From Singapore Hotels & Singapore Lifestyle

Contents 1 Job Scope 2 Personal Qualities 3 Entry Requirements 3.1 For Lower Positions 3.2 For Higher Positions 4 Career Opportunities

Job Scope

One of two main specialisations for Accountants, you concentrate mainly on providing your organisation's historical financial information to external decision-makers. You prepare financial statements to report operating results to the management and parties such as shareholders, bankers and governments. These statements must follow legally approved formats.

Your duties may include:-

• Interpreting accounts, using trend and ratio analyses
• Managing the company's cash flow
• Keeping financial records
• Forecasting financial statements and preparing them for shareholders

Personal Qualities

Accountants, including the specialists, need to gain the confidence and trust of employers, clients and the general public. You should be:-

• Honest, reliable and trustworthy
• Diligent, independent and committed to your work
• Meticulous and detailed in your work
• Have a strong business sense
• Be good at communicating, analysis 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
• Have an inquisitive mind
• Be resourceful

Entry Requirements

• In-depth knowledge of Financial Reporting Standards
• Knowledge of SAP, Oracle Financials or Microsoft Office will be an advantage

For Lower Positions

• A Diploma in Accountancy, Business or Business Administration, or equivalent
• A partially completed Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) or Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification
• A diploma in Accounting and Finance or Certified Accounting Technician (CAT) qualification issued by the ACCA Board
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications would be an advantage

For Higher Positions

• A recognised local or overseas degree in Accountancy
• A professional accounting qualification such as the one offered by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) or Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• Membership in the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS), the local professional accounting body

Note: - Non-practising Certified Public Accountant (CPA) status is available to all members of accounting qualifications recognised by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS), such as the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), subject to completing a pre-admission course - Practising Certified Public Accountant (CPA) status is available only to someone who intends to set up his own practice. A Practising Licence must be obtained from the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), previously known as the Public Accountants Board, 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

Career Opportunities

• You can become a Financial Analyst, Cost Analyst, Tax Accountant, Cost Accountant, Finance Manager, Financial Controller, Group Financial Controller, Vice-President - Accounting and Finance, Chief Financial Officer, or Finance Director
• If you specialise in education, as an academic in institutes of higher learning, you can rise to become a professor, the dean of the faculty and even the chancellor of a university. You can also move into executive education, either as an educator or a businessperson, or both.