Nurturing Singapore's Future Accountancy Talents through Outreach and Engagement

Audience

Accountants

Public

News Topic

Accountancy careers

Category

Press release

4 August 2025

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About ACCtraordinary 2025

ACCtraordinary is an annual outreach initiative that showcases the exciting opportunities and evolving role of accountants. The 2025 edition, jointly organised by Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and Ngee Ann Polytechnic, was graced by Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second Minister for Finance and National Development, Ms Indranee Rajah, who delivered the opening address.

This annual event is supported by Singapore's five Polytechnics, the Institute of Technical Education (ITE), ACRA, and Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), and has reached more than 1,500 participants including students, teachers and ECG Counsellors in Singapore since 2020. This year's event drew over 370 participants from 19 secondary schools and Institutes of Higher Learning (IHL).

This year’s event featured an immersive programme designed to showcase the dynamic nature of the accountancy profession. Through interactive games and exhibits, participants discovered how accountants today make use of digital tools to solve complex problems and drive innovation, while helping businesses navigate risks and make data-driven decisions.

Industry partners delivered engaging sharing sessions on industry developments and insights into the accountancy sector. Participants also had valuable networking opportunities with accountancy professionals and student ambassadors.

Introducing the Accountancy Career Launchpad – A New Offering Under the SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme

Ngee Ann Polytechnic has introduced a new programme this year, the Accountancy Career Launchpad. Offered under the new SkillsFuture Career Transition Programme, it is designed to help non-accountancy graduates with a local polytechnic diploma or university degree make a career switch to the accountancy sector by equipping them with essential foundational skills. This initiative combines intensive classroom learning with real-world experience, offering non-accounting graduates a fast-track pathway into the accountancy sector.

The programme's "learn-and-apply" approach features an intensive one-month foundation in financial reporting, coupled with digital skills training in cloud accounting and advanced Excel applications. This is followed by a three-month work experience at leading accounting firms and corporations, where participants gain hands-on exposure while continuing specialised classroom training in taxation and auditing.

The first cohort of the Accountancy Career Launchpad course commenced on 5 May 2025 with 18 participants from diverse backgrounds, including procurement, retail, banking and information technology. Having completed the foundation courses, this pioneer batch of participants are currently undergoing their on-job-training at four accounting firms and one corporation in areas such as accounting, tax and assurance. Upon course completion, the graduates can gain full-time employment opportunities with an accounting firm. They may also choose to enrol into Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Advanced Diploma in Accountancy and pursue the Singapore Chartered Accountants Qualification Foundation Programme to become a Chartered Accountant.

Related Activities

To complement ACCtraordinary 2025, three initiatives were launched by ACRA to provide multiple touchpoints for students to explore and deepen their understanding about accountancy.

ACRA initiatives for ACCtraordinary 2025

Activity	Description
Accountancy Learning Journeys (24 June to 29 July 2025)	Leading up to ACCtraordinary 2025, a series of Accountancy Learning Journeys were conducted, offering more than 300 students an exposure to real-world business operations. Through interactive sessions with industry professionals, participants gained first-hand insights across various accounting specialisations including Audit and Assurance, Financial Forensics, and Tax. Nine organisations including ISCA, RSM, Baker Tilly, PwC, Deloitte, PKF, BDO, Forvis Mazars, and Grab opened their doors to students, providing behind-the-scenes access to actual workplace settings. These experiences, complemented by dedicated question-and-answer sessions, helped students envision their future career paths in the field of accountancy.
BYOB Accounting Gameboard Challenge (25 July 2025)	The Build-Your-Own-Business (BYOB) Accounting Gameboard Challenge represented an innovative approach to introducing fundamental financial and management accounting concepts through gamification. Developed by Republic Polytechnic, the BYOB Accounting Gameboard helped students explore how accounting principles drive real-world business decisions and support entrepreneurship. This pilot programme engaged 73 teams from 17 schools in its initial run.
"Be an Acc-fluencer" Video Competition	The "Be an Acc-fluencer" Video Competition encourages youth to express themselves creatively while offering a fresh Gen Z perspective on the accountancy profession. Running from 7 July to 26 September 2025, the competition seeks to bring out accountancy's relevance, societal impact, and evolving opportunities through the lens of young creators. Open to students from Junior Colleges, ITE, Polytechnics, and Universities in Singapore, participants can enter individually or in teams of up to five members. The competition, conducted on TikTok and Instagram, offers prizes of up to $3,000. Interested participants can register by 15 August 2025 and submit their videos by 26 September 2025.

Activity

Description

Accountancy Learning Journeys (24 June to 29 July 2025)

Leading up to ACCtraordinary 2025, a series of Accountancy Learning Journeys were conducted, offering more than 300 students an exposure to real-world business operations. Through interactive sessions with industry professionals, participants gained first-hand insights across various accounting specialisations including Audit and Assurance, Financial Forensics, and Tax.

Nine organisations including ISCA, RSM, Baker Tilly, PwC, Deloitte, PKF, BDO, Forvis Mazars, and Grab opened their doors to students, providing behind-the-scenes access to actual workplace settings. These experiences, complemented by dedicated question-and-answer sessions, helped students envision their future career paths in the field of accountancy.

BYOB Accounting Gameboard Challenge (25 July 2025)

The Build-Your-Own-Business (BYOB) Accounting Gameboard Challenge represented an innovative approach to introducing fundamental financial and management accounting concepts through gamification.

Developed by Republic Polytechnic, the BYOB Accounting Gameboard helped students explore how accounting principles drive real-world business decisions and support entrepreneurship. This pilot programme engaged 73 teams from 17 schools in its initial run.

"Be an Acc-fluencer" Video Competition

The "Be an Acc-fluencer" Video Competition encourages youth to express themselves creatively while offering a fresh Gen Z perspective on the accountancy profession. Running from 7 July to 26 September 2025, the competition seeks to bring out accountancy's relevance, societal impact, and evolving opportunities through the lens of young creators.

Open to students from Junior Colleges, ITE, Polytechnics, and Universities in Singapore, participants can enter individually or in teams of up to five members. The competition, conducted on TikTok and Instagram, offers prizes of up to $3,000. Interested participants can register by 15 August 2025 and submit their videos by 26 September 2025.

More information about ACCtraordinary 2025 and its related activities can be found at https://go.gov.sg/acctraordinary (opens in new tab).

Background

Following the recommendations by the Accountancy Workforce Review Committee (AWRC) in May 2024, the Implementation Committee for Accountancy Workforce Development (ICAWD) was established in September 2024 to implement the AWRC’s recommendations to ensure good careers, create quality pathways, and strengthen professional capabilities in the accountancy sector, so as to build a sustainable talent pool of accountancy professionals.

The ICAWD is co-chaired by ACRA and ISCA. It comprises members from various sectors in the accounting profession including the Big Four, Small and Medium Practices, and representatives from the business and academic community. ICAWD is focusing its efforts on developing outreach initiatives, improving employee and internship experiences, and supporting non-accountancy graduates in transitioning to the sector.

Recent initiatives include the launch of Singapore's first Accountancy Education & Career Guidance (ECG) Playbook in May 2025¹, which provides educators and ECG Counsellors with resources to guide students on opportunities in accountancy. Additionally, ACRA introduced the Sustainability Reporting Body of Knowledge (SR BOK)² to guide the development of quality training programmes for sustainability reporting professionals.

¹Press release on the launch of the Accountancy Education & Career Guidance Playbook: https://www.acra.gov.sg/news-events/news-details/id/870

²Press release on the launch of the SR BOK: https://www.acra.gov.sg/news-events/news-details/id/867