CPA Australia signs MoU with IHRP to advance finance-HR collaboration

CPA Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Institute for Human Resource Professionals (IHRP) to strengthen collaboration between the finance and HR professions in Singapore. This will help create new learning opportunities that combine business, people and financial capability, as mentioned by CPA Australia.

The partnership comes as organisations face increasing economic uncertainty, workforce transformation and heightened expectations around business performance. 

Against this backdrop, finance and HR leaders are being required to work more closely together, with decisions on growth, productivity, workforce capability and organisational transformation increasingly relying on both financial expertise and people leadership.

Learning pathways

As part of the agreement, CPA Australia and IHRP will jointly develop People Manager learning programmes for senior finance leaders alongside Financial Acumen programmes designed for HR professionals.

The MoU was signed at CPA Australia's Singapore office by Dr Asheley Jones, Chief Learning and Innovation Officer at CPA Australia, and Karina Kuok, Director, Head of Assessments & Insights at IHRP.

Carmen Wee, CPA Australia Board Director and an IHRP Master Professional credential holder said, "I'm absolutely delighted by this MoU between IHRP and CPA Australia. The opportunity in front of us is enormous — when two professions this influential decide to move together, the impact doesn't just add up, it multiplies.

"This is the kind of collaboration that changes careers, shapes organisations and raises the bar for what professional excellence looks like. The potential here is exponential, and I genuinely can't wait to see what unfolds. This is one of those moments where 1 + 1 equals so much more than 2."

Shared expertise

Echoing this sentiment, Aslam Sardar, Chief Executive Officer of IHRP, said the collaboration acknowledges the growing convergence of people strategy and business strategy.

"As the lines between people strategy and business strategy continue to converge, HR and finance professionals must develop a deeper appreciation of each other's disciplines to drive sustainable organisational success.

"Through this collaboration, we look forward to advancing professional development pathways that build financial acumen among HR practitioners, strengthen people leadership capabilities among finance leaders, and recognise critical competencies through robust skills and role badging frameworks.

"By bringing together IHRP's expertise in HR standards and professional accreditation with CPA Australia's global leadership in the accounting and finance profession, we aim to equip professionals with the interdisciplinary capabilities needed to make better talent, workforce and business decisions, ultimately contributing to more resilient, productive and future-ready workplaces."

Future-ready professionals

Dr Asheley said, “the partnership would help translate the organisations' shared vision into practical development opportunities for finance professionals.”

“Finance professionals today need more than technical expertise. They are increasingly expected to lead people, influence decisions and contribute across the business.

“This partnership will help CPA Australia support members in building those capabilities — combining strong financial expertise with people leadership and commercial understanding.”

By bringing finance and people capability closer together, the partnership aims to equip professionals with stronger cross-functional leadership skills while supporting organisations in building more resilient, productive and future-ready workplaces.