Singapore’s accountancy-related functions and regulations consolidated under ACRA
Last updated on 2 May 2023
To strengthen the effectiveness of regulations, standards-setting and sector development in the accountancy functions of Singapore, the government consolidated the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), the Singapore Accountancy Commission (SAC) and the Accounting Standards Council (ASC) secretariat under one entity. Consequently, the new entity retained the name ACRA, which is widely recognised as the government agency in charge of businesses and related compliance in Singapore.
Before the merger on 1 April 2023, business registrations, public accountants and corporate services providers were regulated by ACRA while SAC developed the accountancy sector and oversaw the Chartered Accountant of Singapore (CA (Singapore)) designation. In addition, the Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) under the former ASC will now come under the purview of the Accounting Standards Committee within ACRA.
The Singapore government moves quickly to adapt to changes in the business environment, such as the introduction of tax incentive schemes for family offices in recent times. With the merger of the accounting bodies, synergies across complementary functions are expected to enhance the government’s control over the accounting sector, improving the process of implementation of new measures and raising the standards of accounting services in Singapore in tandem.
