Singapore, 16 August 2012 – CPA Australia and Singapore Management University's (SMU) School of Accountancy have launched a new practical guide to help the Singapore accounting profession improve productivity.
It aims to support improving productivity in the accounting sector and provides perspectives on what enhancing productivity means to accountants.
The need to raise productivity and build value-adding capabilities for the accounting sector in Singapore was one of the key issues highlighted in a 2010 report by the high-level public-private sector Committee to Develop the Accountancy Sector (CDAS).
The book, entitled “Accounting & Productivity: Answering the Big Questions”, was edited by Associate Professor Themin Suwardy, deputy president of CPA Australia's Singapore Division, and Associate Professor Gary Pan. Both editors are Associate Deans of the SMU School of Accountancy and fellow members of CPA Australia.
The publication was launched today at the annual Public Accountants Conference, organised by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA).
Delivering the Keynote address on accounting and productivity, CPA Australia CEO Alex Malley spoke about the different productivity challenges and initiatives that would be relevant to accounting firms of different sizes.
“This book offers some suggestions on how the profession can improve its productivity, how it can measure success in this endeavour, how higher quality output can positively impact profitability in accounting practices, as well as showcase real life stories from corporates and accounting firms on how they have successfully implemented productivity measures,” he said.
“We hope this publication will serve as a starting point to think about the major productivity issues that matter to organisations and how to go about striving for better use of their limited resources and people,” said Professor Pang Yang Hoong, Dean of the School of Accountancy and Vice-Provost (Undergraduate Education) at SMU.
Writing in the book's foreword, ACRA said the accounting profession needed to re-think its practices and traditions as Singapore strove to become a leading global accountancy hub in Asia-Pacific, as envisioned by the CDAS report.
“Preserving trust must be part of this journey. As Singapore's audit regulator, ACRA is heartened to see that when firms embrace the culture of productivity in everything they do, audit quality will improve,” said Juthika Ramanathan, Chief Executive, ACRA.
Softcopies of the new book are available athttp://www.cpaaustralia.com.au/documents/accounting-productivity-2012.pdf .
About CPA Australia
CPA Australia is one of the world's largest accounting bodies with more than 139,000 members working in 114 countries. We have operations in chosen markets throughout the world, including all Australian capital cities, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
CPA Australia's primary aim is to enhance our members' professional knowledge and support their career development through education, training, technical support and advocacy. Staff and members work together with local and international bodies to represent the views and concerns of the profession to governments, regulators, industries, academia and the general public. Our international presence continues to grow in terms of representation on international bodies and influence in the profession globally. In the areas of financial reporting, taxation and corporate governance, we are thought leaders in Australia and internationally.
CPA Australia's vision is to be known for being the world's best member service organisation.
For more information, visit http://www.cpaaustralia.com.au