The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) has launched an Accelerated Pathway Programme (APP) for accountancy degree students to become Chartered Accountants of Singapore through a fast-track route.
According to an April 16 announcement, the APP will be available for two years, starting this month. Eligible students can take the Singapore CA Qualification (SCAQ) professional programme module exams while studying for accountancy programmes at the universities.
The APP will be offered to students of the accountancy programmes at Nanyang Technological University, National University of Singapore, Singapore Management University, Singapore University of Social Sciences and Singapore Institute of Technology.
This comes as the number of accountancy undergraduates here has fallen by some 10% over the past five years. At a media briefing last month, Yvonne Chan, chairperson of the ISCA Salary and Career Review Taskforce, attributed this to a “sudden knee-jerk switch” to IT during the pandemic.
In response to the talent shortage, ISCA is ramping up efforts to promote accountancy as an attractive career choice to the younger generation.
The APP is designed to encourage and support accountancy students to take the SCAQ examinations during the penultimate and final year of their studies. The professional programme modules that are not available for exemptions will be weaved into their accountancy studies.
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To boost these students’ confidence, ISCA says it will provide complimentary revision classes and other forms of support as they prepare for the SCAQ examinations.
ISCA president Teo Ser Luck says the national accountancy body is dedicating resources to support the qualification journey of the next generation of chartered accounts. “Through this programme, an accountancy graduate will get a degree and be on a fast track to achieve an internationally recognised professional qualification. This additional recognition will put budding accounting professionals in a position to explore more career options locally and overseas.”
