ISCA Annual Dinner 2026 GOH Address – 2M Indranee Rajah

ISCA President Mr Lee Boon Teck
ISCA CEO Ms Fann Kor,
ISCA Advisor Mr Teo Ser Luck,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

1. Good evening, everyone. It is nice to see all of you again. Each time I come for an ISCA event, it is like being with old friends. Thank you for inviting me once again to join this year's ISCA Annual Dinner.

2. I want to congratulate Mr Lee Boon Teck on his election as ISCA's new President as well as the newly elected Council.

3. I also wish to acknowledge outgoing President Mr Teo Ser Luck for his sterling work during his term. He acceded to many requests, including the opening of overseas offices. He has charted new directions, and I am sure that the new council will build on this and bring ISCA forward to even higher levels.

4. I am delighted to see that ISCA has grown with each passing year. Your membership now surpasses 45,000 members. It is a strong signal that Singapore's accountancy profession is thriving, with ISCA at the forefront. Please give yourselves a well-deserved round of applause.

Reflecting on progress and looking ahead

5. Tonight, I want to reflect on three things.

   1. First, the profession's role in an increasingly complex world.

   2. Second, the capabilities that will define its future.

   3. Third, what accountants can do to contribute to an important national mission.

The Profession's Role in a Complex World

6. Last year, I spoke about the world becoming a more fragmented and complex place with rising geopolitical tensions, the challenge of making collective progress towards a sustainable future, generative AI and machine learning.

7. One year on, those pressures have not eased. If anything, they have intensified. For the accountancy profession, this means more complex compliance requirements, greater demand for advisory expertise, and higher expectations of professionals amid shifting rules.

8. In this environment, the value of a trusted, well-regulated profession becomes even more important. When investors and businesses choose Singapore as a base, they are putting their trust and confidence not just in our infrastructure or our connectivity but in the integrity of our financial ecosystem. That trust and confidence rest, in no small part, on the standards that accountants uphold every day: rigorous reporting, sound judgement, and a commitment to transparency. The work that each and everyone of you in this room do is therefore critical to Singapore’s continued role as a trusted business and financial hub.

Embracing the AI transformation

9. To do this role effectively, accountants must continue to keep up with changes. Developments in the AI space are taking place at break-neck speed. Singapore's approach has always been to bring together the Government, industry, and our professional community to create an enabling environment for adoption and innovation. This includes the accountancy sector. 

10. This collaborative approach is reflected in the launch of AIxAccountancy, the first programme co-developed by ISCA and IMDA under the National AI Impact Programme. It underscores ISCA’s broader commitment to strengthening AI capabilities across the profession in support of its ambition to upskill 60,000 accountancy and corporate finance professionals, by equipping them with the skills and confidence to apply AI meaningfully in their work, while emphasising responsible adoption.

11. There are several points to note about the programme:

    1. First, it is designed to fit the busy schedules of working professionals. It offers flexible, structured online learning, delivered in progressive phases so as not to disrupt your professional and personal commitments.

    2. Second, learners are supported through various platforms, including a dedicated community forum, in-person physical clinics, and learning events, where you can engage in peer learning, knowledge sharing, and consultation with experts on real-life use cases.

    3. Lastly, the programme is free for all ISCA members and accounting and finance professionals who are Singapore citizens and permanent residents.

12. AGD is also planning to incorporate the programme as part of learning and development for all 4,000 finance and internal audit officers in the public service.

13. This initiative will enable professionals to move beyond routine work and focus on tasks requiring judgement, analysis, and decision-making, where the true value of the accountancy profession lies.  

Building a future-ready profession 

14. Sustainability is another area in which the profession's role is rapidly growing. Across the region, there are growing expectations from investors, regulators, and supply chain partners to strengthen the quality and credibility of their sustainability reporting practices.  We will need a strong pool of professionals in this field to meet demand and the potential for business growth.

15. To strengthen the supply of professionals with sustainability-related skills, ACRA and the Skills and Workforce Development Agency (SWDA) have jointly curated courses under the SkillsFuture Green Workplace Programme, which includes ISCA’s refreshed Sustainability Professional Certification Programme. This will make it easier for professionals and employers to identify courses that meet industry and regulatory needs. 

16. These curated courses will receive subsidies of up to 90%. Many of these courses are modular and stackable, so you can learn flexibly and at your own pace. The current batch of curated courses is expected to benefit over 300 trainees in the first year of rollout.

17. ISCA also introduced the Sustainability Reporting Professional credential in March this year, to help accountants signal their expertise in this field to employers. I encourage more accountants to develop capabilities in sustainability reporting – the intersection of financial reporting and sustainability represents one of the most significant opportunities for professional growth in the coming decade.

18. Today's CFOs and finance leaders are no longer just stewards of the balance sheet. Finance leaders are also expected to lead digital transformation, govern AI and data, build enterprise resilience, and engage a wide range of stakeholders. In doing so, they shape the credibility of information that markets rely on.

19. To support this transformation, ISCA has been building new pathways for multidisciplinary capability development. These include:

    1. The Sustainability Professional Certification;

    2. The Financial Forensics Accounting Qualification; and 

    3. The Executive Masters Programme in partnership with NTU for senior finance leaders.

20. These initiatives reflect where the profession is headed, and the demand for such capabilities is likely to keep growing.

An important national mission – and what accountants can do to help

21. Now, let me turn now to a broader national challenge where every sector — including the accountancy profession — has a role to play. Our Total Fertility Rate fell to 0.87 in 2025, from 0.97 the year before. Accountants understand all about numbers, and the lower it gets, the harder it is going to be for us to reverse. So, it is a very sobering figure. It reminds us that marriage and parenthood are not just private aspirations; they are also shaped by the conditions that we create as a society — in our policies, our workplaces, our families and our communities.

22. As you know, I am chairing the Marriage and Parenthood Reset Workgroup, and we are reviewing how Singapore can better support those who wish to marry and have children. In our engagements, one message has come through very clearly: time matters. Many Singaporeans want to build strong relationships, care for their loved ones, and raise families. But they also worry about whether they can manage work demands, caregiving responsibilities, and the opportunity costs that can come with parenthood — especially for mothers.

23. Government support is important, and we will continue to strengthen it. But policies alone cannot fully address these concerns. Workplace culture, work design and day-to-day norms make a real difference to whether employees feel they can pursue both career and family aspirations, because they do not want to have to give up their career in order to be able to have children. So, the question is, how can we make it easier for them to do so, whilst at the same time, meeting your company and business objectives? Employers and business leaders therefore have a critical role in shaping an environment where parenthood is not seen as incompatible with professional growth.

24. For the accountancy sector, I recognise that client deadlines, reporting cycles and peak periods can be demanding. The question is not whether firms can remove all pressures from work — that would not be realistic. The question is how work can be organised more thoughtfully: by planning better around peak periods, offering flexibility where operationally feasible, ensuring proper cover when employees take parental leave, and supporting parents as they return to work and continue to progress. Don’t make them feel like it is an imposition. See it as something which is normal that we work around, just as part and parcel of our work-life culture. These steps help families, but they also strengthen firms by attracting and retaining committed talent in a competitive labour market. Basically, it is a national mission. Everybody has a role to play.

Closing

25. Let me conclude by reaffirming the Government’s commitment to working closely with ISCA. We want to strengthen our regulatory framework, deepen international recognition of our qualifications, and reinforce Singapore's position as a trusted centre of excellence for accountancy and professional services.

26. I also want to congratulate all the award recipients tonight, and I wish you all an enjoyable evening.

27. Thank you.