4 days ago
More seeking accountancy qualification in Singapore, even as global talent shortage continues
[SINGAPORE] Even as accounting bodies worldwide continue to struggle with attracting fresh talent, Singapore has managed to buck the trend – and the industry here is now in growth mode.
With more new faces entering the profession, accounting firms in the city-state could soon get relief from the manpower shortages that have plagued the sector for years.
Teo Ser Luck, president of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (Isca), pointed to a sharp rise in the number of candidates entering the training pipeline as an example.
As at Dec 31, 2024, the total number of candidates enrolled in the Singapore Chartered Accountant Qualification (SCAQ) programme crossed 4,200 – a 47 per cent increase from the overall enrolment figure a year earlier.
Isca has now set an internal target of exceeding 7,000 total SCAQ candidates in 2025, which would mark a 75 per cent year-on-year jump. The SCAQ, administered by Isca since January 2024, is the sole pathway to obtaining the Chartered Accountant (Singapore) qualification.
Universities in Singapore are also seeing stronger interest in accountancy, observed Teo.
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Anecdotally, some universities noted that, in their most recent admissions, 100 per cent of successful applicants had picked accountancy as their first-choice degree – a development that contrasts with the situation in recent years.
Teo did not name the institutions. Out of the six autonomous universities in Singapore, five offer accountancy courses.
Among them is the Singapore Institute of Technology.
The university has recorded a more than 30 per cent rise in applications for its accountancy course over the past three years, and a 74.5 per cent increase in its programme intake in the last decade, said Associate Professor Koh Sze Kee, cluster director for business, communication and design.
'Alongside this growing demand, we continue to attract and admit a strong pool of students with high academic standing and a clear aptitude and passion for accountancy,' noted Prof Koh.
Just last year, a report by the Accountancy Workforce Review Committee (AWRC) found that fewer students had been choosing accountancy as their top choice, although specific numbers were not disclosed.
The AWRC was formed in 2022 to tackle manpower issues in the sector. Since then, recommendations such as boosting entry-level wages and creating more diverse qualification pathways have been adopted.
Teo said that these moves – along with the combined efforts of Isca, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra), educational institutions, and industry players – have helped reverse the talent decline.
Interest is also rising at the pre-university level.
A representative from Temasek Polytechnic (TP), speaking at an Acra event last Tuesday (May 27), shared that its diploma in accountancy and finance programme has been attracting more first-choice applications.
'In terms of the last aggregate score, it has also improved across the years from five to 11, to four to 11, to three to 11 (in 2025),' the TP representative said.
These aggregate scores refer to the O-level results of successful applicants, where lower scores indicate better performance.
International plaudits
Singapore's success in replenishing its accounting pipeline has not gone unnoticed internationally.
'I certainly have encouraged other parts of the globe to learn (from) what Singapore has been doing here,' said Lee White, chief executive officer of the International Federation of Accountants, in a recent interview with The Business Times.
For instance, recent initiatives by Isca to engage pre-tertiary students in secondary schools, junior colleges and polytechnics are a 'simple, contemporary way' to tackle the sector's manpower challenges, noted White.
He added: 'The way this is all marketed by Isca is very, very strong.'
But Teo cautioned that this progress cannot be taken for granted.
'We have reversed the trend, but it's still a very long journey,' he warned. 'The trend, (at) anytime, can be reversed.'
Some gaps remain. While perceptions that accountancy is a 'boring' career have improved 'slightly', more can be done to feature the profession's diversity. 'We need to do more; seeding that knowledge and the information needs a lot more work,' Teo said.
He also wants to further expand the pool by encouraging more non-accounting graduates to qualify, and for closer rapport with businesses, to demonstrate the value of hiring accounting-trained staff.
He also advised accountants not to look at their role and say they are 'just another finance person in the company'. 'You should also be (positioned as) a strategic person,... a right-hand person.'
