http://www.tremeritus.com/2015/05/09/are-sg-bosses-too-cheap-to-know-the-fts-theyre-hiring/
[h=2]Are SG bosses too cheap to know the FTs they’re hiring?[/h]
May 9th, 2015 |
Author: Contributions
After witnessing events that have unfolded in my beloved country of Singapore
during the last few years, I am of the opinion that many Singapore employers
just lack simple basic common sense. So common sense may not be so common after
all.
Here’s why.
Recently a Filipino friend of an acquaintance of mine (who was in Singapore
for a holiday) casually mentioned this to my friend. He noted that somehow many
Filipinos from the lower end Universities (or tertiary institutions) from the
Philippines do not seem to have any problems in getting well paid jobs in
Singapore. He was actually impressed that a tiny little red dot like Singapore
with only a population 5 million can create so many jobs for so many people (not
just its own citizens but also citizens of other countries). After conversing
with him, I began to understand why.
In
the Philippines, they have about 280 universities or tertiary institutions
serving a population of 100 million people compared to 4 universities in
Singapore serving a population of 5 million people. So in the Philippines, they
have something like their own version of Ivy League Universities. It is their
own way of ranking the best universities in their country. After some time,
employers usually know which are the good and prestigious universities, which
universities are considered average or below acceptable standards.
This will have an impact on the graduates and their career prospects. So if a
person graduates from a prestigious University with a degree in accounting (for
argument sake) he/she will not have any problems in finding employment with a
prestigious accounting firm like SGV & Co or any of the big 4 accounting
firms. Maybe after working for a few years this person might end up with a
well-paid job with another large American MNC or oil company. There are some
MNCs in the Philippines whose hiring policy meant that they will only employ
graduates from certain top Universities for certain positions. Of course, if you
graduate from one of the lowly-ranked Universities, you might still find a job
with these MNCs, perhaps as accounts clerk or data entry operator but never as
accounting manager or accountant.
So for the Filipinos who graduated from prestigious Universities, they will
usually stay behind in their own country and work their way up the corporate
ladder. After all, they have a career ahead of them in their own country. So why
take the risk and go to a foreign country where costs of living is so high and
other issues are so uncertain?
For those Filipinos who graduated from the lowly ranked universities, they
know that if they stay back in the Philippines, they will get a job but they
will never have a career. So what is there to lose? Take a risk and try greener
pastures in this tiny red dot called Singapore. Who knows? You might make it
big. After all, it seems that some Singapore employers can be quite
ignorant.
Very often, I heard of situations where Singapore employers will prefer to
employ a Filipino over a Singaporean just because he/she is cheaper than a
Singaporean. In many instances, it is almost half the price. For some Singapore
employers, they naively believed that all accounting degrees are the same.
However that is not the case.
=>>> 60%: OK lah!
Right now, we are living in a world where Accountants need to have working
knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards, keep themselves
updated and abreast with the latest developments in taxation, GST and changes in
legislation. All these will have an impact on the way financial transactions are
recorded in the accounting books and disclosed. Furthermore if you are involved
in international trade, you need to be aware of all the changes in tax
legislation worldwide such as the recent issues concerning transfer pricing,
changes in INCOTERMS and so forth. However it seems that many Singapore
employers just have difficulties in understanding this. They will employ a
Filipino to do accounting work, simply because he/she is cheaper than
Singaporeans. These Filipinos may have an accounting or business degree but they
usually do not have any working knowledge of the GST or companies legislation in
Singapore. However it seems that this will not have an impact on Singapore
employers. Either they do not know or they do not care. It is like they are just
out there shopping and looking for the cheapest bargain.
Remember. If something is cheap, it may not be good. If it is good, chances
are, it is not cheap.
Before I continue, I would like to make my position clear. I am not
xenophobic. I have a lot of respect for some Filipinos myself too. I remember
that during the 1980s, while working in the audit department of SGV-Goh Tan
& Co, I had the opportunity to work under some audit supervisors from the
Philippines and they were really good. They knew their job really well and got
things done. So it is hard to generalize that all Filipinos are good or bad. It
was only some years later that I found out that those Filipinos (that I worked
with in SGV- Goh Tan & Co) graduated from well-known prestigious
universities in the Philippines. If they had graduated from lowly-ranked
universities, they will probably be working as cashiers in supermarkets or bank
tellers.
So this is my sincere suggestion to all Singapore employers out there. If you
want to employ a Filipino because he or she is cheaper than Singaporeans, just
do a few simple things. Firstly verify if the successful incumbent did graduate
from the University that he or she claims. You can do so by writing an email to
the University’s registrar or sighting their original university degree .
Secondly check the ranking of that University in the overall ranking of
Universities in the Philippines. You can do so by Googling or searching in
Wikipedia. If the university that your successful incumbent graduated from is
lowly-ranked, think twice. Thirdly, you may want to test his or her knowledge.
If this person graduated with an accounting degree, perhaps get a qualified
accountant or your own external accountant to test his or her knowledge in
accounting and other issues (if applicable).
It is better to be safe than sorry. Remember. If you employ an unqualified
accountant, he/she might (in Singlish) “anyhow do their accounting work”. Maybe
by the time the damage is done, it may be irreversible or may be too expensive
to undo.
