Finance and tax firms overhaul supply chains, pivot to AI amidst disruptions

Singapore businesses ready for geopolitical conflict, use AI to focus on high-value activities.

Chief finance officers (CFOs) and tax leaders in Singapore plan to update supply chains and leverage generative artificial intelligence (genAI) to future-proof their businesses, the EY Tax and Finance Operations (TFO) Survey showed.

A total of 91% of organisations in Singapore that responded in the survey are already making changes to their business operations, including supply chains, over the next two years.

This is amidst geopolitical disruption, evolving trade and tariff policies, and talent shortages.

For the city-state respondents, this was an increase of 21 percentage points compared to last year, EY said. Globally, 81% of survey respondents have made the changes, the survey added.

A total of 94% of Singapore tax leaders surveyed are leveraging data, genAI, and technology to improve insights, predictive analytics, and automated reporting. About 86% of global respondents are leveraging the technology.

There was also increased confidence in the potential of AI, as respondents from global and Singapore expect the technology to enhance tax and finance functions by 29% over the next two years.

The local respondents also expected that implementing the technology can unlock up to 23% more budget for strategic, high-value activities.

Meanwhile, survey respondents are training their tax and finance teams to use AI, the EY survey showed,

A total of 85% of Singapore respondents are prioritising the hiring of data scientists and tax technology experts, whilst 73% here are investing in upskilling and reskilling existing staff.

Local respondents are also increasingly sourcing external expertise, with 91% focusing on building an AI-literate workforce.

The EY study surveyed 1,600 CFOs, senior finance, and tax leaders across 30 jurisdictions and Singapore, and 22 industries to study how shifts in tax and finance functions are adapting to a changing environment.

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