Keynote by Guest of Honour

Ms Grace Fu, Minister of Sustainability and the Environment 

Sustainability and Climate Change: Taking Centre-Stage in a New Era of Business Climate Change and the Accountant do MEET Through TCFD

Sustainability and climate change are now business imperatives – a catalyst for businesses to evolve their strategies and stay viable into the future. From electric vehicles to plant-based meats, from safe working environments to respecting human rights, businesses with a sustainability compass are now shaking up age-old industries. These developments and trends raise serious questions about what they mean for both businesses and accountants to remain ahead of the curve.

The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) have galvanised global action towards providing more effective climate-related disclosures that promote better understanding of the financial implications of climate change. In Singapore, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Singapore Exchange (SGX) are looking into mandating climate-related financial disclosures based on the TCFD recommendations.

Ms Yeo Lian Sim, Vice Chair of the TCFD and Member of ISCA’s Sustainability and Climate Change Committee, will provide insights into the business implications of sustainability and climate change, as well as an insider perspective into the work behind the scenes of the TCFD. In short, businesses and accountants must capitalise on sustainability and climate-related opportunities NOW or risk trailing behind.

Speaker: Ms Yeo Lian Sim, Vice Chair of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and Member of ISCA’s Sustainability and Climate Change Committee

Panel Discussion: 
Accountants: Spearheading Business Change… and now, Sustainability

As ESG, green finance and climate change dawn on businesses, so too will accountants of the future galvanise organisations towards the adoption of green initiatives and quality sustainability reporting.
 
As stewards of capital, the accountant must ensure that the business’s financial resources are allocated wisely and utilised efficiently. In building business resilience, these decisions need to be made with an eye on mitigating non-financial risks and converting them into opportunities instead. The accountant has the potential to play an indispensable role in helping the business achieve its sustainable development ambitions.

The accountant’s role is reaffirmed by recent developments within the IFRS Foundation to set IFRS sustainability standards to harmonise and streamline sustainability reporting.

This panel discussion drives home the role of the accountant in spearheading sustainability within their organisations and the importance for accountants to equip and position themselves now with the future in clear sight.

Moderator: Ms Fang Eu-Lin, Chairperson, ISCA Sustainability Excellence Sub-Committee

Panelists:

1. Mr Goh Yin Shian, Finance Director, Teckwah Industrial Corporation Pte Ltd
2. Mr Ian Hong, Chairman, ISCA SR Quality Sub-Committee
3. Mr Rishi Kalra, Managing Director and CFO, Olam Food Ingredients
4. Mr Michael Tang, Head, Listing Policy & Product Admission, Singapore Exchange Regulation

Track 1 – Financial Forensics :

Fortify Business Trust

Track 2 – Intelligent Automation: 

A New Dawn for Business

Sustaining Business Trust Through Curbing Corruption

In the business world, reputation and trust are important levers for success in the local as well as international arena. It is crucial for businesses to understand that the detrimental impact of corruption outweighs short-term monetary gains and brings irreversible reputational and financial losses for its stakeholders and the society as a whole. Having good awareness of the industry’s corruption risks and adopting a robust anti-corruption framework will sustain a successful business model.

As an anti-corruption enforcer, CPIB will be sharing insights on Singapore’s corruption situation, the financial costs of corruption, and how businesses can meet ethical and societal expectations by adopting good corporate governance models. A fair and competitive business environment will be achieved and sustained, making Singapore a conducive place for investments and investors. Real-life cases will illustrate how businesses can identify red flags and curb corruption effectively to protect their interests, and safeguard Singapore’s reputation as a trustworthy and business-friendly country.
For companies who have limited resources or lack sophisticated compliance systems, having to implement and enforce such framework may seem to be an uphill task. With the use of case studies, CPIB will share how companies can detect red flags of employee wrongdoings, uncover the root cause of such incidents, and most importantly be more guarded moving forward.

Mr Lam Seow Kin,

Deputy Director, Investigations Department, Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB)

State of Play of Intelligent Automation in the Finance Function

Digital transformation has been the name of the game during the pandemic. Like many different facets of businesses, the finance function has been impacted by technology adoption. But what has changed? What needs to evolve? Is a finance function augmented by intelligent automation a cornerstone of a trusted and sustainable business?
In this presentation, ISCA delves into the current state of how the finance function has changed arising from the adoption of intelligent automation, uncovering the related risks and challenges.

