SINGAPORE - Mr Ong Khiaw Hong has been named the new chief executive of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) with effect from April 1 this year.

Mr Ong, who is currently the Deputy Commissioner (corporate and services group) at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras), will be assume his new post as designated Acra chief on March 1, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on Wednesday (Jan 25).

Outgoing Acra head Kenneth Yap, who has been its chief executive since February 2013, will return to the Singapore Legal Service to assume his next appointment, said MOF.

Under Mr Yap's strategic guidance, Acra implemented a new approach through education, enforcement, and eradication to push more errant companies towards compliance, MOF said. During his tenure, Acra also introduced a new regulatory regime for corporate service providers, and successfully implemented over 200 legislative amendments to the Companies Act and Business Names Registration Act to keep up with changes in the business operating environment.

Mr Ong began his career in the Administrative Service, serving in the Education and Defence ministries. He joined Iras in 1991 from the private sector and was the Director (Taxation) at the Ministry of Finance from July 2000 to June 2002.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce and Administration (Honours)(Economics) from the Victoria University of Wellington on the Colombo Plan Scholarship, before obtaining a Master in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

A recipient of the Public Service Administration Medal (Gold) at the National Day Honours, Mr Ong has 32 years of extensive experience which spans across policy, operations, regulations and corporate governance in the corporate accounting and tax field, said MOF.