ISCA and IMDA Launch AI Fluency Programme for 60,000 Accountancy Professionals
Source: The Business Times
ISCA and IMDA have launched AIxAccountancy, a free AI fluency programme targeting 60,000 accounting and corporate finance professionals over three years under the National AI Impact Programme, with the Accountant-General's Department planning to incorporate it into training for all 4,000 public-sector finance officers.
The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) and IMDA have launched AIxAccountancy, an artificial intelligence fluency programme targeting 60,000 accountancy and corporate finance professionals over three years. Announced on July 3 by Second Minister for Finance Indranee Rajah at ISCA's annual dinner, the programme is the first of its kind developed under IMDA's partnership with professional bodies and forms part of the broader National AI Impact Programme aiming to make 100,000 non-tech professionals "AI bilingual."
The curriculum unfolds in two progressive phases. Phase 1 covers AI-enabled workflows for common workplace tasks such as financial statement analysis using generative AI tools. Phase 2 dives deeper into role-specific applications across accounting, auditing, taxation, and corporate finance, with the syllabus regularly refreshed to stay current. Participants who complete both phases receive a certificate, a digital badge — described as a verifiable, tamper-proof record of AI proficiency — and Continuing Professional Development hours. The programme also includes access to AI Nexus, a dedicated community hub where professionals can share resources, access a sandbox to prototype AI workflows, and attend sessions with leading accountancy firms and AI tool providers.
The programme is free for ISCA members who are Singapore citizens or permanent residents. The Accountant-General's Department plans to incorporate AIxAccountancy into training for all 4,000 public-sector finance and internal audit officers. Speaking at the launch, Indranee emphasised that the programme will enable professionals to move beyond routine work and focus on tasks requiring judgment, analysis, and decision-making — where the true value of the profession lies.
Why it matters for Singapore: Singapore's status as a trusted global business and financial hub depends on the quality of its accounting profession. By embedding AI fluency into the profession's core training pathway, the government is treating AI literacy not as a nice-to-have but as a baseline competency — much like digital literacy was treated a decade ago. With 60,000 professionals targeted, this is one of the largest profession-specific AI upskilling initiatives globally, and it sets a template that could extend to law, healthcare, and other regulated professions under the National AI Impact Programme.