We are creating some awesome events for you. Kindly bear with us.

Technology aiding Government’s goal for Singapore to become a global accountancy hub

Technology aiding Government’s goal for Singapore to become a global accountancy hub

          Ms Lim Soo Hoon, Permanent Secretary (Finance)(Performance) spoke at the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants’ (ISCA) Singapore Accountancy Convention.

          She said that in line with the Government’s goal for Singapore to be a global accountancy hub, ISCA had been making good progress in its efforts to transform the Institute into a globally-recognised professional accountancy body. Earlier this year, ISCA joined Chartered Accountants Worldwide as an Associate member. A strong accountancy sector is integral to Singapore’s role as a global financial centre.

          The accountancy sector must anticipate and embrace change but endeavour to lead the change where possible and be at the forefront of the developments. Singapore can lead change on three fronts: technology; advisory services; and talent management.

          Singapore needs to harness technology to increase productivity. Technology has disrupted many sectors and the accountancy sector is no exception. A report released by Oxford University in 2013 entitled “The Future of Employment’ revealed that the jobs of accountants and auditors have a high probability of being susceptible to computerisation. Despite the risks, however, Ms Lim Soo Hoon believes there are opportunities for Singapore to create and capture greater value through the use of technology.

          Accountants in businesses can provide higher value business insights by harnessing technology. The third ISCA Productivity Scorecard and Benchmarking Survey report conducted earlier this year revealed that only 50% of Singapore companies have some form of financial cockpit and dashboard. This suggests there is room for Singapore companies to tap on computerised tracking or monitoring tools to ensure better visibility and control of their financials to ultimately, increase business efficiency.

          SPRING and other public agencies have provided many grants and initiatives to help SMEs, including SMPs, automate and increase productivity.It is thought that there is no lack of funding support or technological tool available. But the problem is the slow take up of the help offered.

“This morning I read that the latest annual SME Development Survey conducted by the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) showed that the proportion of SMEs that have invested in technology has increased from 64% to 68%. I do not know how the SMPs fare in this regard but I strongly encourage SMPs that have not done so to tap onto the various grants available and embrace technology to improve your business models and processes. You can in turn help transform our SMEs and improve their productivity.”

          Technology alone cannot take the accountancy sector into a new era. The sector needs to provide new market-relevant services. The Singapore Accountancy Commission’s (SAC) recent census of accounting entities in Singapore revealed that while 67% of the accounting entities are anticipating a growth in revenue from audit services in the next 12 months, 80% are expecting to bring in more revenue through growth in non-audit services.

          The census also revealed that while the Big-4 firms derive most of their revenues from non-audit-related services, most of the other accounting entities still derive the bulk of their revenue from providing audit services. Audit is important and remains the bedrock of the accountancy business. However, with the new audit exemption threshold which came into force in July 2015, smaller audit firms need to come up with new business models and pursue new and more sustainable revenue streams apart from audit.

          Developing stronger competencies in areas like advisory will not only open new markets for SMPs as the next frontier of growth, it will also help boost Singapore’s position as a global accountancy hub. The ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement Framework on Accountancy Services will increase market access for accounting professionals to other ASEAN markets. While audit remains regulated and requires domestic licensing, there are opportunities for the expansion of accounting entities through the export of the broader array of accountancy-related services.

“For smaller firms that have been relying on manual audit services and are concerned about introducing major changes to your business model, They should be encouraged to start now and take that first step.”

 

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Send this to a friend