The widespread talent shortage points to a larger branding issue for the accountancy profession. Just last month, a new Accountancy Workforce Review Committee was set up to dispel the perception that the accountancy profession is “boring, monotonous and repetitive”, in a bid to persuade more to take up accountancy.
The technology boom in recent years has taken some shine off the accountancy profession, which has typically been regarded as a stable and rewarding profession.
In Singapore, local university cohorts of accountancy graduates have dropped, and even fewer graduates go on to become accountants and auditors. Yet, with the demand for qualified accountants showing no signs of abating, this has created a critical talent gap in the Finance & Accounting (F&A) industry in Singapore.
