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Driving Asia's professional services revolution
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EY Singapore powers purpose-led growth with AI transformation and innovation to capture opportunities and uplift talents and the profession
'We've grown in tandem with Singapore's enterprises; contributing back to the ecosystem that we operate in gives us purpose beyond profits,' says Liew Nam Soon, EY Asia East Deputy Regional Managing Partner, also Singapore Country Managing Partner.
It was 1889 and Singapore was a British trading post when accountant G.A. Derrick set up shop at a desk inside a Raffles Place general store. Today, just a stone's throw away at One Raffles Quay, EY Singapore's sustainability-first office houses a 4,000-strong workforce, part of a 400,000-strong global organisation that is fuelling growth and innovation through billion-dollar artificial intelligence (AI) transformations.
That journey from solo practice to regional powerhouse is woven with many Singaporean stories. Over more than 130 years, local accountancy pioneers – Derrick & Co, Evan Wong & Co, Ee Peng Liang & Co and more – grew and merged with British and American firms to become EY in Singapore today.
With global integration, EY Singapore has been the nerve centre for Asean within the global EY organisation. In the latest organisational development, EY in Singapore is part of a newly formed Asia East regional construct – one that spans Japan, Asean and Korea.
Regional synergies
'We see many enhanced synergies in the Asia East Region,' says Liew Nam Soon, EY Asia East Deputy Regional Managing Partner, who also leads the Asean business unit and Singapore firm as Country Managing Partner. 'It enables us to better serve Japanese and Korean clients expanding into Asean, as well as international companies using Singapore as their gateway into the region.'
The formation of Asia East Region is opportune as companies across Asia grapple with how to reframe corporate strategies and reconfigure operations amid geopolitical bifurcation and shifting trade patterns. The Asia East Region allows EY to invest in and deploy resources more strategically, agilely and seamlessly across borders and importantly, help deliver enhanced client service and solutions across its full spectrum of services in assurance, consulting, tax, strategy and transactions.
Singapore anchors this strategy. It holds longstanding hub status and deep experience in multiple industries, including financial services, industrials and energy, telecommunications and media and technology. That, plus a rapid scaling up of centres of excellence in sustainability, supply chain, and AI and data analytics, makes EY in Singapore well-poised to support clients in their growth and expansion pursuits across the Japan-Korea-Asean corridor and beyond.
Client Zero drives AI-transformation
To keep pace with the changing environment, EY's investments into AI, particularly agentic AI, will be critical.
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EY's AI transformation began in 2017, well before generative AI became more mainstream.
The September 2023 launch of its platform – backed by US$1.4 billion in investment – marked a significant milestone. Liew outlines three strategic AI priorities: transform EY itself, leverage that to transform clients, and then transform entire ecosystems.
These rest on its 'Client Zero' philosophy. 'We know we can advise clients credibly when we have done it ourselves,' says Liew. EY first deploys technology internally, layering its deep domain expertise and knowledge onto existing agentic AI and platforms, learns from the experience and then packages its insights into client solutions to improve alpha or operating efficiency.
An example of how EY has deployed AI is in its tax business – for which EY is Singapore and Asean's largest player. In March 2025, EY launched its Agentic Platform, which combines AI reasoning models with human knowledge and curated data sets.
Globally, the initial phase deploys 150 AI agents to assist 80,000 EY tax professionals with data collection, document analysis and review, and income and indirect tax compliance.
'We're developing AI agents to work hand-in-hand with our tax professionals to help deliver tax compliance tasks that are manual and labour-intensive, where automation can reduce error rates,' says Liew.
This is already being used at a proof-of-concept level, with EY Singapore working with tax authorities and corporations to roll it out enterprise-wide in coming quarters. Success here could pave the way for solutions in other parts of the business as well as across multiple sectors like life sciences, manufacturing and financial services.
Humans at the centre
Despite the advanced technology involved, Liew emphasises: 'Our AI strategy puts humans at the centre.' The workforce has been receptive to the organisation's AI transformation – EYQ, the organisation's private and secure large language model, has generated more than 68 million prompts since launch.
'Getting fluent in AI is non-negotiable,' says Liew. This is backed up by a concerted investment in learning and development – about 80 per cent of EY's global workforce has received AI training. Locally, EY announced in 2024 that it was investing to upskill 500 Singapore-based consulting professionals and an expected 100 new hires annually.
