Financial forensic accountants are equipped with key accounting and specialised skills such as financial information analysis, investigation, evidence examination and reporting in relation to relevant laws and regulations. They are engaged by both public and private sectors, including law enforcement agencies, regulatory authorities, financial institutions and advisory firms that offer financial forensic services.

Read the ISCA Journal Article: "Combating White-Collar Crime?" to get more insights on the capabilities and knowledge that are required of today's  investigators and forensic accountants.

For professional accountants, the Qualification will provide you with knowledge extended and skill sets you need to prevent and detect financial crime, safeguarding organisations against losses arising from such crimes. For existing financial forensic professionals, you will deepen your knowledge and skill sets, and receive professional recognition for having the requisite competencies to work in financial forensics upon conferment of the Financial Forensic Professional (FFP) credential.

Read the ISCA Journal Article: "Forensic Data Analytics - No Longer Just a Supplementary Tool" to find out more about the future skill sets expected of investigators and the growing use of digital tools in financial investigations.

For ISCA FFA Qualification graduates who have no or minimal relevant financial forensic experience, they could apply for entry level positions in financial forensic professional services firms or the public sector. The contents covered by ISCA FFA Qualification form the knowledge base for these graduates to pick up practical competencies in such entry level job roles. Besides technical knowledge and relevant experience, individual attributes such as communications, digital literacy, analytical skills and sense making are also key considerations for employers in determining the suitability of a candidate. 

The knowledge obtained from the qualification could also lead to an expansion of existing job roles. Based on a recent graduate survey (total 14 respondents), 14.3% of respondents have gained an expansion in job scope or increase in job responsibilities.

For those with some years of relevant financial forensic experience, they could apply for non-entry level positions such as managerial and above. However, they should note that the job requirements and employers’ expectations may differ widely. Besides technical knowledge and relevant experience, individual competencies and soft skills such as leadership, communications, resourcefulness and analytical skills are also key considerations for employers in determining the suitability of a candidate. 

For reference, the following are examples of job roles and organisations which are considered as financial forensic-related work: 

Public sector

1. Law enforcement agencies (e.g. Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau, Commercial Affairs Department of Singapore Police Force, Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore)
2. Financial regulatory authority such as Monetary Authority of Singapore

Private sector

1. Financial institutions (e.g. banks, insurance companies)
2. Accounting and forensic advisory services firms that offer financial forensic related services

Yes, please click here for information on upcoming sessions.

The candidate should be able to complete the Qualification within a year if he or she takes 1-2 modules per examination session. 

Candidates can choose to take selected modules in the Qualification depending on their needs.

Module 1 - Forensic Accounting and Investigation

Module 2 - Digital Forensics

Module 3 - Financial Crime

Module 4 - Professional requirements

Upon completion of each module, the candidate will receive an official endorsement to indicate that they have completed the module. 

There are no exemptions for the ISCA FFA Qualification. If you wish to attain the ISCA Financial Forensic Professional (FFP) credential, you will need to complete all four modules within 2 years and meet the Qualification’s prevailing entry requirements. 

Click here to find out more about the ISCA FFP credential.

While there are no pre-requisites to be fulfilled for the programme, we would recommend that the modules be taken in the following order:

Module 1 - Forensic Accounting and Investigation

Module 2 - Digital Forensics

Module 3 - Financial Crime

Module 4 - Professional Requirements

Please click here for more information on the qualification structure.

You may access the Scope of Content of the following modules in the respective hyperlinks:

Module 1 – Forensic Accounting and Investigation 

Module 2 – Digital Forensics

Module 3 – Financial Crime

Module 4 – Professional Requirements

You may only apply upon completion of your degree qualification, provided that your degree qualification also meets our entry requirements. The entry requirements state that applicants are required to have at least a recognised bachelor’s degree or equivalent in an Accountancy related discipline or other degrees with one year full-time and recent relevant work experience in financial forensic-related fields.

Please click here to find out more on entry requirements.

Yes, but you are required to submit the following documents together with the rest of the required documents for ISCA’s review and assessment:

1. Letter of Notification / Certification on successful completion of degree qualification
2. Full academic result slip(s)

You may click here to submit the online application form.

Yes, candidates who have registered for the exam session of Module 1, 2 and 3 must attend the compulsory workshops that will be held at least one month prior to the exam. Attendance will be taken at the start of the morning and afternoon (after lunch) sessions of the workshops.

We strongly encourage candidates to select a workshop/examination session that best fits their work commitments. No deferment of examination is allowed.

Candidates who wish to take the next available examination session are required to attend the workshop conducted one (1) month prior to the examination session.

Please click here for the latest updates to our workshop and examination schedule.

Yes, you can include the time spent on taking the ISCA FFA Qualification as part of your CPE hours. The duration spent in workshops and examinations for all modules can be considered as verifiable hours. As Module 4 consists of self-study only, the duration of the examination will be counted as verifiable hours, while the time spent doing self-study may be counted as non-verifiable hours. Please click here for more information on verifiable and non-verifiable CPE hours.

 For FCA (Singapore) or CA (Singapore) who is a public accountant, please note that the category of the CPE hours clocked under Module 1, 2 and 3 will be classified under “Others”, while that under Module 4 will be under “Ethics and Professionalism” (Category 2).

Please click here for the estimated fees for completion of the Qualification.

1. NTUC Union Training Assistance Programme (UTAP) 

Funding period: until 31 Mar 2022

Under UTAP, NTUC members enjoy 50% *unfunded course fee support, capped at $250 each year, for courses supported by UTAP. For more information on the UTAP, please click here. 

