SINGAPORE: The SG50 celebrations of 2015 may have led to a surge in support for arts and culture activities that year – but 2016 has turned out to be even better, with attendance figures to museums, heritage institutions, and arts and culture activities reaching record highs.

According to the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, which released the latest Singapore Cultural Statistics report on Thursday (Dec 7), 5.1 million visitors flocked to the various museums and heritage institutions. This was up from almost four million in 2015.

Meanwhile, over 9.2 million people attended non-ticketed performing arts events last year, the highest on record since 2012. This was due to the increase in the number of events to an all-time high of close to 6,000 from 5,000 in 2015.

The report’s key highlights were mentioned by Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu in her opening address at the Culture Academy Singapore’s annual conference held at the National Museum of Singapore.

The one-day event featured local and international culture industry experts, and centred on the theme of “Reviving and Revitalising Cities and Spaces through Arts and Culture”.

Citing the cultural statistics report, she said: “These positive trends suggest we are on the right track in developing a more vibrant arts and culture scene.”

Minister Fu added: “We can do more in revitalising our city and spaces through place-making. We must continue to engage our stakeholders and to do so more deeply, to build on our existing efforts. We need sustained engagement and purposeful programming to effectively make a place.”

According to the report, there was a slight drop in attendance for ticketed arts events, from 1.9 million in 2015 to 1.8 million.

There was also a drop in philanthropic contributions to arts and culture from S$152.6m in 2015, which was a result of the SG50 buzz, to S$74.3m last year. Government funding also dropped from the SG50 highs of S$936.7m to S$712.7m

SINGAPORE: Automation poses a threat to the jobs of accountants today, as emerging technologies begin to perform tasks traditionally undertaken by accountants.

Advancements in cloud-based accounting software, for example, now make it much easier for small businesses to easily and accurately enter and edit financial information on their own without the input of accountants.

Such developments will continue to reduce the reliance of businesses on accountants.

However, rather than fear the coming wave of automation in the profession, young accountants should embrace these new developments as opportunities to take up new value-added tasks and expand their sphere of influence within their companies.

Indeed, this would echo the sentiments expressed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the G-20 summit in Germany, where he said:

When it comes to digitalisation and jobs, we must not yield to our fears and anxieties. It is wiser for us to be optimistic and work hard to make our hopes come true.

FIVE PATHS TOWARDS EMPLOYABILITY

Rather than fight automation, accountants should consider how their skill sets can augment automation. The article Beyond Automation, published in the June 2015 issue of Harvard Business Review, identifies five perspectives employees can take to realign their contributions in an environment of rapid automation.

First, employees can step up to perform tasks computers cannot perform. While computers can handle mundane bookkeeping and accounting tasks like record-keeping and data entry, they are unlikely to able to perform higher-level tasks in the areas of strategy and planning that involve abstraction and consider the bigger picture.

A second strategy – step aside – recognises that not every employee will have the opportunity to step up to perform higher-level work typically undertaken by senior managers, but most have strengths that aren’t purely rational, codifiable cognition.

Employees can identify and focus on tasks including stakeholder management, advisory and tasks that require interpersonal skills, while stepping aside to allow technology to take over tasks that can be automated.

Third, when automation processes break down or when shifts in the business environment changes a company’s automation needs, human intervention – stepping in – is required to rectify the situation. This requires not just monitoring the machine’s functions and output, but also scanning for changes in the business environment.

The fourth perspective encourages employees to step narrowly, to find a niche within the profession amid ongoing automation.

Finally, the step forward perspective encourages employees to develop the next generation of computing and automation tools themselves. With rapid advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence, employees can ride on these technological advancements to develop new tools.

HOW YOUNG ACCOUNTANTS CAN STEP IN

Young accountants who have the skills to facilitate the introduction and implementation of technology in accounting can play a valuable role in enhancing the efficiency of accounting processes and contribute in ways of strategic importance to their companies.

For example, continuous auditing – a new auditing concept which seeks to leverage technology to proactively detect and look into exceptions as they occur rather than react post facto – is one such area.

With continuous auditing, technology monitors company transactions, compare their characteristics to benchmarks, and identify anomalous situations. They can also trigger alarms and route cases to accountants for evaluation and resolution.

In this, accountants will have a crucial role to play by stepping in and applying judgement to select appropriate technologies to build robust continuous audit processes that meet audit objectives.

Another important feature of the continuous audit framework is its reliance on technology to identify exceptions in company transactions, and for auditors to certify the robustness of the continuous audit system. So auditors must understand the system’s workings and be ready to step in to ensure these provide assurance amid changing conditions.

Another area where young accountants have the opportunity to step in is in forensic analysis. As data analytics become more prevalent, the use of advanced analytical technologies to identify fraud will increase.

A recent news report highlighted OCBC’s pilots using artificial intelligence solutions to detect fraud. Working with two fintech firms, the local bank plans to use artificial intelligence to combat money laundering and terrorism financing through strengthening big data search and analytics capabilities to determine if transactions have been fraudulent or illegal.

Forensic accountants with the relevant skills and experience can play a crucial role to complement artificial intelligence and complete fraud investigations.

