“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.
For Forvis Mazars’ Chin Chee Choon, the issue may lie in accountancy’s appeal. “Auditing is not sexy anymore,” shares the firm’s audit and assurance partner. “ Even if we increase the salary, we still find it hard to attract talent to join the accounting or auditing industry.”
Other industry observers have noted that a persistent talent crunch could drive consolidation among accounting firms, diminishing competition and sectoral vibrancy.
Accountants in business and investing
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Beyond the manpower challenges of non-Big Four firms, the decline in the number of qualified accountants has implications for the economy and businesses, including listed companies.
In an interview with The Edge Singapore, Teo Ser Luck, president of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), states that accountancy is the “language of business and finance”. Teo, who is also the chairman of listed company BRC Asia, explains that a lack of qualified accountants could be “detrimental” to the quality and integrity of financial reporting by businesses, especially those listed on the stock exchange. This would, in turn, hurt overall investor confidence in Singapore and impact the island-state’s ambitions as a financial and wealth hub.
Meanwhile, industry insiders report that the accountant’s role has evolved over the years in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment. For Singtel group CFO Arthur Lang, accountants have moved beyond traditional bookkeeping and are adding value in new ways. He says, “The finance department is the champion for enterprise value creation, and this requires a multi-disciplinary approach with varied skills such as strategic thinking, data analytics, corporate finance and a deep understanding of capital markets and stakeholder management.”
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Mohamed Amanullah, group CFO of formerly listed Sysma Holdings, states that accountants have a “granular and bird’s eye view” of a company’s finances and play a critical role in shaping business strategy.
Describing the CFO’s insight as an “invaluable resource”, Mohamed says, “Qualified accounting professionals are needed when an organisation is doing well — to assist in the growth and expansion, but also when a company is not doing so well — to rehabilitate and restructure the company back to profitability and growth.”
In addition, as Singapore-listed companies are required to fulfil mandatory climate reporting requirements, accountants are increasingly responsible for sustainability reporting. According to an ISCA study in 2022, more than half of sustainability heads report to their CFOs.
Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) CEO Tan Boon Gin says that high-quality financial and sustainability reports can only be produced by those who “understand and are familiar” with both financial and sustainability-related disclosures. “Accountants at listed companies should also have a good understanding of the SGX Listing Rules as financial statements and corporate disclosures must meet IFRS [International Financial Reporting Standards],” he says to The Edge Singapore.
Seen through these perspectives, it seems that qualified accountants who translate financial data into the language of business and finance are key players in the equities market ecosystem. It may not be hyperbolic to say that without qualified accountants, investors would find it challenging to evaluate listed companies.
Revitalising the profession
The manpower crunch in accountancy has been serious enough for the Singapore government to intervene to make accountancy an attractive career again. Acknowledging the seriousness of the problem, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) established the accounting workforce review committee (AWRC) in October 2022 to investigate the issue and propose strategies to address manpower challenges in the industry.
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In its May 2024 report, the AWRC identified weaknesses in the development of the accountancy talent pool and recommended solutions.
The first challenge identified was the need to address the relatively low starting salaries of accounting graduates, given the profession’s gruelling hours. In surveys conducted in 2023, the median starting salary for new accountants was approximately $3,800, 10% lower than the overall median starting salary for graduates of Singapore’s autonomous universities. With more attractive pay in other industries, the decline in enrolment in accountancy programmes could be partially explained by the lower starting salary.
To make accountancy a more appealing option, the AWRC recommended that accounting firms raise starting salaries for fresh graduates and update their reward structures. For instance, Deloitte offers salaries ranging from $4,000 to $4,500, depending on the business unit and the level of internship experience.
“Since Sept 1, 2024, we have increased the annual salary package for fresh graduates joining as auditors by up to 20%,” says Deloitte Singapore audit leader Yang Chi Chih. “This adjustment is part of a broader investment, amounting to approximately $62 million, to support the growth of audit talent during their first five years with the firm.”
Other firms reported to have raised starting salaries include EY and Grant Thornton, which increased them to $4,300 and $4,000, respectively.
To address long working hours and make the profession more appealing, the AWRC proposed strategies such as leveraging technology, making work more purposeful, and enhancing talent development and the career value proposition.
Another prominent challenge that deterred interested individuals from entering the profession was the friction in obtaining professional accountancy qualifications, such as the Singapore Chartered Accountant Qualification (SCAQ). To facilitate the attainment of SCAQ, the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) has implemented several initiatives. For instance, it has established programmes that fast-track accountancy graduates to earn the chartered accountant designation and allow all polytechnic students to sit for the SCAQ upon graduation.
The AWRC’s report also found that prospective accountants perceived the SCAQ as relevant only to auditors. To change perceptions about the relevance of professional accounting qualifications, Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah stated that Acra has been working with SGX RegCo on measures to stress the importance of hiring professionally qualified accountants to listed companies for their finance function.
Last November, to increase the uptake of the SCAQ, Acra announced two new pathways for accounting diploma graduates from the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) and recognised Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs). It also announced enhancements to the SCAQ professional programme and changes to the assessment format for the SCAQ foundation programme, including a switch from written essays to MCQs.
To support smaller firms, ISCA rolled out a strategy paper in December for small- and medium-sized practices. Among the recommendations to address the manpower crunch was for smaller firms to strengthen their employer branding efforts to students, including partnering with universities to offer internships and participating in career fairs.
Recovery on the cards
Koh says Nexia is planning to hold additional roadshows at universities to strengthen his its employer branding. Meanwhile, to attract young talent motivated by meaningful work and workplaces, Forvis Mazars has implemented initiatives in sustainability and corporate social responsibility, according to Chin.
According to various reports, SCAQ enrolments have more than trebled, from approximately 850 to approximately 2,700. Membership in ISCA has surged past 40,000. The increase was driven mainly by student membership, which rose from 3,200 in 2022 to more than 9,000. According to Teo, the SCAQ talent pipeline now outnumbers the annual number of retiring chartered accountants.
Teo says that ISCA members are more than just financial stewards and shares that the national accountancy body develops talent both quantitatively and qualitatively.
“At ISCA, we train more than 20,000 participants annually in emerging areas such as governance, AI, digital transformation, and sustainability,” says Teo. “These efforts ensure our members remain trusted leaders, helping businesses uphold integrity, innovate with confidence, and balance profit with purpose.”
According to a 2025 survey by Edelman DXI Chartered Accountants Worldwide, chartered accountants are the second-most trusted profession in Singapore.
To SGX RegCo, having qualified accountants, such as chartered accountants, in listed companies’ finance departments could engender trust and foster credibility. Tan adds that it is “very important” for companies to build trust to attract investors and score high valuations. The implication is that investors may be more inclined to invest in companies that hire qualified accountants than in those that do not.
“Chartered accountants hold many key roles in the market, as auditors, board members, CFOs, consultants and even independent financial advisers,” says Tan. “SGX looks forward to working with chartered accountants and the whole market community in advancing the Singapore stock market.”
