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Audit And Assurance (Company and Group Level)

Audit and assurance services are at the heart of what we do. As a global service provider, we ensure that all your audit and assurance needs are met wherever you may be located. Audits may seem daunting, but with the active involvement of our partners and senior auditors, you will realise it doesn’t have to be. 

Our full spectrum of audit and assurance services together with group accounts consolidation services meets the industry’s highest technical and ethical standards while ensuring compliance with financial reporting regulations. Our services testify to your organisation’s internal functions and efficiencies, with an aim to present a quality opinion of your organisation that will assist in the critical decisions you face.

We provide audit services for companies, government authorities and not-for-profit organisations, etc. Regardless of the industry or situation, our audit services will help you fine-tune your business operations, identify business risks and uncover any non-compliance issues in your policies and procedures. And foremost, we’ll strive to make your audit process as stress free as possible.

FAQ

In Singapore, only public accountants or accounting firms approved by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) can act as company auditors.

A public accountant is a person who is registered in accordance with the Accountants Act (Chapter 2) as a public accountant.

To be a Public Accountant (Company Auditor) in Singapore, the accountant must be:

  • a member of The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA), formerly the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS), which is the national professional body for accountants in Singapore;
  • Must be registered as a public accountant with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority of Singapore (ACRA);
  • Chartered Accountant of Singapore (CA); and
  • One with relevant membership in any professional accountancy body or organisation with practical experience in audit related field.

There is distinction between Chartered Accountants and Public Accountants. It is important to note that not all Chartered Accountants are Public Accountants. Only a Public Accountant can be appointed as company Auditor.

The role of auditors is to report on whether the company’s financial statements:

  • Comply with financial reporting standards; 
  • Provide true and fair view of the company’s financial position and performance;
  • To ensure compliance with established internal control procedures by examining records, reports, operating practices and documentation;
  • Verifies assets and liabilities by comparing items to documentation; and
  • Completes audit workpapers by documenting audit tests and findings.

The auditor's primary responsibility is to express an opinion on whether management has fairly presented the information in the financial statements are properly drawn up in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act, Chapter 50 (the Act) and Financial Reporting Standards in Singapore (FRSs) so as to give a true and fair view of the financial position of the company.

The statutory duties of an Auditor can be summarised as follows:

  1. To make a report on the accounts of a company to members;
  2. To express “true and fair” opinion:
    • On matters required by Section 201; and
    • On the balance sheet and profit and loss account
  3. To express “Compliance with the Companies Act” opinion as to whether:
    • The annual accounts are prepared in accordance with Companies Act; and
    • The annual accounts are prepared in accordance with prescribed Accounting Standards
  4. To consider specific points before forming an opinion as to the following:
    • Whether the Auditor has obtained all the information and explanations that is required;
    • Whether proper accounting and other records, including registers, have been kept by the company as required by the Companies Act;
    • Where consolidated accounts are prepared otherwise than as one set of consolidated accounts for the group, whether he or she agrees with the reasons for preparing them in the form in which they are prepared, as given by the directors in the accounts;
    • Where consolidated accounts are prepared, whether procedures and methods use by holding company and subsidiary are appropriate; and
    • If there are deficiencies in the accounts, the Auditor shall state that information in the report.
  5. To conduct an audit in accordance with the Singapore Standard on Auditing;
  6. To issue a qualified report if accounts do not comply with the Singapore Financial Reporting Standards unless the Auditor agrees with the departures;
  7. To act in the client’s best interest and preserve confidentiality; and
  8. To give holding company Auditors (Group Auditors) such information and explanation necessary for the purpose of audit.

In addition;

  1. in the course of conducting an audit or review the Auditor has reasonable grounds to suspect that a contravention of the Companies Act has occurred, and that the contravention has not been or will not be dealt with adequately by including it in the report or bringing it to the attention of the directors, the Auditor must notify the ACRA in writing.
  2. if an Auditor of a public company or a subsidiary of a public company has no reason to believe that a serious offence involving fraud or other dishonesty has been committed against the company by officers or employees of the company, the Auditor has to report to the Minister or the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

To enable the Auditors to carry out their statutory duties effectively, the Auditors are given the following rights:

  1. Access to books and records at all times;
  2. Attendance at general meetings, receipt of all notices, and the right to be heard at any general meeting that he or she attends;
  3. Duty to report to third parties for:
    • Breach of any provisions of Companies Act, the Auditor has a duty to report to the Registrar; and
    • Fraud or dishonesty committed by employee against a public company or its subsidiaries, the Auditor has a duty to report to the Minister.
  4. In the performance of his or her duty, the Auditor is entitled to require from the company’s officers any information and explanation;
  5. If the company appoints another Auditor, then the Auditor had the right to make certain written subsidiary and their Auditors; and
  6. The right to resign at any time by giving notice to the company.

 

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