ASIA PACIFIC, ACCA

by Kai Faisal, Co-editor Photos ACCA Singapore

Couldyou share with us more on the roles of a professional body. From building skills, encouraging lifelong learning, shaping careers and the quality of a global professional qualification?

Professional bodies play an essential role in many facets of a professional’s career and the economic vibrancy of a workforce.

We ensure the development of skilled, qualified, and certified professionals who can adhere to a solid ethical code, enhancing trust and the legitimacy of that country’s workforce and increasing participation in the global economy.

As well as contributing to the setting of accounting and ethical standards in many parts of the world, professional bodies promote standards, accreditation, and certification and enhance their members’ skills and knowledge. They also provide vital career support for future success. These supported professionals contribute massive value to their organisations and help drive their economic and societal value.

We live in an age of significant paradoxes; the world is converging and diverging simultaneously. It’s an unpredictable, volatile, uncertain, and perplexing environment that can be challenging to navigate. As we look to a North Star to guide us, I see the role of the ACCA in shaping and strengthening the accountancy profession that the world needs. Our profession is unique in its ability to drive change and help build a better world, and we operate with a firm intent on Public good.

Key to navigating these changes is the need for joint and consistent interoperate standards for various stakeholder needs and an accounting professional resilient and equipped to lead into the future. The world does need to respond to the climate crisis, and the world does need to drive change. The accounting profession is critical to make this shift – through education, awareness, influencing public policy, qualifications, skills, and support.

Let me now briefly discuss the ACCA professional qualification.

The ACCA qualification is based on ‘three Es’ whereby you progress through three elements: Computer-based Examination at various levels, Ethics and Professional Skills module, which develops the complete range of skills employers told us they need, and a Practical Experience requirement of 36 months, before being admitted as a member.

Inclusion, Integrity, and Innovation are our core values, so we support a range of learning routes to improve accessibility to adult education. This can include flexible and online study options. ACCA-X is our multi-award-winning online learning programme helping learners worldwide develop accountancy and business skills.

We update the ACCA Qualification regularly to ensure it remains relevant and cutting edge. We continually innovate to ensure that ACCA, its students, and its members are always ahead of the game, prepared for future challenges, and can meet business needs on the global stage.

We have a worldwide reputation for excellence, and our rigorous qualifications are recognised and respected globally. When you qualify as an ACCA member, you become part of our diverse body of more than 247,000 members and 526,000 future members in 181 countries. We have over 7000 Approved Employers who ensure the highest standards for employers, students and members are met.

As a qualified professional, you may be pretty knowledgeable in your field, but can you deal with an ethical dilemma? Do you have any creative abilities? Do you know how to use the latest technology? Do you have empathy and emotional intelligence?

ACCA equips you to be a well-rounded accounting professional with competencies like Strategy and Innovation, Leadership and Management, Stakeholder Relationship Management, Ethics and Professionalism, and of course, Data, Digital and Technology, to mention a few of which remain in high demand.

One of the questions you posed was, “How do you view lifelong learning, and what is your encouragement for it?”

We believe in lifelong learning. This is an essential aspect of being a professional, and our members commit to undertaking an annual CPD declaration to show that they keep their skills and development up to date. Our platform ACCALearning.com provides several of these in a multitude of formats. Additionally, in 2021 we launched our career navigator to support individuals in planning their career journeys and to help organisations plan and support their finance-talent journey. For example, on Sustainability, ACCA was the 1st professional body in the world to create a dedicated hub for sustainability. Our global career portal, ACCA Careers, is the worldwide employability site for accountancy and finance professionals. It hosts thousands of jobs alongside career advice and development.

Many of these milestones are why at the 2023 International Accountancy Forum and Awards, we won Professional Body of the Year, based on a wide-ranging entry reflecting the efforts of many teams across ACCA, including our focus on employability, the public sector, policy and insights, capacity building, governance, sustainability, and our support for our members and students, including those in difficult positions.

What are your views on the current state of the industry and forecast for the end of 2023 for Singapore and the wider regional market? Global economic survey. Supply sentiments increased—global talent support.

Often, we hear about Chat GPT, AI, and developments in data sciences, among other things, that pose many questions about how employment will look. Technology helps us achieve better, and these tools and automation advances are enriching our lives. In that sense, AI is a complementary collection of elements that we must incorporate to benefit the finance profession.

But a profession that isn’t working with a comprehensive view of the world wouldn’t succeed, which is why I’d like to highlight. Our quarterly Global Economic Conditions Survey (GECS), the largest regular economic survey of accountants worldwide.

We’ve seen an increase in confidence among respondents for the third quarter in a row. The Survey panel is less worried about the prospects for recession in 2023 and worries about suppliers going out of business are at their lowest since 2020. The confidence increase reflects both easing cost concerns and less worries about accessing finance and securing prompt payment.

