills required for the specialised role they are eyeing.

3. Let passion lead

It takes passion and a high level of intelligence for an individual to connect the dots that will bring transparency via effective financial management. A passionate accountant adept in tomorrow’s challenges of sustainability, well-versed with today’s ever-evolving tools, and supported by strong, ethical, and professional skills, would, might I say, save the world. 

While we chase after an equilibrium to meet the gaps in demand and supply, we must also ensure that we enrol a pool of passionate, purposeful accountants in our industry. They must be motivated to learn and grow and constantly strive to improve.

A positive outlook

Firms and governments are taking various measures to attract Gen Z to the accountancy profession, such as financial incentives, university partnerships and awareness. Here at ACCA, too, we recently launched a public awareness campaign titled “Be You Anywhere” to promote the accountancy profession to prospective students and their parents. We have also launched the world’s largest survey into the future of the profession to determine where we are and how we can get to where we need to be.

Accountancy is a profession that demands integrity, compassion and a strong commitment to ethical standards. These are the qualities that make accountants essential to businesses and communities around the world. 

The future of accountancy is bright. The advancements in technologies such as decentralised finance and generative AI will further strengthen the need for professional accountants who are able to identify new opportunities and mitigate risks with a forward-thinking mindset. 

This new generation of professionals will be talented and innovative, with the potential to significantly contribute to the profession. With the right support and training, these professionals can help businesses and communities around the world thrive.

For now, we just need to persevere and trust in the process – like what professional accountants do best.

The writer is Asia-Pacific director at ACCA