“It’s very tough for us to get local undergraduates,” says Koh Wee Kwang, director of audit and assurance at Nexia Singapore PAC. Koh adds that smaller firms lack the employer branding and recognition of the Big Four firms — Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC.
From 2018 to 2024, the first-year intake of accountancy students at Singapore’s autonomous universities declined significantly. For instance, Nanyang Technological University’s accountancy intake dropped by more than 40% from 541 in 2018 to 314 in 2024.
Coupled with an ageing workforce and attrition, the industry faces a talent shortage. Some smaller accountancy practices shared their manpower challenges in interviews with The Edge Singapore. Once thought of as an attractive career, accountancy is seemingly becoming an afterthought as a vocation.