There are, however, some risks to consider. First, credit conditions have already tightened significantly across developed market economies, and money-supply growth has stalled.

The risk is that the longer policy rates remain elevated, the more the financial structures and business models that flourished under more than a decade of ultra-loose monetary policy could face pressure.

Further, through one of the largest ever studies across the accountancy profession, where we surveyed more than 8,000 professional accountants in 148 countries on their views about work, we can see a potential accountancy talent crunch on the horizon. We’ve called this our Global talent trends report.

Employers globally may struggle to retain staff with big career mobility ambitions and an eye on their next role with 44% of respondents expecting to move roles in 12 months. The figure for Singapore was a little lower – but still quite high – at 37%. This reflects a high level of confidence among professional accountants in a demand for their skills. Meanwhile their biggest worry for is the impact of inflation on salaries.|

At a time of significant workforce change and a challenging global economic climate, a career in accountancy is a smart choice for those seeking long-term career prospects and possibilities to continually acquire new skills.

Regarding your ask about the state of play for the next generation of professionals, attracting the next generation of talent is vital to healthy economies, and employers are adapting and experimenting with new ways of working across the workforce. Along with remuneration and career development, hybrid working, balance and harmony between work and life, supporting social consciousness, is a priority for many professionals, with those employers who enable these seen as more attractive and, therefore, better positioned to attract and retain the best talent.

Bearing your forecast in mind, what is ACCA’s current footprint and outlook in Singapore?

From the perspective of Orient Magazine readers, ACCA has a long and proud history and traces our origins back to 1936 when ACCA started in Malaya.

ACCA continues as an established and trusted brand in the industry, with employers in Singapore recognising the rigour of the qualification and the capability of our members with their knowledge and skills. We have worked closely with other professional bodies, regulators, and government agencies in progressing the accountancy industry. There are currently more than 16,000 ACCA members and students in Singapore. ACCA members and affiliates work in all key sectors of the economy. ACCA continues to contribute significantly to the development of the accounting profession in Singapore and also works with over 200 employers, including local and global organisations, in Singapore under the ACCA Approved Employer Programme.

As a result, it gives them confidence that if you hire an ACCA-qualified professional in Singapore, you are hiring an in-demand sought-after professional who will add value to your enterprise.

We continue to contribute to the professional development of accountants by holding headline events and key landmark conferences. We stimulate, convene, and engage with sectoral and employer round tables. We contribute to crucial policy consultations, act as a super-connector between industry and academia, between employers and act as a critical talent provider to the profession in Singapore, enhancing competitiveness and supporting Singapore’s ambition to be a regional accountancy hub.

You’ve spent years in the industry, how has your career developed over time, and what recommendations would you give to fellow professionals in the sector?

I’ve been lucky to have a fascinating career within and outside the organisation. Marketing was one of my initial responsibilities, so my background and expertise in sales, marketing, brand, and strategy were beneficial in shaping the first few years of my career at ACCA.

My current role as a regional leader for ACCA meant going from being a specialist to a generalist quickly. It meant learning new lessons, for example, making sense of a constellation of data, making a system of habits, or even shifting gears rapidly depending on who I am with and where I am.

And the biggest test of this all was building a high-performance team, and a culture, remotely and virtually, during the pandemic.

Reflecting, taking risks, and moving outside my comfort zone have been crucial. I could have continually developed functional expertise, but I believe if I wouldn’t have shifted from mass consumer goods to luxury or shifted from design and advertising to a professional body, I wouldn’t meet incredible leaders and change agents, spoken publicly to bigger rooms or learnt the value of gratitude. All this has led to unanticipated opportunities and personal growth.

The other aspect is that we are not immune to disappointments or failure, but I’ve seen them as opportunities to look at, grow, and learn from. So, if you’re new to a career, whether it’s sales, marketing, or business development, you need to know how to be calm in a storm and how to be consistent and resilient to develop yourself.

My advice to everyone is to focus on learning to find your voice, learning when and how to use it, approaching everything with versatility and adaptability, recovering from setbacks, and having fun while doing whatever you are doing.

About ACCA

We believe that accountancy is vital for economies to grow and prosper, which is why we work all over the world to build the profession and make society fairer and more transparent.

ACCA members are the world’s best-qualified and most highly sought-after accountants - and they work in every sector you can imagine.

Organisations know and trust our designation. We’re out there every day, connecting with businesses large and small, governments, educational establishments and opinion formers. We’re on top of emerging trends, legislation and legal requirements, helping to shape them.

Because of all this, we’re able to create the innovative, strategic-thinking accountants our fast-changing world needs.