TAKEAWAYS
Budget 2026 comes at a time when many of us are working harder than ever.
In conversations with members and business leaders over the past year, it can be observed that work is no longer just about hitting targets or meeting deadlines; it is about navigating several forces moving all at once. Technology is advancing faster than job roles can stabilise. Global trade is fragmenting in ways few can predict. Cost pressures persist, and sustainability expectations continue to rise, even as global consensus remains uneven.
Our own ISCA Pre-Budget 2026 Survey reflects this reality clearly – 98% of respondents expect their industries to be disrupted by global political and trade developments. That is a powerful signal. It tells us that what we are facing is not cyclical uncertainty, but structural change.
At the same time, 57% identified job displacement as their biggest AI-related concern.
These numbers matter. They tell us that our profession is now at the intersection of technology, geopolitics, cost pressures and sustainability demands.
Against this backdrop, Budget 2026’s pragmatic approach is appreciated, focusing on strengthening foundations by building skills, resilience and trust, all of which are pillars our profession depends on.
Below are five key themes from Budget 2026, and what they mean for our profession.
I believe many of us turned the volume up when Prime Minister Lawrence Wong highlighted accountants as an example of how AI can augment professional work and move professionals up the value chain. Accountancy is among the first non-technology sectors building practical AI capabilities under the expanded TechSkills Accelerator initiative. The message is clear – AI fluency is no longer optional for our profession.
But technology will not transform organisations on its own; leadership will.
For finance leaders, the real question is not whether to adopt AI, but where it meaningfully enhances decision quality, and where human judgement must remain in control.
We must ask sharper questions:
Innovation without trust will not endure. Our professional edge has always been credibility. As AI becomes embedded in workflows, trust will depend not only on efficiency gains, but on accountability and oversight.
At ISCA, we are partnering IMDA to develop an AI Fluency Programme for accountancy professionals, focused on practical, role-based application.
The programme will help practitioners understand what AI can do in real workflows, where its limits are, and how to use it responsibly across areas such as audit, reporting and core financial processes. The programme will be free for Singaporean and PR professional accountants working in Singapore.
This is not about turning accountants into technologists; it is about ensuring that accountants remain central to decision-making in an AI-enabled economy.
If AI is one axis of change, geopolitics is another. Market conditions can change quickly, and firms must continuously assess how best to position themselves for resilience and growth.
In a more uncertain world, financial decisions require broader and more forward-looking judgement. Budgeting, capital allocation and sourcing decisions can no longer be based solely on lowest cost or short-term returns. Businesses increasingly need to consider resilience, diversification and the ability to respond quickly if conditions change.
Accountants have an opportunity to play a more strategic role in:
In short, we are no longer just stewards of past performance. We are architects of future resilience.
Budget 2026 continues to support internationalisation efforts. But policy support alone is not enough. Many firms, especially smaller ones, tell us they want to venture abroad but feel they lack scale or network.
This is why ISCA and our partners established the Professional Services Centres in 2025 to provide a platform for firms to collaborate, share market knowledge and explore overseas opportunities together.
Many businesses today are navigating persistent cost pressures from wages and rentals to other rising operating expenses, while still needing to invest in transformation. The real challenge is not simply managing costs, but deciding where to invest to strengthen long-term resilience and productivity.
As AI, sustainability and data demands reshape job scopes, our profession (and others) will inevitably see role redesign. Some tasks will disappear. New ones will emerge. The risk is not job loss alone, but also skill stagnation.
This is why workforce transformation must be deliberate and inclusive.
ISCA’s Career Support Programme, backed by a $2-million commitment, offers career coaching, job-matching and skills guidance for members navigating change. ISCA is also expanding pathways in digital, sustainability and forensic specialisations. For professionals, this is a timely moment to take stock through a career and skills audit.
Ask yourself:
Future relevance will not happen by default; it must be built intentionally.
Budget 2026 reaffirmed Singapore’s climate commitment, with the carbon tax set at S$45 per tonne for 2026 to 2027, and a target range of S$50 to S$80 by 2030, while signalling that future steps will be calibrated in line with global developments, recognising uneven progress worldwide.
This is a pragmatic approach. While it is important to have a credible green transition, it must also be economically workable.
For businesses, the real question is how to transition without undermining competitiveness. That is where calibration matters. Sustainability efforts need to be practical and economically viable, especially for smaller firms managing tighter margins. Done well, sustainability is not just a cost; it can drive efficiency, strengthen supply chain positioning, improve access to capital and build stakeholder trust.
Finance professionals play a central role in this transition. By moving beyond compliance towards value creation, businesses can strengthen both resilience and long-term competitiveness.
Smaller firms often struggle with complexity and cost. That is why ISCA continues to advocate practical and accessible support. Our roadmap for SGX-listed companies and the Illustrative ISSB-GRI Sustainability Report translate national direction into practical guidance.
The goal is clear – make sustainability implementation rigorous, but manageable.
Technology evolves. Trade routes shift. Carbon policies recalibrate. But trust in financial integrity is foundational.
As Chartered Accountants, our role extends beyond technical competence. We safeguard confidence in markets, we uphold ethical standards, we enable fair and transparent decision-making.
Budget 2026 also emphasises collective responsibility in building a “we-first” society. As accountants, we have the ability to contribute not only financially, but through our skills and experience.
Through ISCA Cares, initiatives, such as our partnership with Yellow Ribbon Singapore, help promote financial literacy and support reintegration efforts, as well as support for underprivileged students, reflect how the profession can make a broader social impact.
If I were to summarise Budget 2026 for our profession, it would be this – build capabilities that endure: AI capability, resilience capability, sustainability capability and above all, trust capability.
At ISCA, we remain committed to supporting our members and advancing the profession so that together, we can contribute to a stronger, more trusted and forward-looking economy.
The future of our profession will not be defined by disruption alone, but by how we respond to it.
Terence Lam is Director, Professional Standards and Advocacy, ISCA.
