We thank Ms Mary Wong for her letter “Social service pay guidelines should have category for finance, accounting staff” (April 12).

We value the contributions of all staff working in the social service sector, including accounting and finance staff. 

The Social Service Sector Skills and Salary Guidelines serve as a reference for social service agencies (SSAs) to offer competitive wages to attract and retain talent. Regular reviews ensure that salaries remain competitive relative to similar roles in other sectors.  

As Ms Wong noted, the management/executive category of the guidelines provides broad guidance for corporate roles like finance, human resources, administration and communications.

For such roles, SSAs can also refer to guidelines from the relevant professional bodies. In particular, for accounting and finance staff, SSAs can refer to Good Prospects for Accounting and Finance Professionals in Singapore, published by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants. SSAs are welcome to contact the National Council of Social Service  (NCSS) if they need further assistance on the guidelines. 

For the social service sector to be a career of choice, NCSS will continue to work with SSAs in the coming years to ensure more opportunities for social sector professionals to progress in their careers, and more competitive salaries across the various job roles. 

Bruce Liew
Director, Sector Manpower and Leadership Development
National Council of Social Service