JY
TAN
* The author is a qualified accountant
in Singapore now in his fifties.
[h=2]Are SG bosses too cheap to know the FTs they’re hiring?[/h]
May 9th, 2015 |
Author: Contributions
After witnessing events that have unfolded in my beloved country of Singapore
during the last few years, I am of the opinion that many Singapore employers
just lack simple basic common sense. So common sense may not be so common after
all.
Here’s why.
Recently a Filipino friend of an acquaintance of mine (who was in Singapore
for a holiday) casually mentioned this to my friend. He noted that somehow many
Filipinos from the lower end Universities (or tertiary institutions) from the
Philippines do not seem to have any problems in getting well paid jobs in
Singapore. He was actually impressed that a tiny little red dot like Singapore
with only a population 5 million can create so many jobs for so many people (not
just its own citizens but also citizens of other countries). After conversing
with him, I began to understand why.
In
the Philippines, they have about 280 universities or tertiary institutions
serving a population of 100 million people compared to 4 universities in
Singapore serving a population of 5 million people. So in the Philippines, they
have something like their own version of Ivy League Universities. It is their
own way of ranking the best universities in their country. After some time,
employers usually know which are the good and prestigious universities, which
universities are considered average or below acceptable standards.
This will have an impact on the graduates and their career prospects. So if a
person graduates from a prestigious University with a degree in accounting (for
argument sake) he/she will not have any problems in finding employment with a
prestigious accounting firm like SGV & Co or any of the big 4 accounting
firms. Maybe after working for a few years this person might end up with a
well-paid job with another large American MNC or oil company. There are some
MNCs in the Philippines whose hiring policy meant that they will only employ
graduates from certain top Universities for certain positions. Of course, if you
graduate from one of the lowly-ranked Universities, you might still find a job
with these MNCs, perhaps as accounts clerk or data entry operator but never as
accounting manager or accountant.
So for the Filipinos who graduated from prestigious Universities, they will
usually stay behind in their own country and work their way up the corporate
ladder. After all, they have a career ahead of them in their own country. So why
take the risk and go to a foreign country where costs of living is so high and
other issues are so uncertain?
For those Filipinos who graduated from the lowly ranked universities, they
know that if they stay back in the Philippines, they will get a job but they
will never have a career. So what is there to lose? Take a risk and try greener
pastures in this tiny red dot called Singapore. Who knows? You might make it
big. After all, it seems that some Singapore employers can be quite
ignorant.
Very often, I heard of situations where Singapore employers will prefer to
employ a Filipino over a Singaporean just because he/she is cheaper than a
Singaporean. In many instances, it is almost half the price. For some Singapore
employers, they naively believed that all accounting degrees are the same.
However that is not the case.
=>>> 60%: OK lah!
Right now, we are living in a world where Accountants need to have working
knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards, keep themselves
updated and abreast with the latest developments in taxation, GST and changes in
legislation. All these will have an impact on the way financial transactions are
recorded in the accounting books and disclosed. Furthermore if you are involved
in international trade, you need to be aware of all the changes in tax
legislation worldwide such as the recent issues concerning transfer pricing,
changes in INCOTERMS and so forth. However it seems that many Singapore
employers just have difficulties in understanding this. They will employ a
Filipino to do accounting work, simply because he/she is cheaper than
Singaporeans. These Filipinos may have an accounting or business degree but they
usually do not have any working knowledge of the GST or companies legislation in
Singapore. However it seems that this will not have an impact on Singapore
employers. Either they do not know or they do not care. It is like they are just
out there shopping and looking for the cheapest bargain.
Remember. If something is cheap, it may not be good. If it is good, chances
are, it is not cheap.
Before I continue, I would like to make my position clear. I am not
xenophobic. I have a lot of respect for some Filipinos myself too. I remember
that during the 1980s, while working in the audit department of SGV-Goh Tan
& Co, I had the opportunity to work under some audit supervisors from the
Philippines and they were really good. They knew their job really well and got
things done. So it is hard to generalize that all Filipinos are good or bad. It
was only some years later that I found out that those Filipinos (that I worked
with in SGV- Goh Tan & Co) graduated from well-known prestigious
universities in the Philippines. If they had graduated from lowly-ranked
universities, they will probably be working as cashiers in supermarkets or bank
tellers.
So this is my sincere suggestion to all Singapore employers out there. If you
want to employ a Filipino because he or she is cheaper than Singaporeans, just
do a few simple things. Firstly verify if the successful incumbent did graduate
from the University that he or she claims. You can do so by writing an email to
the University’s registrar or sighting their original university degree .
Secondly check the ranking of that University in the overall ranking of
Universities in the Philippines. You can do so by Googling or searching in
Wikipedia. If the university that your successful incumbent graduated from is
lowly-ranked, think twice. Thirdly, you may want to test his or her knowledge.
If this person graduated with an accounting degree, perhaps get a qualified
accountant or your own external accountant to test his or her knowledge in
accounting and other issues (if applicable).
It is better to be safe than sorry. Remember. If you employ an unqualified
accountant, he/she might (in Singlish) “anyhow do their accounting work”. Maybe
by the time the damage is done, it may be irreversible or may be too expensive
to undo.
JY
TAN
* The author is a qualified accountant
in Singapore now in his fifties.
