Singapore – 21 January, 2015 – The Singapore Accountancy Commission (SAC), the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), and the Chartered Accountants Ireland (CAI) have signed an Expression of Intent (EOI) today, which signals the intent to foster closer ties among the three organisations

The EOI paves the way for the three organisations to explore reciprocity for members of ISCA and CAI. A reciprocity agreement sets out the framework for members of one body to become members of the other, subject to members meeting the conditions of the agreement. ISCA is the designated entity under the Singapore Accountancy Commission Act to confer the Chartered Accountant of Singapore, or CA (Singapore) professional designation. Today, ISCA has over 28,000 members and CAI has over 23,000 members.

The EOI was signed by Mr Uantchern Loh, Chief Executive of SAC, Mr Lee Fook Chiew, Chief Executive Officer of ISCA, and Mr Pat Costello, Chief Executive Officer of CAI.

Mr Uantchern Loh, Chief Executive of the SAC, said, "We are pleased to start 2015 on a positive note with the signing of the EOI with CAI, Ireland’s fast growing and largest accountancy body. The signing symbolises the SAC’s as well as Singapore’s interest to build closer ties with the professional accountancy bodies in the European region, having established ties with England and Wales as well as Scotland in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

This agreement towards eventual reciprocal recognition embodies the SAC’s values of ‘collaboration’ – working with different stakeholders to develop Singapore into the global accountancy hub – and ‘insightful’ – anticipating the needs of Chartered Accountants of Singapore by offering opportunities to expand their repertoire in Ireland and the surrounding region."

Commenting on the collaboration, Mr Lee Fook Chiew, Chief Executive Officer of ISCA said, "This EOI represents a progressive step towards enhancing global recognition of the CA (Singapore) designation and membership of ISCA. This is beneficial for our members who are Chartered Accountants of Singapore as it will boost the badge value of the accountancy profession in Singapore and enhance career and business opportunities. The collaboration is also in line with ISCA’s vision to be a globally recognised professional accountancy body. It further cements our strong relationship with CAI, a leading professional accountancy body of international standing."

Chartered Accountants Ireland Chief Executive Officer, Mr Pat Costello, said, "We are delighted to take this important step towards exploring closer ties with SAC and ISCA."

"Bringing our respective Institutes closer would provide a platform for us to create greater global opportunities for members of Chartered Accountants Ireland, and for those seeking to train or employ them. We look forward to working with SAC and ISCA to explore reciprocity for our respective members."

In 2014, SAC and ISCA signed an EOI with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and separately, with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia (ICAA) and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA). SAC and ISCA also signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) and, CPA Australia in 2013.

ISCA has also signed a MOU with ICAEW to establish the ICAEW-ISCA Pathways to Membership scheme, which runs till December 2015. The scheme provides a pathway for ISCA members to attain ICAEW’s globally-recognised Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) designation.

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For media queries, please contact:

Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants

Eileen Khoo, Communications Executive

Tel: 6597 5609 / 9221 9820 Email: eileen.khoo@isca.org.sg

Betsy Tan, Communications Manager

Tel: 6597 5608 / 9641 6920 Email: betsy.tan@isca.org.sg

Singapore Accountancy Commission

Masie Ng-Dimopoulos, Director of Singapore Qualification Programme and Community Building

Chartered Accountants Ireland