A joint study by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), Singapore Manufacturing Federation (SMF), Deloitte, and Singapore Management University (SMU) was revealed on November 29, 2023 at the ISCA Conference.
The research report is entitled Sustainability Transformation: The Role of Accountancy and Finance Professionals in the Singapore manufacturing sector.
Driving sustainability transformation in the manufacturing sector
The report reveals that only 37% of companies studied have implemented sustainability initiatives, and only 21% have done sustainability reporting.
However, this number is slated to double in the next one to three years, with 70% of the companies in the study sharing that they have already begun their sustainability transformation in one form or another, while many have reported initiating discussions to implement sustainability initiatives and sustainability reporting in the near future.
The study also found that manufacturing companies focus their sustainability efforts on six areas with sustainability reporting and sustainable finance the two emerging areas of concern.
To achieve their sustainability transformation objectives in these areas, new sustainability skill sets will be needed.
To enable accounting and business professionals who have a keen interest in sustainability, with the skillsets to advance their sustainability journey, ISCA has launched two sustainability certifications – the ISCA Sustainability and Sustainability Assurance Professional certifications.
Recognising that everyone is at different stages of their sustainability journey, the certifications take learners through the course in three progressive stages, consisting of the foundation, professional, and capstone modules.
The ISCA Sustainability Professional Certification aims to equip professionals who are supporting their organisations in sustainability reporting as well as those interested in kickstarting the decarbonisation journey for their organisation.
For those involved in providing assurance in sustainability reports, they will be able to equip themselves with essential knowledge of sustainability assurance and assurance standards through the ISCA Sustainability Assurance Professional Certification.
Opportunity for accounting and finance professionals
Accountancy and finance professionals are well-suited to pick up these skills and spearhead the sustainability efforts of their organisations due to their deep financial literacy and the growing demand for sustainability reporting.
This enables accountancy and finance professionals to address the financial implications of sustainability-related issues, while collaborating closely with other business units to evaluate and document potential risks, impacts, and opportunities.
There is evidence that this is already happening in the Singapore manufacturing sector. The study found that 55% of manufacturing companies surveyed have either begun or planned to collect non-financial data pertaining to sustainability.
Among this group, 90% expect their accounting and finance functions to shoulder high-value strategic roles for their organisations.
These recommendations stemmed from an analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from SMF’s spectrum of industry groups.
This data was obtained through a survey of 115 manufacturing companies, one-on-one interviews with senior executives from 20 companies, and focus group sessions.
Among the companies in the study, 18% are multinational companies, while the remaining 82% are small and medium-sized enterprises.
