Career Advice In Singapore

An Accountant is a generic description used to address a person trained to be one. The Accountant, in simple terms, is responsible for compiling the income and expenditure to financial reports for the organisations to meet government and regulatory authority requirements.

Other titles, such as Business Analyst, Controller, Financial Analyst, Finance Manager and Financial Controller, Operations Controller are used either to indicate the person's position and seniority in an organisation, or used as an attempt to describe his role, responsibilities and area of specialisation, or both.

Higher up the hierachy of the profession, the use of different titles is necessary to reflect the increasingly macro level of responsibilities.

Job Scope
This can be broadly grouped into two categories - financial accounting and management accounting.

Financial Accounting
Financial Accounting focuses mainly on satisfying the historical information needs of external decision-makers such as stakeholders,bankers,pressure groups and governments. This is done by recording and preparing financial statements such as balance sheets, the profit and loss accounts, and cash flow records. Such data is produced mainly for corporate governance,accountablity and compliance.

Depending on qualifications, competency and seniority, your responsibilities might include your having to :

• interpret accounts using trend and ratio analyses
• Project and forecast financial statements
• Manage the company's cash flow
• Keep financial records and prepare year-end financial statements for shareholders if the organisation is an international one, then the Financial Accountant is also required to provide meaningful reports that meet the governance of both local and international accounting standards

Management Accounting
Management accounting applies to the principles of accounting and financial management to add value to stakeholders. It provides management with current and projected strategic, tactical and operational information for planning, decision-making and control.

The team will work with the Business Services function to communicate this information clearly and concisely to other areas of the Group. The team will also undertake any supplementary work in response to questions where necessary, and to develop and improve the suite of reports over time.




Management accounting is an integral part of management, requiring you to identify, generate, present, interpret and use information to :

• Formulate business strategies
• Plan and control investories and company projects
• Make efficient use of resources and strategic, business and budget decisions
• Inprove performance and enhance value to shareholders and stakeholders
• Safeguard tangible and intangible assets
• Practise corporate governance and internal control

Your responsibilities might also require you to:

• Prepare and interpret budget reports
• Maintain, analyse and present to management the records of actual production costs against expected costs
• Work out the costs, margins and prices of products and services, monitor sales results and make recommendations to management
• Carry out feasibility studies on decisions to make or buy, lease or purchase, and so on
• Handle financial modelling
• Manage working capital
• Assess the impact of changes in cost, sales volume and other factors on profits
• Ensure checks and balances in the financial system
• Produce the monthly management packs provided to the business for investment
• Under the area of risk management, you will develop an appropriate control framework around management reporting to minimise the risk of mistatement.

This Management Accountant is a team player within the various business units in the organisation as the information gathered and reports generated enables key decision makers to formulate their business strategies.

These two categories are equally important.They are performed seperately but in tandem. In both areas, you can expect to work long hours, especially at the end of the financial year, during the tax season, and when monthly management reports need to be prepared.

You may also be required to travel extensively.

In addition to financial accounting and management accounting, there is also other areas of specialisation. These include:

• Company secretarial practices
• Corporate finance
• Corporate recovery, restructuring and insolvency
• Management consultancy
• Internal and External audit
• Public sector accounting, including taxation matters
• Education

The scope of work in public sector accounting is similar to that in the private sector. The difference is that you are working for the Government, and there are additional non-financial considerations such as social responsibilites, community services and care for the underprivileged that must be factored into any project undertaken.

Under education, you may have to:

• tutor aspiring accountants and business students in higher instituition or a private education provider
• Carry out research in accounting, management or business fields
• Present research papers at conferences and conduct workshops on those fields of research.

Personal Qualities
Accountants, including specialists, need to gain the confidence and trust of employers, clients and the public. You should:

• Be honest, reliable and trustworthy
• Be diligent, independent and committed
• Take pride in being meticulous and detailed in work
• Have a strong business acumen
• Be good at communicating, analysing and problem solving
• Have good organising and computing skills
• Have good interpersonal skills
• Be good with facts and figures
• Be able to work under pressure
• Be resourceful, with an inquisitive mind
• Demonstrate a strategic mind and the abilitiy to think outside of the box, and
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills

Entry Requirements
For lower positions:

• Diploma in Accountancy, Business or Business Administration, or equivalent
• Partially completed Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) or Chartered Insitute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualifications
• Diploma in Accounting and Finance or Certified Accounting Technicians qualifications issued by the Acca Board
• Certificate in Business Accounting issued by Cima Board
• Proficiency in Microsoft applications would be an advantage.

For higher positions, at least one of the following:

• Recognised local or overseas degree in Accountancy
• Professional accounting qualification such as the one offered by the: Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales
• Membership in the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore ( Icpas), the local professional accounting body: Non-practicing Certified Public Accountant(CPA) status is available to all members of accounting qualifications recognised by Icpas, such as Cima, subject to completing a pre-admission course, Practicing CPA status is available only to someone who intends to set up his own practise. A Practicing License must be obtained from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, upon completing the Icpas pre-admission course. An interview might be required
• Knowledge of Enterprise Resource Planning software is desirable, such as SAP, Oracle, Peoplesoft, JD Edwards and Great Plains
• Knowledge of software used by small companies is also useful, such as AccPac, Simply Accounting, MYOB, PeachTree

The Company Secretarial and Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency functions can also be performed by a person with a law degree or a Chartered Secretary (Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, UK) professional qualification.

Career Opportunities
You can become a Financial Analyst, Cost Analyst, Tax Accountant, Cost Accountant, Management Accountant, Finance manager, Financial Controller, Group Financial Controller, Vice President- Accounting and Finance, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Executive Officer or Management Consultant.

If you specialise in education - as an academic in institutes of Higher Learning - you can rise to become a Professor and even the Chancellor of a university. You can also move into executive education, either as an educator or businessperson or both.