About the role
Astana Accounting Pte. Ltd. provides accounting, tax, outsourced CFO and advisory services to founders and growing companies. As Associate Director, you will lead the accounting services practice: a portfolio of SME clients, the team that serves them, and the quality of everything that leaves the firm. You will report to the Group CEO and work alongside the tax, corporate secretarial and audit teams in the group.
This is a client-facing leadership role with a clear path to Associate Partner for the right person.
What you’ll do
- Lead a portfolio of accounting and outsourced finance engagements from onboarding to year-end close, and be the main contact for each client’s owners and directors.
- Review monthly and quarterly management accounts, bank reconciliations and schedules prepared by the team, and sign off on the quality of the work before it reaches clients.
- Review annual financial statements prepared under SFRS and SFRS for Small Entities, and the XBRL filings that go to ACRA.
- Work with the tax team on GST returns and corporate income tax computations, and spot issues early.
- Oversee payroll and CPF processing for clients, and keep the firm’s processes current with MOM and CPF Board requirements.
- Scope and price new engagements, prepare proposals, and manage fees, deadlines and client expectations.
- Hire, coach and appraise a team of accountants and interns, plan their workload, and set the standard for their work.
- Drive the move to cloud accounting and AI-assisted bookkeeping with the digital transformation team, and redesign processes so the team spends less time on data entry and more on advice.
- Apply the firm’s acceptance, confidentiality and independence procedures, including the review of non-audit services for audit clients of Nas Chartered Accountants.
What you’ll bring
- A degree in accountancy or an equivalent professional qualification: CA (Singapore), ACCA or CPA.
- At least six years of accounting experience, including at least two years supervising a team, ideally in a professional services firm serving SMEs.
- Strong working knowledge of SFRS and SFRS for Small Entities, Singapore GST and corporate income tax, and ACRA filing requirements.
- Hands-on experience with cloud accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks Online or Jaz, and confidence with Excel.
- A record of managing several clients and deadlines at once without letting quality slip.
- Clear written and spoken English, and the judgement to tell a client something they would rather not hear.
- An interest in how AI and automation can change finance work, and the patience to bring a team along with you. Experience using Claude or a similar AI assistant in finance work is useful but not a must.
- Values that match ours: trust, truthfulness, justice, excellence and benefit to others.
What we offer
- Salary of S$4,500 to S$6,000 a month, depending on experience and qualifications.
- A real partner track: Associate Partner, Partner, Senior Partner, as set out on our Careers page.
- Rewards and partner equity structured in line with Islamic finance principles.
- Breadth of work across audit, accounting, tax, corporate services and advisory, and clients in Singapore, Malaysia and Nigeria.
- Support for continuing professional development and your professional body membership.
How to apply
Email your CV and a short note on why this role suits you to nas@astana.sg, with “Application: Associate Director – Accounting Services” as the subject. Please include your current notice period and salary expectations.
We review every application and reply to shortlisted candidates within two weeks. Astana Group welcomes applications from everyone and assesses candidates on merit.