Deloitte Singapore to raise starting salary for graduates joining as auditors and double down on investment to develop talent in the profession

SINGAPORE, 13 May 2024 – Deloitte Singapore (“Deloitte”) announced today that it will be increasing the starting salary for graduates joining the firm as first-year audit associates. This move is in support of the government’s plans to strengthen the attractiveness of the accountancy sector and grow Singapore’s pool of skilled accounting professionals. It also signals Deloitte's intention to lead the way in elevating the profession in Singapore.

From 1 September 2024 – coinciding with the entry of this year’s batch of fresh graduates, the starting salary for first-year hires joining Deloitte under its *FasTrack program – an accelerated audit career program – will be S$4,500. The starting monthly salary for non-FasTrack first-year hires joining Deloitte as auditors will be S$4,100. With these adjustments, the annual salary package for fresh graduates joining Deloitte as auditors will increase by up to 20% from the current annual salary package.

Including these salary adjustments, the overall investment made by Deloitte to nurture audit talent within their first five years with the firm from 1 September 2024 will amount to around S$62 million. This investment includes their professional qualification courses as well as training courses and modules to equip them with future-forward skills such as generative artificial intelligence, data analytics, and sustainability assurance.

This monetary investment will be supplemented by mentorship, apprenticeship and on-the-job training that prepares our talent for a career in Deloitte, or a career outside of service delivery, for instance as finance and accounting professionals in organisations across industries and sectors.

This announcement is in support of the recommendations by the Accountancy Workforce Review Committee set up by the Ministry of Finance released on 10 May to increase the supply of high-quality accounting talent. These recommendations span three pillars: ensure good careers by heightening the appeal of an accountancy career, create quality pathways by increasing the accessibility of an accountancy career, and strengthen professional capabilities to develop future-ready professionals.

* Further details about FasTrack can be found in the Annex.

Shariq BARMAKY, Country Managing Partner, Deloitte Singapore, said, “Accountancy is the language of business and finance, and it is integral to Singapore’s role as a global financial services hub and its ecosystem. An auditor’s key duty is to report on the integrity of financial information of organisations. This protects the public interest as it strengthens and reinforces the trust and confidence in financial reporting.”

“There has been an imbalance in recent years, where interest in an accountancy degree has waned as undergraduates explore emerging fields of study, such as new technologies and environment and sustainability, even as the demand for auditors is increasing given that businesses are transforming to meet the changing needs of today’s marketplace.”

“Deloitte is proud to do our part to elevate the accountancy profession in Singapore by serving as a catalyst to drive its evolution and increase its attractiveness, with a goal to equip a future-ready workforce . For instance, those who join us can be involved in core accounting services such as audit and tax, and adjacent and complementary services such as financial advisory, risk advisory, and consulting. We also have structured pathways to leadership roles and partnership that help in career growth. With their experience at Deloitte, our talent can choose to grow their career with us or look beyond professional services to explore finance and accounting leadership roles within organisations across all sectors, ” Shariq added.

As part of efforts to help boost the accountancy profession, Deloitte has also been working closely with the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), and other regulatory and professional bodies, alongside the accounting faculties at the universities, to develop programs and opportunities to make accountancy an attractive career. For example, Deloitte has partnered educational institutions to develop modules such as Audit Analytics electives at SMU and NTU that add value to the accountancy profession in today’s evolving landscape.
 
YANG Chi Chih, Audit & Assurance Leader, Deloitte Singapore, said, “This investment allows accounting graduates to have stable career progression as auditors at Deloitte from Associates to Managers, generally over the course of four years or less, for graduates under our FasTrack program. We provide them with the technical training that will equip them with future-forward skills such as generative artificial intelligence, data analytics and sustainability.”

“Deloitte’s investment also goes towards mapping leadership pathways and providing our people with on-the-job training and apprenticeship, reskilling and upskilling opportunities. Our multi-disciplinary model across our offices in Southeast Asia, and across the Deloitte Asia Pacific and global networks, means that our people also have mobility opportunities in the form of cross-border work, overseas secondment, and collaboration with colleagues across business units and cultures and backgrounds while being exposed to a range of industries and clients. These skills and experience will pave the way for our talent to flourish either within Deloitte or in other organisations across industries and sectors.”

“Recruiting and developing top talent has always been a priority for us, and we strive to nurture the next generation of talent for the profession to prepare them for the future workplace. FasTrack, alongside Deloitte’s structured career development plans, helps us ensure that we have a steady pipeline of young accountancy talent that we can grow and develop to eventually lead the way for others entering the profession. In the longer term, there will be leadership opportunities within Deloitte for top talent that offer clear pathways to partnership,” Chi Chih continued.

Annex: Fast tracking talent development

FasTrack is Deloitte’s accelerated audit career program for accountancy graduates. The pioneer batch of fresh graduates from FasTrack joined the firm in September 2022.

This is a first-of-its-kind program in Singapore designed to develop future auditors and is open to accountancy students from the local universities. The 30-week structured internship is aligned with the universities’ curriculum and is part of Deloitte’s efforts to help enhance the schools’ work-study programs and improve the work-readiness of accountancy students.

The extended internship period enables students to be fully immersed in the work setting of an audit professional and gain a deeper understanding of and exposure to the profession. This experience equips undergraduates with the necessary skills to perform at a higher level when they join the workforce after graduation and paves the way for them to enter the field.

Successful completion of the program enables the undergraduates to get a priority offer for secure full-time , permanent employment at Deloitte after graduation at a higher-entry level position and with the opportunity for accelerated career progression. They are able to reach career milestones quicker with the prospect of being promoted to managerial positions within an average of four years, instead of the typical five to six years.

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