Who can apply
All NTUC members can apply for UTAP. However, the following criteria must be met to be eligible for UTAP:

1. Paid-up union membership before course commencement, throughout whole course duration and at the point of claim
2. Course by training provider must be supported under UTAP, and training must commence within the supported period
3. Course must not be funded through company sponsorship or other types of funding
4. *Unfunded course fee must be S$20.00 and above
5. Member must achieve a minimum of 75% attendance for each application and sat for all prescribed examination(s), if any
6. UTAP application must be submitted within 6 months after course completion

*Unfunded course fee refers to the balance course fee payable after applicable government subsidy. This excludes GST, registration fees, misc. fees etc. 

Please click here for the UTAP Application Guide and FAQs. To submit for UTAP claims, please visit http://skillsupgrade.ntuc.org.sg/. 

Should you have queries on UTAP, you can email to UTAP@e2i.com.sg or call NTUC Membership Hotline at 6213 8008.

2. SkillsFuture Study Awards

The SkillsFuture Study award is a $5,000 award to defray the cost of your course to encourage the development and deepening of skills needed by the future economy. The ISCA FFA Qualification is one of the supported courses under the SkillsFuture Study Award for the Accountancy Sector. 

Please visit the SkillsFuture Study Awards for Accountancy Sector website here for more details on the eligibility criteria and application process. You may apply for this award during your course of study but before the completion of the ISCA FFA Qualification.

Candidates are only required to pay for the modules they have registered for the examination session. They will receive an email notification on the commencement of examination registration for the upcoming examination session.

Candidates are to register via an online examination registration form and pay an examination registration fee via credit card within the stipulated window period. Upon successful receipt of examination registration fee, candidates will receive an invoice/receipt via email.

The ISCA FFA Qualification workshops and examinations schedule is available here. Please note that the registration period for each examination session commences approximately two (2) months prior to the examination session.

ISCA members are highly regarded as holding the highest standards in ethical and professional conduct. As a member of ISCA, you are subject to membership requirements such as compliance with ethics and Continuing Professional Education (CPE) requirements in order to stay updated and professionally qualified. ISCA members holding the ISCA FFP credential will be committed to develop and maintain the professional competence necessary, in the public interest, to perform their role within the financial forensics field.

Click here to find out more.

The following services are available through the PQ Portal:

• Apply for a new professional qualification
• Track application status
• View your candidate status and candidate validity period
• Enrol for modules and track your progress
• Download study materials
• Print certificates and transcripts
• View workshops and exams schedule
• Make payments and view invoices/receipts

For more information, you may refer to the PQ Portal User Guide - Accessing the PQ Portal

You will need to create an ISCA eServices account first before you access the PQ Portal:

• Go to the ISCA eServices Portal to create a new account. Follow the instructions sent to your email address and activate your account
• Once you are logged in to the eServices Portal, you will see the “Professional Qualification (PQ) Portal” link on the left navigation menu. Click the link
• Fill in the required information in the “Edit Profile” form before you navigate to the PQ Portal

To update personal particulars and employment information, please navigate back to the eServices Portal and update the information under “My Profile”. You may refer to the PQ Portal User Guide - Accessing the PQ Portal for more information on accessing the eServices Portal to update your personal particulars and employment histories.

Corporate Candidate refers to an Individual who is sponsored by his/her company to pursue a professional qualification.​

​Corporate User refers to the company’s representative who will initiate a new application and make payments for the Corporate Candidate’s application, module enrolments and Annual Candidature Fee.​

Both the Corporate User and Corporate Candidate will need to create an ISCA eServices account to navigate the PQ Portal.​

3 Steps to complete an application:​

1. Corporate User to initiate a new corporate application and add selected candidate(s) into the application​
2. Corporate Candidate to provide details of the application​
3. Corporate User to complete and make payment for the application

You can refer to the PQ Portal User Guide - Application for more details.

At the payment summary page, please select the applicable funding scheme in the drop-down list and enter the total eligible funding amount. Once you click “Apply”, the funding amount will be offset from the amount payable accordingly. 

Before you submit for payment, please ensure that you have completed the applicable funding application form and upload it for our verification.   

Payment mode for self-sponsored individual candidate: PayPal. PayPal allows you to make payment via credit/debit card without creating a PayPal account. 

Payment mode for Corporate User to sponsor their candidates: PayPal, Cheque/GIRO or Vendor@Gov (for eligible government agencies only).

For firms awarded the funding support under the ISCA Support Fund, if you’ve employees who are existing candidates of the ISCA FFA Qualification, they will be eligible for the funding support, subject to meeting all the criteria and T&Cs. The SMPs will be able to claim for their remaining module(s) if the fee is incurred during the qualifying period.

Yes, the firm is still allowed to submit and claim for the completed module(s) for your employee. However, there will be no funding support for the remaining module(s) since the qualifying period is over. All claims must be submitted by the SMPs before the deadline 30 June 2022.

No. In order to be eligible for the support fund and submit the claim, it is a requirement for the employee to pass the exam as well. No reimbursement will be made to the SMP if the employee has not met the necessary requirements and eligibility criteria.

The ISCA Support Fund for the SMPs is only eligible for company sponsored candidates.

As long as the fee is incurred during the qualifying period (1 Feb 2021 to 30 Jun 2022), the SMP which is awarded the funding support under the ISCA Support Fund, may claim the module fee incurred for the employee.

As long as the fee is incurred during the qualifying period (1 Feb 2021 to 30 Jun 2022), the SMP which is awarded the funding support under the ISCA Support Fund, may claim the application fee incurred for the employee.