AI trust mark, ‘master trainers’ to help business leaders top KPMG and SID’s Budget 2026 wish list

SINGAPORE - A form of trust and assurance certification for artificial intelligence (AI) could be critical to reinforcing Singapore’s credibility in the region’s AI space.

The Republic will also have to raise its global competitiveness not just by hastening AI adoption among companies, but also by readying a new generation of professionals and board leaders with specialised talents and skill sets to help businesses navigate an increasingly complex world.

One way is the creation of a new work-pass category for global “master trainers” and mentors to conduct leadership development programmes here.

These are some of the Budget 2026 recommendations that professional services firm KPMG and the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) put out in a report released on Jan 7, ahead of

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s Budget

speech

on Feb 12.

Singapore will need to ensure its businesses and economy remain secure, innovative and competitive in an uncertain global landscape, the two organisations said in their Budget wish list.

This would involve embedding digital trust; cultivating world-class talent and leadership with cross-domain expertise; and building resilient economic linkages.

The recommendations by KPMG and SID include the establishment of platforms, programmes and grants to address these critical areas, based on observations made by 1,000 business owners and professionals surveyed.

Mr Ajay Kumar Sanganeria, partner and head of tax at KPMG in Singapore, said Budget 2026, as the first Budget after the 2025 General Election, presents a timely opportunity to address the challenges of a fragmented global economy and rising trade uncertainties.

“We believe that our recommendations are designed to help Singapore not only adapt to global shifts, but also reinforce its role as a trusted hub for global flows.”

Singapore as ASEAN’s AI leader

In the area of digital transformation, the report said Singapore could become a regional AI leader by championing a “Trusted AI” mark, similar to a

Green Mark sustainability certification

.

This trust mark would serve as a platform for mutual recognition, enabling alignment on ethical standards, data governance policies and assurance tools across the region. It would allow companies to deploy AI solutions across ASEAN without duplicative compliance, thus accelerating cross-border innovation and trade.

By taking the lead on developing this framework for ASEAN, Singapore could reinforce its leadership in a multipolar world and deepen its role in regional ecosystems, the report said.

It also noted that companies still face challenges in adopting AI due to high costs and lack of talent and skills, and thus called for additional grants and enhancements to the public-private partnership framework to accelerate AI adoption among companies.

This could foster cross-sector collaboration in key industries such as finance, advanced manufacturing and logistics, allowing firms to benefit from tailored AI solutions and partnerships that drive open innovation ecosystems.

Mr Sanganeria added that while Singapore could not compete with other countries in the development of AI models and infrastructure, there is a huge opportunity for it to take a lead position in facilitating AI adoption in Singapore and beyond.

Readying next-gen business leaders

Upskilling professionals to ready them as the next generation of business leaders was also a key priority laid out by KPMG and SID.

Their report cited a need for professionals and board leaders with expertise in areas such as supply chain management, AI governance and sustainability strategy. Some 37 per cent of survey respondents indicated that they wanted more leadership and management development initiatives, especially in the areas of mentorship and coaching for emerging leaders and advanced leadership programmes.

This skill gap could be addressed with structured upskilling and leadership development programmes led by professional international “master trainers” and mentors, who could join local companies, public agencies and training institutions under a new work-pass category.

These master trainers would have proven expertise in leadership, innovation and workforce development, the report said.

Exposing workers to global best practices would accelerate skills transfer and build a robust pipeline of talent – including C-suite leaders – capable of driving strategic transformation and competitiveness in a rapidly evolving global landscape.

The report added that these platforms could foster the exchange of best practices, promote collective learning on key sustainability initiatives, and empower leaders to proactively design roles and workflows ahead of market shifts.

It also recommended establishing job transformation road maps with co-funded training and certification initiatives to further enhance worker upskilling. While upskilling initiatives like SkillsFuture already exist, the speed of disruption by AI would vary across sectors, raising the need for new initiatives, it said.

In addition, KPMG and SID advised setting up a $100 million fund to advance social impact reporting.

This fund’s quantum was estimated based on the $50 million SG Eco Fund launched in November 2020 by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment. It could be used to train professionals and board directors in the reporting of social metrics, support academic modules in social sustainability, and certify social auditors and advisers.

KPMG and SID said these efforts are especially important as they address social sustainability, which is a “more nascent space” than environmental sustainability.

This could strengthen interest from socially conscious global investors and secure sustained investments for future growth, they added.

“Sustainability is a big topic, and you do not have to be experts at it, but you need to know enough to be able to drive action,” SID’s vice-chair Max Loh told The Straits Times.

He acknowledged that small and medium-sized enterprises would face different challenges compared with larger, more established firms in upskilling their employees. But the key would be to ensure continual learning and improvement across all, so that ideas for change and transformation can go beyond the theoretical and be applied in the practical world.

“You can have management that is very well informed, but directors are the ones that govern, lead and inspire. They can always bring in experts to guide, but at the end of the day, the board still needs to have a certain thought process and support companies in their goals.”

Boosting Singapore’s supply chains

On strengthening economic resilience, KPMG and SID recommended the development of a unified digital platform for the management of free trade agreements to overcome potential trade barriers in an increasingly uncertain world.

Seamlessly integrated with government systems, this would help businesses navigate complex procedures such as determining the origin country for goods and services, and reduce compliance costs.

“Given the current pace of change and complexity, we are seeing businesses pivoting or adapting their supply chain more often than in the past. So having such a platform would allow businesses to respond more quickly,” said Ms Lee Sze Yeng, managing partner of KPMG in Singapore.

Singapore could introduce a specific grant to help businesses streamline processes and subsidise workforce training to complement this platform, KPMG and SID added.

Other recommendations include a progressive carbon tax system and an ASEAN exchange for environmental data, as well as increasing access to working capital and enhancing the government-backed trade platform with blockchain and AI.