[19 March 2001]
Top Accounting Professionals Serve as Adjunct Professors at Singapore Management University

Accountancy students engaged to join firms before graduation

Partners and senior managers from the top five accountancy firms in Singapore are going back to school - as adjunct professors in the Singapore Management University's (SMU) Bachelor of Accountancy (BAcc) programme, bringing real life perspective into the classroom.

Arthur Anderson, Deliotte & Touche, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers have agreed to partner SMU in the unprecedented collaboration, demonstrating their confidence in SMU's programme and students. Besides giving students first-hand knowledge by experts in the field, this partnership will also allow the professors to select students from their classes to go on business internships at their firms. The interns are selected with a view for long-term employment, so for some students, they would be in the enviable position of being offered jobs even before they graduate. During internship, the students will be trained and attuned to the firms' corporate culture before graduation, enabling them to be productive earlier in their employment.

The firms have nothing but praise for this collaboration:

Mrs Fang Ai Lian, managing partner of Ernst & Young says: "Universities must seek to produce graduates that will have the knowledge and skills required for a successful career. In this endeavour, it is important for a university to work closely with the business community to ascertain the desired profile of a 21st century accountant. Ernst & Young is looking forward to a collaboration with SMU - curriculum suggestions, executives as instructors for auditing, computer auditing, and tax courses; accepting students for business attachments; and employing accounting graduates."

Mr Po'ad Mattar, managing partner of Deloitte & Touche, has accepted an appointment as an adjunct professor at SMU. He says: "Deloitte & Touche endorses the SMU accountancy programme. It will be an active stakeholder and collaborator in the programme. The firm will be encouraged to participate in the teaching programmes as adjunct teachers or speakers and share actual professional work experiences, knowledge and practices in "real world" training with the students in the classroom."

Mr Yeoh Oon Jin, partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers agrees: "This is a novel programme that will bring practitioners back to the classroom environment and for students to be taught using real life case studies. Students will then hopefully be better prepared for the business world when they graduate. The firms would also benefit by having ample opportunity through interactions with the students to select the best and brightest to join their respective firms."

Mrs Winnie Liew, head of Arthur Andersen's tax division adds: "We are now in an economy where knowledge is the most valuable currency an individual can have. By bringing our real life perspective and experience to the students of SMU, we hope to contribute by building a culture of active learning and sharing of practical skills to meet the dynamic needs of the working world. We understand the multi challenges that a new accountant faces and have in place internship and mentorship programmes to help our young talent. We will also work closely with SMU in areas such as providing industry feedback and adjunct lecturers. We welcome and support the new SMU accountancy programme and are confident that SMU graduates will stand well equipped to succeed in today's increasingly challenging environment."

Ernst & Young has demonstrated further support by offering scholarships exclusive to SMU accountancy undergraduates. KPMG's accountancy scholarships are also open to SMU students.

Mrs Fang Ai Lian has been appointed Chairperson of the advisory committee for SMU's School of Accountancy. Other distinguished members of the committee are Ms Chua Geok Wah, Accountant General, Dr Ernest Kan, partner of Deliotte & Touche and representative for ICPAS, Mr Yeoh Oon Jin, Ms Chua Sock Khoon, CFO of Singtel, Mr Seck Wai Kwong, MD and Joint Head, Investment Banking Group, DBS, Mr Peter Gammon, CFO, HP, and Associate Professor Pang Yang Hoong, Dean of Accountancy, SMU.

The SMU BAcc degree programme will commence its pioneer intake in August 2001. The BAcc programme is professionally recognised by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS), the first in Singapore that follows an American broad-based approach.

Admissions to SMU's BAcc and Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) degree programmes are now open until 9 April 2001. In line with admissions criteria adopted by top American universities, SMU selects students based on a range of ability measures. Besides the General Certificate Education "A" level results (or Polytechnic Diploma results), applicants to SMU are required to submit their SAT 1 scores, attend a personal interview and write an essay. Application for admission may be made through the SMU website.