Half of them have spent less than three years in their roles, and a significant proportion do not even have a background in audit.

But continuing professional development opportunities would help these finance chiefs perform their jobs better, added audit giant KPMG, which conducted the poll among 461 CFOs of Singapore-listed firms.

"What is clear is that executives in Singapore need more professional development opportunities."-Mr Tham Sai Choy, managing partner of KPMG in Singapore The study showed that 50 percent of the CFOs have spent less than three years in the role, with about 20 percent having been in the position for less than one year.