So Alice, we are at the Land Transport Authority of Singapore where for the
last 20 years you've had quite a few achievements here as well as overcome
many challenges. This is actually a former hospital ground that we converted
into a green landscape office for staff to enjoy this greenery, the trees. So Alice
did you always want to be an accountant?
Well in a way I followed after the footsteps of my late dad who was handling
finance in a Dutch trading firm, and I've seen how he wrote beautiful books, balanced his accounts
and I said, "hey, one day I want to be like him!" and indeed that's what I did
And what is the one piece of advice you would give to young aspiring accountants just
starting out on their careers? I would recommend that they go and do
at least two to three years of audit experience because when you go into audit you have to very
quickly size up the firm that you're in, in a very short time, and then with the
spectrum of experience in the industry then you'll be able to decide a career
is it banking, is it in the industries, is it in the factories, is it in the service industries or is it
in a public sector organization? What would you say are some of the differences
between working in the private sector compared to the public sector?
Interestingly similar to the private sector that faces a world
which is volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. The public sector also
faces that, but more importantly in the public sector we are very focused - in the Land
Transport Authority we are focused on public transport issues. Interesting is the
public sector has got a very conscious mindset of governance, transparency
accountability, because we are spending the public dollar, so every dollar counts.
So transport - that affects everyone's lives and it's such an important element
in modern society. What are some of the big trends that you can share for
public transport in the next ten years or so? The rail network is the backbone of the
transport system in Singapore. We are actually increasing the rail capacity so
that it's accessible to all people. We are also reviewing the bus
the bus contracting system, we are encouraging a car-light lifestyle
I am also looking forward for autonomous vehicles where you actually don't own a
vehicle but you can actually hop on to autonomous vehicle, do your SMS, do your
whatsapp, do your emails, without being booked by the traffic police. Can you tell us
something about your life outside of work? I know how to give my time
voluntarily, my time to a church organization in rendering them financial
expertise and advice from my experience to help them set up the internal controls, the governance, ensuring they have standard operating procedures
Has being an ACCA member helped you in your career?
Oh tremendously, yes. Having this qualification which is actually both local and global has
allowed me to have the professional standing and the qualifications to help me
in my various roles in handling the
respective of setting up companies, setting up processes, setting up
governance, risk management in the organization. And also it enables me to have the
post-qualification exposure and network to many of the learnings and education series that
ACCA conducts in Singapore. Alice, so now we come to the rapid-fire section of our
interview. Are you ready? Yes. Great, here we go. What was the last book you read?
'Leadership, Teacher and You.' This is written by Mr Lim Siong Guan who is the former
civil service head of the public service, and excellent book. So what is your favourite place , and why?
Currently I like to hang out this place called Genesis. It's a place where people who like healthfood,
nutrition and wellness get together. And what is your favourite holiday
destination? I like Asia, in particular Chiang Mai,
where you have many rustic places to go. There's a place in the hotel where you stay, there is
no TV, no internet, and wow, you know, in nature. Alice do you have any unusual skills or hidden
talents? It's hidden so I don't know but my staff tell me that I can make a complex,
difficult problem into something that is bite size, something that is doable
and something that is not so difficult at all. That's great, thank you so much Alice, what a fabulous
interview, thank you for your time and for inviting us here to this wonderful campus
We look forward to catching up with you again very soon. Thanks a lot for this opportunity.