SINGAPORE, June 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- "Transforming the face of accounting and finance talent" was the theme at the inaugural ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) ASEAN Annual Conference held today at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre.
As ASEAN embraces the concept of an integrated "smart region" with the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) at the end of last year, the rapid growth of mobile, analytics and cloud technologies will bring about a greater interconnectedness among accountants in ASEAN. This will see the need for accounting and finance professionals to adopt new skillsets in order to work seamlessly across borders.
Indranee Rajah, Senior Minister of State for Law and Finance, noted in her keynote address on "Transforming skillsets in Singapore's accounting services sector -- Challenges and paybacks", "Amidst a wave of disruptive technological innovations expected to transform the accounting sector, larger firms may have the resources to make decisive moves to prepare for the future, but smaller firms may be grappling with resource challenges and are unable to do so." Her advice to firms, regardless of size, is, "Take small steps, and be open to embracing new technologies and acquiring new skillsets. Membership bodies like ACCA provide such resources and platforms -- members can leverage them and move forward together."
Skills mobility was highlighted by Guntur Sugiyarto, Senior Economist, Asian Development Bank, as critical to strengthening labour market efficiency and true regional cooperation and integration in order to make ASEAN attractive to investors and potential employees.
Presenting top insights from a newly commissioned study by ACCA titled "Professional Accountants -- the future", Faye Chua, Head of Future Research, ACCA, highlighted key drivers of change that would affect ASEAN and seven quotients needed to tackle these changes. "Beyond achieving volume, value creation has to be prioritised. While technical and ethical quotients, digital skills and intelligence are given, professional accountants will need to pay extra attention to creativity, emotional intelligence, domain experience and visionary skills."
The conference was attended by over 400 finance, accounting and business professionals, including CEOs and CFOs, who participated in a stimulating discussion on what the future holds for professional accountants in the light of a new world game. The breakout sessions covered the sectorial perspectives on future skillsets required in ASEAN's accountancy sector.
"Ultimately, professional accountants will need to speak the language of business in the decade ahead. A local and international knowledge of emerging trends in business, technology and society, and the ability to harness synergies to forge multi-disciplinary practices will reign supreme," said Brian McEnery, Deputy President, ACCA.
For more information, please contact:
Cheryl Meyer, ACCA Singapore
Assistant Manager, Employer Communications
Tel: +65 6637 8173
Email: cheryl.meyer@accaglobal.com
Jeffrey Wong/ Vylvianne Devajothi
The Hoffman Agency
Tel: +65 6361-0250
Email: ACCA@hoffman.com
Shermeen Ching, ACCA Singapore
Head of Marketing
Tel: +65 6637 9197
Email: shermeen.ching@accaglobal.com
About ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. It offers business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.
ACCA supports its 178,000 members and 455,000 students in 181 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. ACCA works through a network of 95 offices and centres and more than 7,110 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through its public interest remit, ACCA promotes appropriate regulation of accounting and conducts relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.
Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. It believes that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. ACCA's core values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and it ensures that through its range of qualifications, it prepares accountants for business. ACCA seeks to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating its qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers. More information is here: www.accaglobal.com
ACCA in ASEAN
In ASEAN, ACCA leads and supports the profession with over 20,000 members and 77,600 students and affiliates across the 10 ASEAN countries. ACCA national offices in the ASEAN region include Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Indonesia. In addition, an Emerging Markets Team (EMA) based in Singapore provides support to members in other countries including the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam.
