Directors compliance programme is important
Every year in Singapore, ACRA issues summons to many directors who do not comply with the statutory reporting laws and regulations. To avoid this, the director’s compliance programme was launched to train company directors on company compliance matters relating to financial reporting, statutory filing, regulatory needs and many more aspects of running a public and private company in Singapore.
Before ACRA rolled out this programme in 2016, so much filing breaches of the Singapore Companies’ Act were happening. This was having a serious effect in the business and corporate ecosystem in Singapore.
Recently with the enactment of the new amendments that lowered the bar for many businesses to be considered as small company, where these companies enjoy the benefits of statutory audit exemption. However, yearly annual filing returns with ACRA must still be done to comply with the laws in Singapore. Otherwise, your company will incur fines and penalties at SGD 300 per section of the Companies’ Act breached, and the directors will also receive a warning to attend the directors’ compliance programme in Singapore.
Directors compliance programme help companies comply with Singapore law
The main objective of this course is to teach company directors about the laws and regulations in Singapore, and how to comply with Singapore Companies’ Act. Directors will need to attend this course due to not filing the company’s annual returns with ACRA.
Thinking of it positively, this course can come in useful especially to the newly hired company directors as well as those leaving school. They would then be aware of what needs to be done to be in line with the laws of Singapore. During the course conducted by ACRA, they also highlight about governing a corporate entity, as well as duties and responsibilities of a company director. After attending the directors’ compliance programme, all attendees should understand the Singapore law requirements. They would need to ensure their company complies with the yearly statutory filing requirements.
Attending the directors compliance programme is cheaper than paying fines and penalties
Every company director in Singapore should attend the directors compliance programme after getting summons from ACRA. It means you have breach your filings and therefore instead of penalties, ACRA decides to offer you training on how to comply, meet regulations and prepare company financial statements.
Of course, it is the prerogative of the director to attend. Should you choose to attend, you can choose the most convenient date for you. Training does not take long as it is usually a half-day affair, but you will be required to pay a small fee of approximately S$250.
In the event that you had breached the Companies’ Act, penalty figures range anywhere between S$300 to S$900, depending on how many sections you did not comply. You can now see that this is going to be quite a burden for you, and justifying such fines to the shareholders could be nasty. Sometimes, you may also get court summons. At other times, a warrant of arrest may be issued. This is something that you can avoid if you as the director and the company is in compliant with the statutory laws of Singapore. If you are still unsure how to be in compliance with the statutory government bodies such as ACRA and the yearly filing requirements, you may wish to seek professional assistance from a qualified filing agent in Singapore. Accounting and company secretarial firms such as J Accounting services will be able to support you in this.
