Cross-functional finance cohort at a regulated boutique fund manager

Case / 2025−05 Asset management / financial services Three roles, one master blueprint

Three distinct finance roles at a regulated Singapore boutique fund management firm. CFO, Fund Accountant, and Investment Professional, all converting from adjacent finance backgrounds, supported by a master OJT blueprint with shared regulatory modules and role-specific layers.

Industry context

The client operated a regulated boutique fund management firm in Singapore, scaling its private markets platform. The growth phase required senior finance and investment talent who could move from adjacent banking and corporate finance backgrounds into a regulated fund management environment, where MAS compliance frameworks, fund accounting standards, and investment due-diligence processes specific to alternative assets all matter.

What changed and why CCP applied

Three roles were brought in at once: a CFO, a Fund Accountant, and an Investment Professional. Each candidate came from an adjacent industry with strong fundamentals but needed structured uplift on the regulated-environment specifics: MAS compliance frameworks, governance and risk processes for alternative assets, fund accounting standards, and investment due-diligence workflows specific to private markets. All three met CCP eligibility for new-hire conversion under the relevant pathway.

Our strategy

Rather than treat each hire as a standalone application with three independently authored OJT plans, we built a master OJT blueprint covering all three role tracks. The blueprint had two layers:

Shared modules: regulated-environment fundamentals (MAS compliance frameworks, governance, risk management, ethics) that applied to all three roles.
Role-specific modules: layered on top of the shared base. CFO modules covered fund-level financial controls and investor reporting. Fund Accountant modules covered NAV calculation, valuation policy application, and audit preparation. Investment Professional modules covered due-diligence processes, deal screening, and portfolio monitoring for the alternative asset class.

This approach made each individual submission faster (the shared base was reused) while creating an internal capability framework the client could reuse for future cohorts. From an assessor perspective, the role-specific layers gave each application its own distinct narrative, avoiding the templated-content flag that pure copy-paste would trigger.

OJT activities included

Building a master OJT Blueprint covering all three role tracks with shared and role-specific modules, plus a competency map showing how each module ladders up to a measurable capability.
Drafting bespoke job descriptions and reskilling application forms for each of the three roles, with redesigned scope and clear before-and-after framing.
Preparing trainee details and supporting documentation across all three submissions, coordinated to keep the cohort onboarding aligned.

Outcome

Roles covered: CFO, Fund Accountant, Investment Professional
Approach: Master OJT blueprint with shared regulatory modules + role-specific layers
Status: Engagement progressed through eligibility, OJT validation, and submission stages
Strategic value: Client established a structured, MAS-aligned competency build path for senior finance hires that doubles as an internal capability framework for future cohorts

The most differentiated element of this engagement was the reusable competency framework. Most CCP applications produce one-off OJT plans; this one produced a blueprint the client can keep deploying as the firm scales, both for future CCP cohorts and as an internal training scaffold for new joiners outside the funded programme.