SINGAPORE - - 8 October 2018 - Singapore's national accountancy census (AEcensus 2016/17) conducted by the Singapore Accountancy Commission (SAC) revealed that Accounting Entities (AEs) which adopted technology showed significant improvements with time savings of around 28 per cent, cost savings of 14 per cent and 8 per cent increase in revenue.  

 

The survey also showed that technology adoption amongst Medium, Small and Micro (MSM) AEs lagged significantly behind that of leading firms and larger AEs in the market[1] according to the  survey. The annual survey of AEs comprises accounting firms, accounting partnerships and accounting corporations.

 

The main reasons for not adopting new technology were perceived high costs, seeing no need to change current processes, and lacking knowledge to choose appropriate software. Although MSM AEs provide audit and accounting services, only 50% use on-premise accounting software, 15% use cloud-based accounting software and 34% use audit software.

 

The Accounting and Finance Show Asia will bring the latest accountancy practices, technology and solutions, presented by experts, advisors and consultants to MSMs and Small-Medium Enterprises (SMEs). 

 

Technology has made accounting processes more streamlined and efficient, and these world-class solutions are also low-cost, scalable and mobile. They are available not only to large enterprises or AEs with big budgets, but MSMs and SMEs as well. The Show is organised with support from the SAC, Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) and Workforce Singapore (WSG).

 

Ms Sharon Roessen, Managing Director of Terrapinn, the event organiser, said: "Accountancy is a key sub-sector of the Professional Services Industry Transformation Map (ITM) launched by the Singapore Government in January 2018 to develop Singapore into a globally-leading Professional Services Industry driven by innovation and partnerships.  

 

Therefore, this Show is most appropriate for the people in the accountancy sector and also for those who are interested to enter the profession.  There will be over 150 seminars and 70 exhibitors showcasing the latest technology solutions for accountants in business and in practice at this free to attend conference and exhibition."

 

One of the highlights during the Show is Maybank's showcase of its PayNow-ready invoices for SME business owners. Maybank and Financio, a cloud-based automated accounting software by Asian Business Software Solutions (ABSS), partnered to offer Maybank customers a one-of-a-kind PayNow-ready invoice that has a unique and dynamic PayNow QR Code which embeds the company's UEN, payer name, invoice number and payment amount in each invoice. 

 

Such invoices can be easily tracked in Maybank's Business Internet Banking. Payments received are immediately reflected in the company's bank account which means business owners spend less time depositing cheques and cash, and free up their time to develop their business.

 

The two-day Show will have the SAC giving a keynote address. There will also be other topics covered targeting both AEs and SMEs such as "the Financial Web and its impact on small businesses", "Accounting Software: going beyond general ledger" and "Cheque-out: A new dawn in digital payments". The conference programme will also feature speakers from Title sponsor Xero, and other sponsors such as Maybank, Oracle Netsuite, Zoho Corporation, Sage, Xriba and more.

 

In addition, more than 2,000 attendees from AEs and SMEs are expected to attend the Show. Buyers will be able to watch live demonstrations of software and solutions, and fully assess solutions from over 70 local and international exhibitors. The conference programme consists of six theatres and 150 presentations from local finance experts across two days on:

 

Digital InnovationMoney in Money outAccounting for Business and BookkeepingPractice ManagementBusiness in the CloudFuture Finance. (mor)