As a Gen-Xer, I left school more than two decades ago. When I was pondering my future career path and choosing my course of studies back then, accountancy was a highly recommended option for the job security and vast career opportunities it could provide.
The accountancy profession has evolved by leaps and bounds since then, but what remains unchanged is that accountancy is a recession-proof career, offering strong job security even when financial markets are experiencing uncertainties and global economies hit crisis mode. As many professional accountants can attest, the professional education and experience of an accountant offer more than just a job but a career with great profession and diverse opportunities across industries.
Having the opportunity to support ISCA (Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants) members who are accountancy professionals, as well as employers and industry partners from diverse industries, we have witnessed how the accountancy landscape has transformed over the past decade or so.
Previously, those who studied accountancy typically chose to kickstart their careers in audit, accounting and finance roles and would progress through these roles steadily and make their mark as audit partners or CFOs.
Today’s accountants have so many options. Businesses value how chartered accountants can identify and deliver insights from financial data and information for performance monitoring, and provide advice and inputs that support project feasibility decisions. They also highlight potential red flags which could trigger reviews and follow-up actions for business units and management.
Emerging roles for accountancy professionals
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A glimpse at ISCA’s membership profile tells us that the roles undertaken by accountancy professionals have evolved, and there is greater diversity in our membership base. The data validates how chartered accountants, valued for their versatility and breadth of skills, are making a difference in diverse roles across various industries.
Besides the core finance and accounting, audit and tax roles, ISCA members are in job roles such as business and data analysts, pricing strategists, data scientists, finance systems specialists, digital finance transformation leads and sustainability specialists. The roles open to accountants continue to evolve.
The Singapore Economic Development Board and the Singapore Accountancy Commission, with the support of Workforce Singapore and SkillsFuture Singapore, have developed the Jobs Transformation Maps (JTMs) for Accounting Practices and In-house Finance & Accounting (F&A), which was launched in January.
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According to the JTMs, 11 job roles in accountancy are expected to emerge over the next two years. They include ESG specialists, governance, risk and compliance lead, finance automation lead, and finance transformation lead.
It is often said that “an accountant never stops learning”. This adage still holds. Because the accountant’s role has evolved and continues to evolve, accountants continually upskill and reskill themselves to perform their role as trusted business advisors and make a difference in today’s ever-changing business landscape.
Demand for accountancy professionals outstripping supply
The demand for chartered accountants has continued to rise and the profession is facing a situation where demand has significantly exceeded supply. If a picture paints a thousand words, numbers are like macro photographs that capture reality with detailed precision. Based on a study conducted by the Singapore Accountancy Commission, the accountancy sector is projected to grow and the projected increase in headcount include business advisory services (6.4%), tax advisory and compliance services (4.8%), corporate support services (2.3%) and audit and assurance services (2.2%). By 2025, there is a projected demand for 6,000 to 7,000 new accounting jobs.
For subscribers to the talk about how technology will eliminate the accountant’s role, these numbers have proven them wrong. Such discussions on technology taking over accountants’ jobs started more than a decade ago. Fast forward to today, professional accountants are in such strong demand that we are now facing a severe manpower crunch. To address the talent shortage, the Big Four accounting firms have increased staff salaries in a bid to retain talent. This reflects the broader competition for skilled accountancy professionals in Singapore.
Accountants play a key role in sustainability
The recent global call for businesses to focus resources and efforts on sustainability reporting has also created more demand for Chartered accountants.
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Chartered accountants working across industries and businesses excel in providing financial insights and in ensuring that the financial information complies with regulatory and reporting standards. For Chartered accountants working in professional services firms, they will conduct an audit after the company closes its books.
In helping businesses go green, accountants have a central role to play. Finance teams excel at collecting and making sense of data from various sources to derive insights. Chartered accountants are best placed to contribute towards sustainability reporting as more organisations adopt environmental, social and governance performance metrics and track non-financial indicators to enhance transparency and improve decision-making while seeking to achieve their bottom lines. Similarly, auditors must have the skills to verify such information.
Beyond collecting, analysing and reporting sustainability-related information, accountants and auditors can be strategic advisors to help embed sustainability into a company’s strategy, decision making and reporting processes.
Besides ISCA, the local universities and professional services firms are actively providing education and training support to staff and professional accountants to equip everyone in this space. One of the Big Four firms, PwC Singapore, has announced its commitment to a $50 million investment over five years in promoting sustainability excellence, including upskilling its 3,500-strong workforce.
Businesses cannot function without accountants
I cannot imagine how businesses will function without accountants as accountancy is the language of business unified by a global set of financial reporting standards. And in a time when climate change is a global existential risk, accountants can truly save the world by making “sustainable performance concrete, measurable, comparable and linked to scientific priorities”.
Truth be told, accountancy as a profession might not be one of the most exciting choices. We often blame it on the lack of blockbuster movies and drama series. Many accountants would argue that their training has provided them with a career that is fulfilling in so many ways, based on the diverse roles they have taken and the paths they have charted across different industries.
There are so many “war stories” that accountants can share. At ISCA, we have been bringing them to schools to inspire and respond to the pragmatic, candid and often numerically-inclined questions posed by the brighteyed and bushy-tailed youngsters.
We see it as our mission to share our experiences with future generations, to inspire them to carry the torch because, in such a time as this, we need as many people with the skills to save the world as we can get.
Soh Suat Lay is the divisional director (professional development and qualifications) at the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)