Dr. Hanny Kusnadi

Senior Lecturer, Department of Accounting, NUS Business School

Plug and Play, Low-cost Solutions for Intelligent Automation in Finance and Accounting:

In this new age of digitization, how do you leverage intelligent automation to gain a competitive advantage? Join our speaker from AI Singapore as he provides an overview of the digital transformation strategies around intelligent automation, and describes how AISG's free RPA toolset can help you to quickly and cheaply automate ad-hoc workflows. This presentation will also contain an overview of the AISG programs you can tap to accelerate your organization's digital transformation and use of AI, and the AI Readiness Index framework that you can use to determine your organization's readiness to adopt AI solutions.

Mr John Ang

Assistance Head (AI Advisory), AI Singapore

Combatting Syndicated Tax Crime –

How Can Companies Safeguard Themselves?

In Singapore, a current focus area of our tax authority’s investigation efforts is on Missing Trader Fraud (MTF) arrangements – a form of fraud by syndicates that exploits the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime to defraud tax authorities. When an MTF arrangement is exposed, the unassuming legitimate businesses interposed by the syndicate will be implicated.
Against the backdrop of today’s transnational business landscape, it is commonplace for businesses to operate across international boundaries and work with stakeholders from different countries. How can businesses ensure they are not involved in any fraudulent arrangement and safeguard themselves? In this session, IRAS will advise businesses on what they can look out for to pick up red flags of MTF as well as other syndicated tax crimes based on their past investigations.

Mr Pek Zhiyu, Zander

Director, Goods and Services Tax Division, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore

Intelligent Automation: 

The Next Game Changer 

Technological adoption and disruption are par for the course in any industry now. The finance function has also had to transform itself rapidly, where mundane tasks are now performed by automated solutions. But how can finance personnel evolve to stay abreast of the latest developments? Do tried and tested ways still work in the current technological environment, or do managers need to create new methods of ensuring meaningful employee engagement? Does the trusted and sustainable business of the future have roots in a finance function augmented by intelligent automation?
To find out more, ISCA has convened a panel of experts to discuss these questions and share their insights.

Moderator:

Prof Emeritus Steven Miller

Professor Emeritus of Information Systems,

Singapore Management University

Panellist:

1. Chiang Hai Yin, Group Director, Finance Transformation, Accountant-General’s Department
2. Kenneth Leong, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Financial Officer, Axiom Asia Private Capital Pte Ltd
3. Liaw Chun Huan, CFO, KTC Group
4. Cyndi Pei, Head of Finance, Singtel Enterprise Business, Singapore Telecommunication Limited 

Panel Discussion:

Managing Third-Party Cyber Risks Effectively

Synopsis: No industry is fully immune to the rising numbers and scale of cyberattacks in Singapore – which is a clear indication of a changing cyber threat landscape. Many businesses these days have to rely on third party service providers for their daily operations. If businesses do not manage these third-party cyber risks effectively, it may open doors to a plethora of cybersecurity attacks such as data breaches or syndicated payment systems fraud.

During the discussion, panellists will delve deeper into the topic of integrated risk management and examine the key considerations when putting together a third-party cyber risk management programme. The discussion will also explore what companies can do to assess and monitor the security and privacy practices of third parties and create a culture that makes mitigating third-party cyber risks everyone’s responsibility.

Moderator:

Mr Daryl Pereira

Head of Cyber, Advisory, KPMG Singapore

Panellists:

1. Ms Veronica Tan, Director, Safer Cyberspace, Cyber Security Agency of Singapore
2. Mr Leon Chang, Assistant Chief Executive, Cyber Defence Group & Chief Risk Office, Integrated Health Information Systems
3. Mr Phoram Mehta, APAC CISO, PayPal Pte Ltd
4. Mr Murari Kalyanaramani, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Singapore, UOB 

From Crisis to Recovery:

Public Sector Priorities to Support COVID-19 Recovery

The concept of ‘doing more with less’ has been the mantra for the public sector, but COVID-19 has pushed this notion to a new level. With reduced tax revenues, emergency spending, the need to cut costs, and increasingly higher demand for services, public sector entities must think fundamentally differently about how services are delivered and how to ensure public sector finances are more resilient going forward. To explore key strategic issues for the public sector and its finance leaders, IFAC convened a roundtable from across the globe. This session will highlight the salient points from the roundtable and share priority areas that professional accountants in the public sector need to know.

