On 22 August 2019, the Accountancy Industry Digital Plan (IDP) was launched in Singapore to digitally transform the country’s accountancy sector. The IDP was developed by the Singapore Accountancy Commission (SAC), the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to help Small and Medium-sized Practices (SMPs), which make up 98% of the accountancy industry, adopt technology for greater productivity and competitiveness.
The IDP will focus on three strategies: enhancing digital skills and knowledge; promoting the adoption of technology; and developing accounting technology and innovations. The Accountancy IDP comprises a Digital Roadmap to provide guidance to SMPs on the digital solutions to adopt, and employee training to undergo, at each stage of their digital development.
To support the digital development of SMPs, new initiatives launched today include the SMP Center, a one-stop portal with information to support SMPs in digitalization. The center’s services include an online self-assessment toolkit to determine an SMP’s digital readiness; the digital and training roadmap that identifies pre-approved digital solutions and curated training required at each stage of an SMP’s digital development ; available funding support; and information on the upcoming Accounting Technology & Innovation Centre (AccTech Centre) which will be set up to help SMPs innovate business processes, models and services. The SMP Centre was set up by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), and supported by the Singapore Accountancy Commission (SAC).
The IDP is part of IMDA’s SMEs Go Digital Programme which helps small and medium enterprises to embark on their digital transformation journey. Previously, IDPs have been released for the environmental services, food services, logistics, media, retail, sea transport, security and wholesale trade sectors.
(Sources: Infocomm Media Development Authority, Singapore; Business Times)
