Accounting & Auditing in Singapore

The Singapore accounting standards are issued through the Accounting Standards Council of Singapore, or ASC for short, and are known as Singapore Financial Reporting Standards or SFRS. They are substantially similar to the standards under IFRS to reduce divergence and provide comparability across the world.

The SFRS framework comprises two sets of standards, mainly: SFRS and SFRS(I). SFRS, applicable for companies incorporated in Singapore, is grounded on the principles of IFRS with slight modifications. SFRS(I) - or Singapore Financial Reporting Standards-International-targets those entities listed on the SGX with standards that fully align with IFRS to facilitate proper comparability of financial statements across borders.

SFRS for Small Entities gives the small business enterprise a lighter reporting framework. The standard will reduce the financial reporting burden by providing simpler requirements for small- and medium-sized entities meeting certain criteria. Thus, applying the Singapore accounting standards becomes easier without problems that may be felt by larger companies.

Additionally, sustainability reporting requirements have been integrated into Singapore's accounting standards. The listed entities on the SGX are required to prepare a sustainability report that expresses all the dimensions of ESG performance, reflecting the emphasis that Singapore places on responsible and transparent business practices.

The ASC reissues SFRS periodically to ensure that it keeps up with the changes made to IFRS, which enables the Singapore standards to meet international needs regarding both investment and operations.

Once a company has been granted a waiver from a specific date, the company will not be issued with Form C-S/ C from that date onwards.

As such, a company whose waiver application had been approved will not need to submit the application form on a yearly basis to IRAS.

An AGM is a mandatory annual meeting of shareholders. At the AGM, your company will present its financial statements (also known as "accounts") before the shareholders (also known as "members") so that they can raise any queries regarding the financial position of the company.

You can still e-File the ECI if no assessment for the YA has been issued to your company. However, you cannot pay by instalment. Instalments are only granted by IRAS when a company files its ECI within three months after its financial year end and is on GIRO.

All companies incorporated in Singapore which are either limited or unlimited by shares (except exempted companies) are required to file their full set of financial statements in XBRL format according to the recent guidelines released by ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) Singapore June 2013.

 

 

You do not need to file an ECI for your company if it is nil and if your company meets the following annual revenue threshold for the Waiver to File ECI:

Annual revenue not exceeding $5 million for companies with financial years ending in or after Jul 2017.

XBRL is an acronym for eXtensible Business Reporting Language. Financial information is converted to XBRL format then, sent to and fro between business entities. Singapore government has mandated it for each Singapore company to file its financial statements only in XBRL format. The analysis of the data, thus, accumulated gives accurate information about the trends in finance.

Remuneration or revenue received in the form of virtual currencies (such as Bitcoins) is subject to normal income tax rules. The receipt will be taxable if it is revenue in nature, and non-taxable if it is capital in nature

The financial year end (FYE) of Singapore is the end of the fiscal accounting period of a company which is up to 12 months.

Generally, a private limited company is required under the Companies Act (“CA”) to hold its AGM once in every calendar year and not more than 15 months (18 months for a new company from the date of its incorporation).

Financial statements no more than 6 months old must be laid at the AGM (section 201 CA) for Private limited companies.