Why Singapore’s white-collar AI training drive is starting with law and accounting: Budget 2026

The Republic’s push to equip white-collar workers with artificial intelligence (AI) skills is starting with lawyers and accountants – two data-heavy professions under growing manpower strain.

Industry observers said the move reflects the clear, immediate applications of AI in text-heavy work, where stronger AI literacy could help ease chronic talent shortages in accounting and high attrition in law, while shifting professionals towards higher-value roles.

Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced in his Budget speech last Thursday (Feb 12) that the existing TechSkills Accelerator programme will be expanded to help non-tech workers build practical AI skills.

Training will start with the accountancy and legal professions before being extended to other fields.

How AI is reshaping law and accounting

AI is already transforming how lawyers work, said Stanley Lai, Allen & Gledhill’s head of intellectual property practice.

He noted that the technology is particularly effective in well-defined, scalable tasks such as producing case notes, generating written submissions, and summarising or reviewing documents.

This frees up lawyers to focus on higher-value work such as strategy, structuring, negotiations and dispute resolution, while enhancing client offerings as practitioners develop stronger prompt-crafting and technology skills, he added.

Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) chief executive Yeong Zee Kin said lawyers engage daily with large volumes of complex information, making the profession “particularly well-suited for early AI enablement, especially in areas such as research, document analysis and knowledge management”.

Similarly, accountants work extensively with text, structured data and regulatory frameworks, said Teo Ser Luck, president of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants.

This creates immediate use-cases for “responsible” AI adoption such as document reviews, compliance checks, financial analysis and reporting, he noted.

Law and accountancy are also “core pillars” of Singapore’s professional services ecosystem, so boosting their AI capabilities can create a multiplier effect across the economy, he added.

“Budget 2026 recognises that Singapore’s competitiveness depends not just on technology adoption, but on trusted professionals who can apply it responsibly.”

The Law Society of Singapore said it stands ready to work with partners to ensure that technology enhances access to justice and strengthens professional standards.

Moving accountants up the value chain

Amid concerns that AI will displace staff, industry players expect it to move workers up the value chain rather than eliminate jobs.

Teo said accounting jobs are likely to shift towards strategic advisory, risk assessment and better stakeholder outcomes. “The most realistic outlook is that AI will reshape roles rather than replace them entirely.”

This comes as the accounting industry has had a persistent talent shortage, noted Jonathan Paguntalan, director of tax at Crowe Singapore.

The Republic’s accounting graduates are down 10 per cent since 2018, he said, citing long working hours and relatively low starting salaries.

“Much of accounting work – such as data entry, reconciliations and report generation – is repetitive, but highly systematic and rule-based, making it ideal for automation,” he added.

Alex Koh, partner and head of audit at KPMG in Singapore, noted that AI has already automated routine tasks such as data consolidation, preparation and bookkeeping.

“This has enabled professionals to focus on higher-value activities like client advisory, forensic work and complex analysis – areas where human judgment, creativity and trust are essential,” he said.

Further down the line, AI will likely be able to also sense risks and automate processes such as real-time anomaly detection and automatic evidence gathering and matching, said Shariq Barmaky, country managing partner at Deloitte Singapore.

Beyond technical skills, the training should also emphasise ethical considerations and responsible AI use, Koh said. “Ultimately, the goal is to empower individuals to harness AI as a tool for innovation and value creation, rather than viewing it as a replacement for human expertise.”

Industry leaders also called for reforms in education.

Justin Lim, head of outsourcing for Singapore and head of corporate secretarial for the Asia-Pacific at Forvis Mazars, said many programmes still prioritise traditional bookkeeping over data analytics and business advisory skills.

This risks leaving new graduates and existing professionals well-qualified on paper, but underprepared for the industry’s direction, he added.

“If Singapore is to have a future-ready accounting workforce, our education system must evolve as quickly as the technology.”

Training lawyers to discern AI hallucinations

While a government-led training programme is welcomed, such courses must equip lawyers to use generative AI tools responsibly, and be supported by sustained funding and continual upskilling, practitioners said.

This is especially critical following recent cases where hallucinated content was falsely cited in court.

Rakesh Kirpalani, Drew & Napier’s director of dispute resolution and information technology, said that training should therefore include “heavy emphasis on the need for independent verification, and the potential penalties or professional embarrassment if the output of AI tools are not independently verified and turn out to be false or misleading”.

Courses should also be anchored in real legal use-cases rather than generic examples, said Rajah & Tann deputy managing partner Abdul Jabbar Bin Karam Din, as they will be far more effective in driving responsible adoption without breeding over-reliance.

He added: “Accreditation or alignment with recognised competency frameworks would also help firms and individuals benchmark skills development over time.”

Programme design matters, too. Daniel Chia, managing director of Prolegis, said that modular courses would encourage uptake, allowing lawyers to select training based on their existing AI literacy.

“You don’t want a situation where people have to first go through a basic AI course before they can get the prompt-crafting module,” he said, noting that rigid requirements could discourage participation, particularly among smaller firms, where “time is money”.

Done properly, AI adoption could also help to address retention challenges in the legal sector by automating routine work.

Joyce A Tan & Partners co-managing director Jeffrey Lim and director Frederick Tay noted that the effective use of AI could help lawyers focus more on strategic work while expediting repetitive tasks.

But training alone will not be enough. SAL’s Yeong cautioned the programme “must be viewed as the beginning of a sustained journey rather than a single milestone”, calling for “continuous learning” including advanced modules and refresher programmes.

Agreeing, WongPartnership chairman Ng Wai King said the programmes must be carefully implemented to ensure high-quality training and strong alignment with industry needs, to maxmimise impact.

Costs and confidence

Even with training, some smaller firms may be hindered from adopting AI tools due to costs, as specialised legal AI tools such as Harvey and LexisNexis – which produce better results – have higher subscription fees compared with generic tools like ChatGPT.

Grants to help smaller firms access paid AI tools would thus help “level the playing field” with larger competitors, Prolegis’ Chia said.

Given that Singapore is a small market, better economies of scale could be obtained if the legal profession adopts a common AI platform, said Dawn Tan, founding managing director of Ashurst ADTLaw. This could be similar to existing shared platforms such as the courts’ eLitigation system and LawNet for legal research.

But she also noted that this could dampen innovation, and may be impractical considering the proliferation of AI solutions in the market.

More broadly, the move to train accountancy and legal professionals should focus on equipping them to gain confidence and proficiency in working with AI tools, said Lee Wei Hock, EY Singapore head of assurance.

“This should serve as a means in itself to enable professionals to rechannel more time and efforts in ‘connecting the dots’ and help clients and businesses see the larger picture behind the data.”

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