Proposed changes to Act aim to boost Acra's reach and oversight

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) have announced long-awaited proposed amendments to Singapore's Accountants Act, aimed at enhancing the reach and oversight of the industry's regulator.

The public is invited to give feedback on these proposals from now until Nov 13.

MOF and Acra said the suggested changes to the current legislation "seek to promote audit quality, in order to enhance Singapore's standing as a trusted business location through better assurance of information available to investors and the public".

"To achieve these, the Bill includes key amendments to enhance the audit regulatory regime and introduce measures for better compliance with professional requirements and standards by both public accountants and accounting entities. These amendments also align Singapore's regulatory practices with those in jurisdictions that have established independent audit regulation," they said on Thursday.

For a start, Acra's regulatory oversight will be enhanced to include inspections of: accounting entities (AEs), which include accounting corporations, firms or limited liability partnerships, for compliance with quality control (QC) standards; and AEs and public accountants (PAs) for compliance with anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements.

The proposed changes specify Acra's powers to conduct QC inspections on AEs, mandate AEs to remediate lapses uncovered during the inspections and impose sanctions on AEs where necessary - in line with the practices of audit regulators in Australia, Canada, Britain and the United States. AML/CFT inspections are also in line with recommendations made by global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force.

Acra's regulatory powers could also be enhanced so that other orders, such as remedial actions, may be imposed on suspended PAs and AEs. Currently, such orders cannot be imposed on these suspended entities.

The proposed changes also specify that PAs and AEs may be suspended for up to two years if they refuse to undergo Acra's regulatory inspections "without reasonable excuse".

The suggestions also cover amending the maximum financial penalties that can be imposed on AEs under disciplinary proceedings to $250,000.

These and other proposed changes, along with the draft Accountants (Amendment) Bill 2021, can be found on MOF's website, Acra's website and the Reach consultation portal. Those who wish to provide feedback should e-mail their comments to MOF_Public_Consultation@mof.gov.sg and indicate Public Consultation On Accountants (Amendment) Bill 2021 in the subject line.

THE BUSINESS TIMES

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 16, 2021, with the headline Proposed changes to Act aim to boost Acra's reach and oversight. Subscribe