We have heard of the saying “To err is human” but how many of us can confidently say we fully embrace our shortcomings and mistakes? This remains a challenge for many of us, and it is something Chew Chiu Shan, Chief Financial Officer, Frasers Centrepoint Singapore, is determined to change. Chiu Shan talks to us about advocating a safe and trustworthy culture both at work and home and how she values progressive change.
Chew Chiu Shan, Chief Financial Officer, Frasers Centrepoint Singapore, strongly believes in grooming and empowering team members.
“I was a Triple Science student, but I wasn’t interested in science so I decided to take up commercial subjects in Junior College as I found accounting and management more interesting. Hence, I subsequently pursued a Bachelor of Accountancy and well the rest is history.
After graduating, I spent 10 years in a Big 4 firm where I audited companies in varying industries such as real estate, manufacturing, IT and media. Back then, I had also audited Frasers Centrepoint Limited and some of the colleagues in Frasers Centrepoint Limited had witnessed my own personal milestone of motherhood with three pregnancies during my audit years.”
Progressing with Frasers Centrepoint Singapore
“In 2010, I joined Frasers Centrepoint Limited as Finance Manager for Frasers Commercial Trust which holds properties in Singapore and Australia. Subsequently, I took over the role of Financial Controller in 2012 to oversee the finance, taxation and treasury functions of the trust. During those seven years, the team worked together to reshape the portfolio and strengthen the financial position of the trust.
In August 2017, I moved into my new role as Chief Financial Officer of Frasers Centrepoint Singapore to set up the new Finance Department dedicated to Frasers Centrepoint Singapore’s portfolio of retail, commercial and residential properties. I see my move here as an opportunity for me to once again grow together with the company as it adapts and progresses to stay ahead of the curve in this evolving market.
I am passionate about my work and will strive for excellence so I am not afraid to take on challenges and gain new knowledge. This portfolio change gives me opportunities to further hone my skillset and, work and learn with more people in the organisation. I am adapting to new responsibilities, such as working with a larger team and interacting with more colleagues from different departments and job functions.
No two finance departments are set up exactly the same. Although finance is a cost centre, it forms an important backbone of an organisation. Timeliness and accuracy of information is pertinent to decision-making by business lines and management and staying on top of developments in the market place can also value add to the speed in which an organisation responds to changes. It is not possible to achieve that without understanding the business and implementing effective and efficient processes between business and finance, which includes constant interaction and collaboration.”
Empowering my team
Chiu Shan (seated second from left) and her close-knit team.
“To me, it is important to harness the strengths of each member of the team and ensure that team dynamics are well managed. Some of the team members are internal transfers whom I have worked with before, while a few are new faces.
There are certain principles that I safeguard. I strongly believe in grooming and empowering team members to help them fulfill their true potential. By sharing my knowledge and experience with them, they can have true ownership over their portfolio and not just blindly carry out instructions.”
Fostering an err-and-learn culture
“Also, I advise my team that an oversight at work is not the end of the world. Mistakes lead to consequences that affect others and there is no value in covering up an initial error. To own up and move on is most constructive and considerate.
I find it is essential to foster an environment in which the team can feel safe to admit to mistakes and we can quickly work towards resolving any issues before they snowball into more daunting problems. This is especially important in our line of work as the mistakes made may lead to inaccurate information and reporting. We all make mistakes. However, we should be given the opportunity to learn and grow from the experience.”
Same principles apply at work and home
Automation of routine tasks frees up our time and energy, which we can devote to other more complex functions that machines cannot do, yet. Technology is advancing exponentially and when new technologies are implemented, we must be mindful of potential resistance of change and change management. Those in their late thirties and beyond, may find it more difficult to learn new IT skills and adapt to such changes as compared to young, fresh graduates who are attuned and eager to harness new technology.
I always remain open minded and continually seek opportunities to improve myself, and I advocate being progressive and embracing change. Not all of the accounting standards I learnt in school remain applicable today as the standards have changed drastically. Therefore the need to re-train employees regularly on new accounting standards to improve their understanding of business processes and work efficiency among various stakeholders.”
Family motivates all that I do
“At home, I encourage my children to admit to their mistakes as well. For instance, if my children break a jar of jam and clean the mess up without informing me, I will be frustrated when I can’t find any jam to spread on my bread for breakfast!
It is important for children to cultivate the right mindset about making mistakes and the integrity to own up so that these values will be ingrained in them as adults. I ensure that my children feel safe enough at home to own up and talk about slip-ups. Hopefully, this encourages them to not fear admitting to mistakes and instead learn from such experiences.”
The value of technology and innovation to finance
“The Finance function provides greater value than simply churning out reports. Hence, we must constantly progress and collaborate with the business to be value-adding business partners. Finance also cannot function as a standalone silo because we need information from different sources to record and analyse, and technology helps us do this more efficiently. For example, the organisation’s recent transition to an SAP system, which is an Enterprise Resource Planning system, facilitate recording of important information such as procurement and leasing at the operational level which can be integrated to finance for recording of valid vendors’ invoices and billing of customers.
Automation of routine tasks frees up our time and energy, which we can devote to other more complex functions that machines cannot do, yet. Technology is advancing exponentially and when new technologies are implemented, we must be mindful of potential resistance of change and change management. Those in their late thirties and beyond, may find it more difficult to learn new IT skills and adapt to such changes as compared to young, fresh graduates who are attuned and eager to harness new technology.
I always remain open minded and continually seek opportunities to improve myself, and I advocate being progressive and embracing change. Not all of the accounting standards I learnt in school remain applicable today as the standards have changed drastically. Therefore the need to re-train employees regularly on new accounting standards to improve their understanding of business processes and work efficiency among various stakeholders.”
Family motivates all that I do
Chiu Shan and her youngest daughter, sweating it out after a family walk/jog.
“My principle in life is to only participate in things I find meaning and value in. I value efficiency at work because it allows me more time for my family and myself.
I do not wish to miss the growing years of my three school-going children. Hence, I devote most of my free time to them; be it spending time talking with the kids, driving them to and from supplementary classes, jogging with them and improving my cooking skills by whipping up meals for the family during weekends.”
Chiu Shan challenges herself to actively participate in running events.
“My husband and I have dinner every Friday night without the children so we can have some alone time together. I also try to remain active by going for yoga sessions with my husband once a week and finding time to jog more often amidst my busy schedule.”