BWI: GuideMeSingapore.com Welcomes ACRA's New Measures to Improve Compliance for Singapore Companies

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: GuideMeSingapore.com
Friday, April 23, 2010 12:10 PM IST (06:40 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst, Information technology; Technology
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GuideMeSingapore.com Welcomes ACRA's New Measures to Improve Compliance for Singapore Companies
Singapore's Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) has Recently Announced the Introduction of Three Measures to Encourage Singapore Companies to Voluntarily Comply with Regulatory Requirements

Singapore, Friday, April 23, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- On April 15, 2010, ACRA announced that it will be implementing three non-penal initiatives over the next three months to encourage locally incorporated companies to follow ACRA's statutory compliance requirements. GuideMeSingapore (www.guidemesingapore.com) reports that the initiatives are specifically designed to address the most common compliance breaches by Singapore companies - timely preparation of annual financial statements, holding of Annual General Meetings (AGMs) and filing of annual returns.

The first measure that will be rolled out tomorrow on April 24, 2010 is a color-coded compliance rating that will be reflected on ACRA's free online directory of registered entities that is open for public inspection. Companies that possess a good record for holding timely AGMs, tabling and filing up-to-date financial statements, and filing annual returns will be green ticked as having a positive compliance rating by ACRA, while companies that are non-compliant will be negatively rated with a red cross marked against them. Furthermore, green ticked companies are eligible for a Certificate of Compliance issued by ACRA. The second initiative that will come into effect in May 2010 is the issuance of 'End of Financial Year' reminder letters to private and non-listed public companies. This will prompt companies to take necessary action to meet their end-of-financial-year regulatory requirements. Third, effective July 2010, ACRA has proposed to reduce the extension of time to hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) from three months to two months in order to ensure that the financial statements lodged by companies are not outdated.

Ms. Jacqueline Low, the Director of Singapore company registration agency Janus Corporate Solutions said, "We strongly support ACRA's initiatives. The color-coded compliance rating system is likely to have the desired effect on companies and it will act as an incentive to comply with regulatory requirements. Given that a company's compliance record is now available to public, no company would like to be red marked. A positive rating by ACRA implies high credibility and sends out a positive signal to the company's partners, be it shareholders, creditors, financial institutions or government agencies."

According to the statutory compliance requirements, AGMs must be held every calendar year and accounts presented at the AGM shall be made up to a date not more than six months before the AGM. However, companies can apply for extension of up to three months to hold their AGM. "The three-month extension time has created a problem of outdated financial statements. This is because some companies tend to prepare their financial statements just prior to the AGM. As a result, the financial statements are seven to nine months old and do not offer a true and fair view to the company's stakeholders," said Ms. Low.

In their eagerness to grow their business, most small to medium sized companies tend to ignore compliance matters. According to Ms. Low, "Although ACRA has introduced initiatives such as sending reminder letters and reducing the extension time for holding AGMs, companies can benefit by hiring a professional services firm to handle their ongoing compliance and administration requirements."

For information about Singapore company incorporation and ongoing statutory compliance requirements can be found at http://www.guidemesingapore.com/singapore-business-toc.


CONTACT DETAILS
Andrew Chen, GuideMeSingapore.com, +65 6222 7445

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, MARKETING, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, Financial Analyst, IT, TECHNOLOGY

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