The areas of continuous audit and forensic analysis are just two areas where young accountants can build a thriving career by adopting the step in perspective. Numerous other areas of accounting similarly face the prospect of increasing automation, and accountants should proactively identify relevant areas where they can step in.

PREPARING ACCOUNTANTS FOR THE FUTURE

Automation will alter the work of accountants in the coming years but accountants will always have a central role in businesses. In order to continue to thrive, the profession will need to position itself to capitalise on automation’s accompanying opportunities.

Universities will need to ensure that students possess skills that prepare them for accounting jobs of the future. In addition to providing a rigorous accounting-based education, universities should also teach skills that allow them to navigate a future workplace where computers and technology are the norm.

Beyond that, employers must also continue to advocate and support their employees in upgrading their skills through regular training and education. This is especially important given that future developments in technology are likely to occur rapidly.

Overall, young accountants have every reason to be positive about the automation occurring in the profession. Rather than fear automation, accountants should embrace it.

They should see it as a positive development that frees them from performing many of their mundane tasks and allows them to redefine how they contribute to business.

Seow Poh Sun is Associate Dean (Teaching and Curriculum) at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University. Gary Pan is Associate Dean (Undergraduate Admissions and Student Development) at the same school. Clarence Goh is Visiting Assistant Professor of Accounting (Practice) at the School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University. A longer version of this commentary was first published in the IS Chartered Accountant and the abridged version here is published, with permission from them and the authors.

SINGAPORE: A S$10 million laboratory to conduct research on advanced manufacturing technologies and optimise manufacturing operations was launched on Wednesday (Dec 6).

The Manufacturing Technologies Lab (MTL) at the Singapore University of Technology and Design is part of an agreement signed between the university and Keysight Technologies. The American tech firm donated S$8 million worth of equipment to the lab, with another S$2 million in research grants.

SUTD president Thomas Magnanti said the MTL will allow SUTD faculty and researchers, as well as Keysight research and development specialists to rapidly explore and prototype new electronics test and measurement solutions.

“These technologies are critical to the efficient and optimal functioning of many industries, including engineering, manufacturing and defence,” Professor Magnanti said.

According to SUTD, three research projects are ongoing. One focuses on cybersecurity for Industrial Internet of Things devices and systems. A second is exploring new ways to test printed circuit breakers boards as they become smaller, while another group of researchers is developing a method of predictive maintenance to prevent unexpected failures of operating equipment.

Minister for Trade and Industry (Industry) S Iswaran, speaking at the launch of the lab, said the advanced manufacturing technologies developed in the MTL will be applicable to not just companies in Singapore but also the global market.

“This new lab is another step towards Singapore’s vision to be a global hub for advanced manufacturing, where we are not only a lead adopter but also an innovate and exporter of new technologies,” he said.

Mr Iswaran added that the manufacturing sector is a key pillar of Singapore’s economy, making up about 20 per cent of the country’s GDP and 14 per cent of employment in 2016. The sector also experienced strong growth this year, with a 19.1 per cent year-on-year increase in manufacturing output in the third quarter, he said.

SINGAPORE: Arrests by Singapore’s Public Transport Security Command (TransCom) have risen over the last two years, it was revealed on Wednesday (Dec 6). 

Up until October this year, 688 arrests were made compared to 676 in 2016 and 545 in 2015. 

TransCom was established in 2009 to step up security patrols at train stations and bus interchanges. The unit deploys officers to protect the public against potential acts of terrorism and to assist in crowd management.

Drug-related and molestation arrests are among some of the cases that TransCom officers have been dealing with.

“There was an instance where someone tried to run away when drugs were found on them. A really short chase ensued, and they really had to hold on to the person and the person even tried to bite my colleagues,” said TransCom Special Constabulary Sergeant Bryant Choo.

MORE OFFICERS DEPLOYED FOR FESTIVE SEASON

Police will be stationing more officers at public transport nodes during Christmas and the New Year compared to other times of the year. Channel NewsAsia understands that the locations with increased security presence include Orchard Road and the Marina Bay area.

As part of counter-terrorism measures, TransCom patrols will also include sniffer dogs trained to detect explosives. The dogs come from the Police K-9 Unit, and work with a handler and TransCom officers to conduct daily patrols. They are trained to support their masters in enhancing security without getting in the way of commuters.

Training for the canines begins when they are about 18 months old. 

“During the training course we have to go through the different kinds of environments (we may face) to prepare us for our respective duties,” said Senior Staff Sergeant Wong Wen Xiong, who is a dog handler.

Staff Sergeant Wong and his dog Esso had to go through a 12-week training stint to get ready for operations. This period is also a crucial window for the handler to form a bond with the dog under their charge.

“Lots of praise and confidence need to be given to the dog,” said Staff Sergeant Wong. “I buy treats for Esso and I return on my off days to bathe Esso when I can. With great bonding, the dog will be much more confident with you. It will trust you more and it will listen to your command whenever you ask it to do so – it will work happily with you.”

Explosive detection dogs include breeds like German shepherds and cocker spaniels. They typically serve till the age of seven, before they are reintroduced back to domestic life.