FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ICPAS FORMS TWO NEW COMMITTEES FOR CFOS AND YOUNG ACCOUNTANTS & LAUNCHES PUBLICATION ON “THE WORK OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE – A SIMPLE GUIDE

27 June, 2006 - The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (“ICPAS”) announced today that it is forming two new Committees to address the professional needs of the Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and the Young Accountants.

This is the first time the national accounting body has taken such an initiative to provide a platform for networking and sharing specifically for these two groups of members.

Mr Tan Boen Eng, President of ICPAS said, “These two new Committees will serve to strengthen the image and role that professional accountants play in business, commerce and industry.

The increasing complexity and globalisation of businesses have transformed the traditional number-crunching role of accountants to one that closely supports and leads in business decision-making and strategic analysis.”

Dr Ernest Kan, Vice President of ICPAS said, “In order to maintain and even raise Singapore’s standard as a major financial hub, we have to constantly improve on the knowledge and capabilities of everyone in the accounting profession. The launch of these two committees is timely as we need to keep pace with the changes in the international accounting practices. These committees will serve to identify activities and initiatives to help the accounting profession in Singapore to keep abreast with international standards. ICPAS has identified prominent and dynamic members to be in the CFO Committee and Young Accountants Group Committee to help achieve this aim.”

The Institute has also issued a publication that will provide guidance on “The Work of the Audit Committee” in order to enhance knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the role and responsibilities of the audit committee.

CFO Committee

The CFO Committee, whose members will be drawn from CFOs, Financial Controllers and Finance Directors, provides a platform to address the professional needs of ICPAS members who hold such positions.

It is chaired by Mr Soh Gim Teik, Finance Director of Sincere Watch Limited, who recently won the CFO of the Year Award (for companies with less than $500 million in market capitalisation) at the inaugural Singapore Corporate Awards.

Mr Soh said, “I am delighted to be given this opportunity to chair this new CFO committee. This committee will seek to address the needs of CFO-level members and organise events like conferences, workshops, round-table discussions, forums, dialogue sessions and networking sessions amongst ICPAS’ CFO-level members.

With this committee, we hope to enhance the role of CFOs and at the same time gather and discuss current issues relevant to CFOs so that all of us can share ideas, learn and expand our knowledge base. In addition, to be an effective and successful CFO in today’s context, one must not only be highly competent in dealing with complex accounting practices and issues but must also be able to provide strategic directions and advice to the management relating to the growth of the business. I hope this committee will be able to go one step further to help all CFO-level members develop themselves further.”

In addition, this Committee will promote the relevance and importance of having CFOs, FCs, FDs, etc, who are CPAs Singapore to companies. The professional designation, “Certified Public Accountant Singapore” or “CPA Singapore”, gives ICPAS members an identity instantly associated with integrity and true professionalism in the accountancy profession that employers appreciate.

Young Accountants Group Committee

The Committee is chaired by Mr Jack Wang, who is a member of ICPAS, a Chartered Accountant (CA) Australia and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) qualification. Mr Wang has extensive professional experience with international accounting firms and financial institutions. He graduated from Nanyang Technological University with an Honours Degree in Accountancy.

He said, “I am honored to be the first Chairman of this Committee. The primary vision of the Young Accountants Group Committee is to create initiatives to engage and provide young accountants in their 20s and 30s with opportunities for professional and leadership developments.

Young accountants in the early phase of their career often have unique needs in areas of their career, learning and lifestyle. Through this Committee, ICPAS hopes to proactively engage this group of members so as to help them develop their career and achieve greater competence and knowledge and help them rise to leadership positions in the organisations they serve.”

“The Work of the Audit Committee – A Simple Guide” Publication

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore, through its Corporate Governance Committee has issued a publication on “The Work of the Audit Committee – A Simple Guide”. It aims to enhance its members’ knowledge, the corporate community’s understanding and the public’s appreciation of the role and responsibilities of the audit committee.

This publication, in the form of a booklet, will be available for sale at ICPAS. ICPAS members will be given a complimentary CD-ROM version of this publication.

This publication is designed to assist audit committees to go beyond mere compliance with audit committee requirements, codes and standards so that they can be more effective in discharging their roles and responsibilities. This is pertinent especially in the light of recent corporate scandals both internationally and in Singapore.

Conclusion

With these new initiatives, ICPAS hopes to increase the standards of professional accountants and strengthen Singapore’s position as a leading financial services hub.

About ICPAS

The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS) is the national organisation for the accountancy profession in Singapore. With a membership of close to 18,000 members, ICPAS’ mission is to develop, support and enhance the integrity, status and interests of the accountancy profession in Singapore.

Issued on behalf of ICPAS

For more information, please contact:

Ms Tham Moon Yee / Ms Sabrina Chua / Mr Lee Yew Meng

Stratagem Consultants Pte Ltd

Tel: 65 6227 0502

Fax: 65 6227 5663

Email: tmy@stratagemconsultants.com / sabrina@stratagemconsultants.com / yewmeng@stratagemconsultants.com

Ms Rosalind Wong

Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore

Tel: 6749 8060

Fax: 6749 8061