'We're committed to supporting the national agenda on AI skilling and scaling,' Liew says. 'One of our priorities is to continually develop a pipeline of AI talent that not only benefits our clients and our profession but also contributes to a more globally competitive talent pool for industries.'
One specific industry need he sees is broader and deeper board expertise in AI. 'Increasingly, we also need board directors with strong technology understanding to ask the right questions of management,' he shares, further underscoring the importance of working with ecosystem partners like trade associations and chambers to drive the proliferation of knowledge from boardrooms to front offices.
Investing in tomorrow's talent
The organisation is not just training existing employees; it is also reimagining how it attracts and develops new talent.
In 2024, EY Singapore announced a S$100 million investment over five years into talent development. This includes higher early-career compensation and the introduction of EY Scale, a two-year management associate programme offering diverse exposure across business lines – unusual among Big Four firms but reflecting EY's visionary move to cultivate talents with multidisciplinary exposure and broadened business outlook.
Additionally, the professional services organisation offers digital credentials through its bespoke EY Badges learning programme, which covers in-demand, future-focused topics such as data analytics and AI to sustainability and transformational leadership.
In association with Hult International Business School, EY also offers distinctive and fully accredited postgraduate programmes – a tech MBA, a Masters in Sustainability and a Masters in Business Analytics – complimentary to all employees.
These initiatives tie into Liew's vision for EY to play a role in uplifting skills across the broader professional services sector, as well as fostering the attractiveness of a career in the sector.
Green growth engine
Climate vulnerability across Asean drives another major focus area for EY. 'Asean, as a region, is prone to climate change risks – rising sea levels, heatwaves and floods,' says Liew.
'There's no doubt that we have to be committed to our clients' sustainability journeys, from transitioning to cleaner energy, to scaling green innovation, to investing for meaningful impact.'
One example of EY's work in this area: to develop climate decarbonisation strategies, its data analytics team uses nanosatellites to capture soil erosion data and crop yield data, giving palm oil clients actionable insights for reconfiguring growth plans.
In 2023, it set up the EY Center for Sustainable Supply Chains in Singapore, leveraging the country's position as a leading supply chain and logistics hub. The centre supports companies in Asean in developing sustainable practices for their supply chains, focusing on traceability, visibility, decarbonisation, the creation of circular business models, and assessment of taxes and incentives.
Sustainability reporting represents another major service area.
A critical gap is emerging between large companies' growing reporting expectations and their suppliers' lack of expertise to deliver credible carbon emissions data, Liew notes.
EY is part of the Queen Bee Enabled Sustainability Transition (QUEST) programme, piloted with the Singapore Business Federation and Singapore Post's small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) suppliers in October 2024. EY developed a first-of-its-kind, sector-agnostic programme to prepare SMEs for evolving green procurement criteria and supplier codes of conduct from large and listed companies.
EY itself is walking the talk. In its renovation of the Singapore office, sustainability was made a priority in the procurement of furniture and materials and the use of energy efficient fixtures. These green efforts saw EY awarded the highest tier 4-Leaf Eco Office certification by the Singapore Environment Council.
The refreshed EY office features sustainable and Singapore Green Label certified materials, along with energy and water-efficient fixtures to reduce environmental impact.
Beyond business, EY is also creating impact to the communities.
Through EY Ripples, its corporate responsibility programme, EY people use their skills, knowledge and experience to support the next generation workforce, work with impact entrepreneurs and accelerate environmental sustainability.
For its corporate giving efforts, EY was conferred Champion of Good by the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre in 2024. Its annual Entrepreneur Of The Year awards programme, which has been running for over two decades, honours outstanding local entrepreneurs who are creating socioeconomic impact through building successful ventures.
Building a better working world
As Singapore celebrates its 60th year of independence, Liew reflects: 'We've grown in tandem with Singapore's enterprises; contributing back to the ecosystem that we operate in gives us purpose beyond profits.'
With a front-row seat to the pulse of industries and businesses, EY looks to leverage its experience to accelerate the growth and transformation of Singapore's professional services talent and industry as a whole.
'We're shaping the future with confidence,' Liew shares. 'A future where a better working world prevails – for our people, clients and community.'