Ms Cat Little

Director General, Public Spending, and Head of the Government Finance Function, Her Majesty’s Treasury, United Kingdom

Panel - Interim Financial Reporting:

Navigating the Journey to Quality Financial Reporting

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) Guidance Note Accounting Standards for Financial Statements issued on 4 May 2020 clarifies SGX’s expectations on the application of accounting standards for issuers’ announcement of interim and full-year financial statements. The Listing Rules require issuers to prepare their financial statements in accordance with Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (International) ("SFRS(I)"), International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), or US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("US GAAP"). This will take effect for issuers’ financial statements for any interim financial period (i.e., the first, second or third quarters of the financial year) or for any financial year ending on or after 30 June 2021.

For interim and full year financial statements, issuers are required to apply SFRS(I) 1-34 (equivalent to IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting) or the broader set of accounting requirements that apply to annual financial statements under the SFRS(I), IFRS and US GAAP. The application of SFRS(I)s, or specifically SFRS(I) 1-34 (or IAS 34), provides a good framework for comprehensive disclosures and enhances comparability of issuers’ interim financial statements on an international level.

ISCA, through its Financial Reporting Committee, have developed Financial Reporting Guidance 3 Preparation of Interim Financial Statements under SFRS(I) 1-34 Interim Financial Reporting (in compliance with the SGX Listing Rule 705(3A)) (“FRG 3”) to aid issuers in understanding the implications of the Listing Rule 705(3A) to their interim financial statements and to highlight the key areas to take note of when preparing a set of interim financial statements under SFRS(I) 1-34.

This panel discussion, comprising stakeholders in the financial reporting eco-system, will discuss and share the challenges faced and how this impact issuers’ reporting to SGX, whilst at the same time, meeting the expectations of relevant stakeholders.

Moderator: Mr Chen Voon Hoe, Deputy Chairman, ISCA Financial Reporting Committee; Partner, PwC Risk Services Pte Ltd

Panelists: 

1. Mr Lim Kai Ching, Group Chief Financial Officer, Uni-Asia Group Limited
2. Mr Ng Kian Hui, Audit Partner, Head of Audit and Assurance, BDO LLP
3. Ms Eliza Tan, Vice President, Singapore Exchange Regulation
4. Ms Tan Yong Choo, Vice President (Group Finance), Singtel

Fair Valuation in Times of Uncertainty

Insights to Valuation and SFRS(I) 13

In recent times of uncertainty, fair valuation has gained prominence and importance in financial reporting, garnering attention from both auditors and regulators. This segment will provide key insights into the pertinent role played by management in the valuation process. Being the intended user of valuation reports, management (including Board of Directors) has the ultimate responsibility over the provision of various inputs or assumptions used in valuation and the appropriate valuation methods permitted under SFRS(I) 13/ FRS 113 Fair Value Measurement. One commonly valued asset is real estate i.e. land and buildings where valuation is usually performed for financial reporting at least annually. To facilitate the valuation process, ISCA has previously issued a guidance on real estate valuation for financial reporting which serves as a useful reference for engagements with valuers.

Speaker: Mr Keoy Soo Earn, Regional Managing Partner, SEA Financial Advisory Southeast Asia, Deloitte; Past Chairman, FRC Valuation Sub-Committee (2012 – 2018)

Sharing of Practical Application Issues for Valuation

ACRA collaborates with the Institute of Valuers & Appraisers Singapore (IVAS) to review valuation issues arising from ACRA’s review of financial statements. In this segment, we will share on the common pitfalls relating to valuation that we have encountered during the reviews. With the challenging business environment, fair value measurement and impairment of assets are expected to be challenging. We will also share on the key valuation issues to look out for when preparing the 2021 financial statements and how you can address them.

Speaker 1: Ms Lau Kangli, Principal Compliance Manager, Financial Reporting Surveillance Department, Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA)

Speaker 2: Mr Andre Toh, Chairman of IVAS Standards and Technical Working Group; Partner, Strategy and Transactions, Ernst & Young Solutions LLP