Permanent Secretary for Finance Tan Ching Yee has been appointed the new chairman of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) board, effective April 1.

She succeeds Ms Lim Soo Hoon, who has been chairman of the Acra board since 2012.

Ms Lim was the first female permanent secretary in Singapore's public service. Among her many accomplishments as Acra's chairman was a holistic review of the Companies Act, with major amendments made in 2014 to reduce the regulatory burden for companies and raise business flexibility.

A second review she oversaw in 2017 saw the introduction of beneficial ownership requirements to improve corporate transparency.

Mrs Tan has served in various capacities in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Education and Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. She was appointed permanent secretary for finance, and permanent secretary (special duties) in the Prime Minister's Office in May 2016.

Separately, the board will see four new faces while five existing members have been reappointed.

The four new members are: Mr Bruce Liang, chief executive of Integrated Health Information Systems and chief information officer from the Ministry of Health; solicitor Kevin Wong; Principal District Judge Muhammad Hidhir Abdul Majid of the Family Justice Courts; and RSM Singapore managing partner Paul Lee.

The five re-appointed board members are: Lee & Lee Advocates & Solicitors partner Adrian Chan; Deutsche Bank (Singapore) managing director and chief operating officer for Asia-Pacific Chandra Mallika; Ernst & Young (Asean and Singapore) managing partner Max Loh; chartered accountant Tham Sai Choy; and Accountant-General Ow Fook Chuen.

The Acra board comprises 16 members, including its chairman, and will start its new term on April 1.