Three years ago, Ker Ching Chock began her mission to take the finance function at MSIG Singapore to the next level. Leveraging digital transformation and automation, she freed up her team from the mundane tasks of churning out reports to become decision-making partners for the business. ‘I wanted to enable my team to be able to translate numbers into insights that could contribute to the growth of the company,’ she says.
Now the insurance company’s CFO, Chock continues to empower and push her team forward by training them in judgment, critical thinking and business understanding.
‘Nowadays more than ever, people want to see purpose and value in the work they do. So my goal is to make the finance function a place where people feel that what they do genuinely matters, be it to the business, the customer or in their own professional growth.’
‘The days of simply safeguarding the balance sheet are gone’
In addition to empowering her team, Chock wants to expand the scope of the finance department to help the company not just to avoid risk but also to turn it into value.
‘Gone are the days where our job is simply to safeguard the balance sheets. Today we have a responsibility to help companies create value by better understanding, managing and taking deliberate risks. By making the trade-offs visible and grounded, we can help our organisations pursue opportunities with clarity rather than hesitation.’
MSIG Singapore
2004
MSIG Singapore was set up 22 years ago as a subsidiary of Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, which is a member of Japan-based MS&AD, one of the world’s biggest general insurance groups
S$38.43m
MSIG Singapore pretax profit in the 2024 financial year (US$30.18m)
300
Employees at MSIG Singapore – part of MS&AD’s global workforce of 40,000
Freed up
Chock’s brush with the insurance industry came in her first job as an external auditor at KPMG. ‘Many of my key clients were insurance companies,’ she says. ‘What began as professional exposure gradually became a genuine interest. The more I learned about the industry, the more it resonated with me. At its core, insurance exists to give individuals and businesses the confidence to move forward.’
After Chock left KPMG, she continued to build her career within the insurance space. Over more than 15 years in the industry, she witnessed many fundamental changes, including the introduction of automation and AI into business operations. Chock says these new technologies greatly speeded up many time-consuming manual tasks, allowing for a greater focus on the customer.
‘We now help our partners and clients better understand their risks’
‘We are now able to use our freed-up capacity to help our partners and clients better understand the kind of risks they are facing, and come up with more customised products that cater to their specific needs. I know some people remain sceptical about the insurance industry, but the heart of the business is really about giving people peace of mind and providing help when it is needed most. The higher I move in my role, the more I want to help others see that value.’
Own brand
As a woman in a C-suite role, Chock acknowledges the importance of building strong foundations as a springboard to success. ‘From the beginning of my journey, it has always been about learning, adapting and finding my own voice. Later on, when I became a mother, it became obvious to me that simply by performing our jobs, we were showing others our resilience and capability to manage many different tasks. Just by being a professional working mum, we already show that a lot of that strength is in our DNA.’
‘I focus on building my own brand by exhibiting depth and credibility’
She takes a similar approach to career advancement. ‘Chasing titles simply for the sake of doing so can often end up feeling meaningless. Instead, I focus on building my own brand through exhibiting depth and credibility.
‘Ultimately, senior roles come as a byproduct of consistent learning, sound judgment and the ability to create value. For me, true satisfaction comes not from being associated with a big title or company, but in becoming so strong in your craft and so clear in your values that opportunities naturally come to you.’
Support network
Chock counts her father and her husband as her greatest supporters and mentors. ‘My father instilled in me the value of taking pride in my work – upholding high standards, quietly and with humility, while my husband challenges me to aim higher and grow with intention, always maintaining clarity of thought.’
‘ACCA taught me discipline and the importance of staying the course’
She is also grateful for the solid foundation that she first received through her ACCA training. ‘ACCA taught me resilience. The exams were not easy, but it taught me discipline, perseverance and the importance of staying the course. ACCA also provided me with a very strong technical background and shaped my way of thinking. Ultimately, the qualifications don’t just prepare you for a role in finance, it prepares you for a lifelong career in whatever industry you end up in.’
Today, Chock continues to enjoy the benefits that come from being an ACCA member. ‘The network is global and diverse, and there’s an unspoken respect within the circle, because everyone know the effort it takes to become an ACCA. I regularly contribute as a panellist at events. I enjoy sharing my perspectives from the industry but it’s also a way of giving back to the community that has played such an important role in my own development.’
CV
2023
Senior vice president for finance, made CFO in 2025, MSIG Singapore
2018
CFO for Asia, PartnerRe
2015
Accounting and finance reporting, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance
2010
Senior treasury manager, Asia Capital Re
2006
Auditor and assistant manager, KMPG
