The professional

After 25 years in practice, Ng Boon Yew FCCA put his plans of early retirement on hold to take up the financial reins of Singapore Technologies, a leading technology-based multi-national headquartered in Singapore. He tells Colette Steckel why

For someone who claims he is in retirement, Ng Boon Yew (49) doesn't have a lot of time on his hands. He carries the latest mobile phone technology that ensures he's kept in touch by phone and e-mail 24/7; whether checking up on the progress of a deal between Singapore Technologies (ST) and the US telecoms giant Global Crossing, which allows the latter to emerge from Chapter 11 proceedings, or monitoring developments at Indosat, the second largest telecoms operation in Indonesia, in which ST has invested heavily.

Sounds like a full-time job to me. Which, of course, it is. Only Boon Yew, ST's CFO, tells me otherwise. 'This is my retirement job,' he jokes. 'I'm enjoying every minute of it, but I also take it very seriously. There are some highly technical and talented people at ST and, for an accountant who has spent most of his career in practice rather than commerce or industry, I must say I find working here very exciting,' he adds.

Although Boon Yew gave retirement a shot back in 2000 after 25 years working for Big Four firm KPMG, his days as a fully-fledged retiree were short-lived. No sooner had he quit KPMG than he was approached by former ST President and CEO, Ho Ching, who asked Boon Yew to join the company. He initially refused. 'ST was one of KPMG's first Singapore-based technology clients and I was assigned as partner in charge in 1988. From my years within the profession, I took great satisfaction in seeing how companies I've been involved in have grown. But it was very clear in my mind that I couldn't take on a full-time role with a client so soon after leaving the firm,' he explains.

At the time he was chairman of the Disclosure and Accounting Standards Committee, one of three private sector-led committees set up by the Singapore Government to address, among other things, auditors' independence. Though back then the Public Accountants Board Code of Ethics didn't prohibit former audit partners from taking employment with clients, Boon Yew preferred to err on the side of caution, agreeing to part-time consultancy work instead of a full-time executive position. Two-and-a-half years later, under new President and CEO, Peter Seah, he was offered the role of group CFO.

He joined the ST fold in 2002, a year which proved difficult for the group's myriad businesses. Reporting turnover of S$9.4bn and a loss of S$697m for the year, ST's poor performance was put down to a number of factors. Not least of which was the slow recovery of the semi-conductor industry, severely affecting the group's technology division, and a decline of the financial markets in the US, striking hard the group's financial services division. ST's engineering, property, infrastructure and logistics divisions fared better although not sufficiently well to haul ST out of a sizeable financial hole.

Boon Yew predicts a cleaner bill of financial health for 2003, his first full-year as CFO. Reeling off a list of industry improvements over the past 12 months, Boon Yew notes that the semi-conductor industry is now in the full flush of a recovery and the aerospace and engineering divisions are recording improved profits. But he also points out that the group's more positive outlook is down to some astute acquisitions like the recent controlling stakes purchased in Indosat and Global Crossing, as well as investments in an aerospace facility in San Antonio and shipbuilder Halter Marine in the US. All of which slot into the group's five core divisions: engineering, technology, infrastructure & logistics, property, and financial services. 'Whenever there are challenging economic and business conditions, there are also opportunities. While other companies are contracting, we're expanding. It's not about looking at the short-term, but determining where we'd like to see the group in the long-term. Of course, acquiring these businesses is just the beginning. There's the whole issue of integrating and running them. But I'm confident our people have the skills to cope,' remarks Boon Yew.

2003 did have its moments though. The SARS scare, which had businesses running for cover in Asia last winter and spring, was certain to make an impact. 'Sure, our hospitality and aerospace businesses were affected because of SARS,' says Boon Yew. 'Everyone was afraid of travelling to Asia. But it was only for a short period. Once the scare was over, business picked up dramatically because of pent-up demand. If you take the year as a whole, it really isn't too bad.' The results for 2003 bear him out. For the financial year, ST reported group sales of S$12.7bn and a much-improved bottom line with a profit at around S$100m, which heralds a significant turnaround from 2002. 'I'm delighted that in my first year as CFO I'm able to report a set of black numbers,' says Boon Yew.

From pocket money to profits

Boon Yew's interest in accounting started at a young age. He recalls growing up on a small farm in Singapore where he would help pick durians and fruits grown on his family's land and then sell them at the market. 'As a young boy, I learnt to keep records about the day's takings. We would sit down and work out how much we made from our sales in the market,' he reminisces. 'And then of course, as I grew older, I started taking note of how I spent my pocket money. My interest in accounting really started from there.'

Determined not to put his career aspirations on hold during national service, which he began at the age of 18, Boon Yew spent two-and-a-half years meeting the demands of being a soldier while studying for his ACCA qualification. 'It was extremely difficult. Being in the army is tough, but you get some free time. I used all my evenings and weekends for my studies.' He ended his national service in 1975 and, armed with an ACCA qualification, he joined a Big Four practice in Singapore. A move to London three years later saw him thrust into the 'centre of the action', something that Boon Yew claims was lacking from his limited experience. 'Working in the city of London compared to Singapore is a world of difference. The types of transactions, the size of transactions, everything. I would say that the London experience really set the foundation for my career.'

He returned to public practice in Singapore in 1982 and within two years he was made partner at KPMG, a feat all the more remarkable because he was only 30 at the time. Boon Yew notes that his rapid ascent to partnership was thanks to a combination of his ACCA qualification, sheer hard work and a willingness to try something new. 'I tell people that you will never move out of the comfort zone if you keep doing the same thing day in day out. You will only ever go up the career ladder if you allow yourself to do things others won't or can't do. I had to fight to get the kind of experience I wanted, especially while I was in London. I think many people were surprised at how outspoken I was in my demands. But, without being that focused, I wouldn't be where I am today,' he says.

With a respectable quarter century of public practice under his belt, Boon Yew has been invited to sit on various boards and committees and share his wisdom on the accounting profession in Singapore. He was a member of the Public Accountants Board and sat on the Corporate Finance Committee, which was created by the Financial Sector Review Group to look into a framework of fundraising rules. He also chaired the Disclosure and Accounting Standards Committee and is currently a member of the Council on Corporate Disclosures and Governance and of the Council on Governance of Institutions of a Public Character. And Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who is also Finance Minister, recently appointed Boon Yew as a member of the Securities Industry Council, which administers and enforces the Singapore Code on takeovers and mergers. Couple that lot with a full-time day job and you wonder whether Boon Yew has any free time at all, although he has a much more sobering take on the extent of his involvement. 'In today's world, people tend to look after themselves much more, but it's important for people to be prepared to get involved and to share their successes with fellow professionals,' he says. 'This work does take up a bit of my time, but it's my way of giving something back to society.'

Of course, there's always the prospect that Boon Yew may eventually view retirement as the well-earned rest it is intended to be. But for this energetic and enthusiastic finance professional, it's unlikely. 'Frankly, I do enjoy moments where I am out with my family or playing a few rounds of golf. But I love my work. To me, it's relaxing. And all my colleagues are friends,' he says. 'At the end of the day, it's important to do what you enjoy. To be honest, without work, I don't think life would be quite as exhilarating.'