MAS regulatory changes create new job opportunities in audit, risk & compliance

The Monetary Authority of Singapore's regulatory changes in 2016 and planned reforms throughout 2017 has seen many financial institutions launch a recruitment drive for regulatory reporting professionals and risk control experts.

This is one key finding from the latest Hays Quarterly Report for the January to March quarter, which is a guide to the current hotspots of recruitment activity and trends.

2016 saw an unprecedented amount of new regulations and changes drafted that have tightened the compliance and governance requirements for all financial institutions.

Recent and upcoming regulatory changes have seen Singapore become one of the most active financial regulators in Asia. The ever-tightening regulatory changes have created high demand for compliance officers and regulatory reporting professionals whose roles will be critical in ensuring financial institutions conform to the new changes laid down by MAS.

As the search for qualified candidates intensifies, job seekers will have greater bargaining power due to a limited talent pool that may see those on the market receive multiple job offers.

In other trends, the first quarter of the calendar year will also see huge demand for engineers and planners as government-funded works on healthcare and transport projects gather further pace ahead of the 2020 completion target date. A number of digital marketing roles will become available this quarter as the competitive nature of businesses operating online has seen many adopt a localised approach to accommodate Singaporean consumer trends.

With extra focus on developing personalised and targeted campaigns, candidates are expected to be well versed with CRM and data analytics tools with competition fierce for qualified candidates in this field. Employers may have to not only map out a long-term strategy as to where their business will be in five to ten years’ time, but also how they plan to meet the career aspirations of candidates who are looking to make waves in an era of digital transformation.