Statutory Audit Services
Statutory audit services for Singapore SMEs and growing companies, managed end to end. We get your books audit-ready, close the year, prepare the schedules and draft financial statements, schedule and run the audit with your appointed auditors and answer their queries, through to the signed audit report.
Add Credibility to Your Financial Statements.
An independent audit does more than just satisfy compliance; it serves as a “health check” for your business. By having your accounts verified by a public accountant registered with ACRA, you signal to investors, banks and customers that your financial records are accurate and transparent.
Excellence Singapore provides statutory audit services tailored to your business size and industry, ensuring you meet ACRA’s statutory requirements with minimal disruption to your daily operations.
Do You Need an Audit?
In Singapore, a company must have its accounts audited each year unless it qualifies for an exemption. The main exemptions, as ACRA explains them, are:
Small Company Exemption
A private company is exempt if it meets at least two of three criteria for each of its two previous financial years: revenue of S$10 million or less, total assets of S$10 million or less, and 50 or fewer full-time employees. These are the limits currently in force. In its first two financial years, a company is assessed on that year’s own figures. Once it qualifies, it stays a small company until it fails the test in two consecutive years or stops being private. Our guide explains the small company audit exemption in more detail.
Companies in a Group
A parent or subsidiary also needs the whole group, including foreign entities, to meet at least two of the same three criteria on a consolidated basis.
Dormant Companies
A company that has been dormant since it was formed, or since the end of its previous financial year, is exempt under section 205B of the Companies Act, whether it is private or public.
Shareholders Can Require an Audit
Members holding at least 5% of the issued shares, or 5% of the members, can require an audit by written notice given no later than one month before the financial year ends.
Exemption removes the audit only. An exempt company still keeps accounting records for at least five years, prepares financial statements unless it is a dormant relevant company, and files its annual return and tax returns. Our monthly bookkeeping keeps those records up to date.
Voluntary Audit
Even if you are exempt, many SMEs choose to undergo a Voluntary Audit. Common reasons include:
- Tenders: Some government or MNC tenders ask for audited accounts as a prerequisite.
- Bank Loans: A bank may ask for audited financial statements when it assesses a credit facility.
- Business Sale: Buyers and investors may ask for audited accounts as part of their due diligence.
Not Sure If You Need an Audit? Contact us with your revenue, total assets and headcount for the last two financial years, and we will advise if you qualify for audit exemption.
What We Handle
Audit-Ready Books
We bring the books up to date and reconcile every bank and payment account, receivables, payables, fixed assets and accruals before the audit.
Year-End Close and Schedules
We close the financial year and prepare the schedules and supporting documents the auditors ask for.
Draft Financial Statements
We prepare the draft financial statements. Our accounting professionals ensure your reports strictly adhere to the Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS).
Audit Scheduling and Queries
We schedule the audit with your appointed auditors, keep fieldwork moving, answer their queries and post the adjustments you agree.
Signed Audit Report
We see the audit through to the signed audit report, with the final audited financial statements ready for your directors.
After the audit, our corporate secretarial team can prepare the AGM papers and file the annual return, and our tax team can prepare the ECI and Form C.
How It Works
We understand that an audit can feel intrusive. Our goal is to make the process as smooth and efficient as possible. Our guide to statutory audit costs in Singapore explains what drives your auditors’ fee.
- Exemption CheckSend us your revenue, total assets and headcount for the last two financial years, and whether the company has a parent or subsidiaries. We confirm whether an audit is needed and quote our fee.
- Year-End CloseAfter your financial year end, we close the books, reconcile the balances and prepare the draft financial statements and audit schedules.
- Audit FieldworkWe agree the timetable with the auditors, provide what they request, answer their queries and agree the adjustments with you until the audit report is signed.
- Signed Report and HandoverOnce the auditors sign their report, we hand over the audited financial statements and schedules, ready for the AGM and the annual return, which non-listed companies file within seven months after the financial year end.
Who This Suits
- Private companies that no longer meet the small company test, or whose group does not
- Public companies, since the small company exemption applies to private companies only
- Exempt companies whose shareholders, bank, investors or a tender ask for audited financial statements
- SMEs whose books need catching up before the audit can start
- Growing companies that want the same team for their bookkeeping, year end and audit
Still choosing your auditors? Our comparison of Big 4, mid-tier and boutique audit firms sets out what each type of firm offers.
Why Use Us
- One team from books to signed report: the accountants who keep your books prepare the year end, so the auditors receive complete schedules and fewer follow-up questions reach you.
- Year end from records we know: when we already keep your books, the year-end close starts from reconciled records, which keeps the audit timetable short.
- Fee quoted upfront: fees are quoted after we review the company’s size, records and timeline.
Excellence Singapore is a registered corporate service provider that has supported more than 4,000 businesses since 2013.
Talk to Us About Your Statutory Audit
Tell us your financial year end, revenue, total assets and headcount, and whether the company is part of a group. Fees are quoted after we review the company’s size, records and timeline.
Statutory Audit Services: Frequently Asked Questions
Every Singapore company must have its accounts audited each year unless an exemption applies. A private company is currently exempt as a small company if it meets two of three criteria for its two previous financial years: revenue and total assets each S$10 million or less, and 50 or fewer full-time employees. Having corporate shareholders does not by itself require an audit. A company in a group also needs the group to qualify, and dormant companies are exempt.
It exempts a private company from audit when it meets at least two of three criteria for each of its two previous financial years: revenue and total assets each S$10 million or less, and 50 or fewer full-time employees at the year end. In its first two financial years, a company is assessed on that year's figures. Once small, it stays small until it fails the test in two consecutive years or stops being private.
Yes. Members holding at least 5% of the issued shares, or at least 5% of the members, can give the company written notice requiring an audit for that financial year. The notice must be given during the year and no later than one month before it ends. The company then loses the exemption for that year.
A statutory audit is the independent examination of a company's financial statements that the Companies Act requires each year unless the company is exempt. The auditor's report tells shareholders, and anyone relying on the accounts, whether the financial statements give a true and fair view. We manage the whole process, from audit-ready books to the signed audit report.
We manage the audit end to end: audit-ready books and reconciliations, the year-end close and schedules, draft financial statements under SFRS, scheduling the audit with the auditors and answering their queries, through to the signed audit report, with the final audited financial statements ready for your directors.
It depends on the company's size, the state of its records and the auditors' timetable, so we agree a timetable with you at the start. Work back from the deadlines: non-listed companies file the annual return within seven months after the financial year end, and the Form C-S or Form C is due by 30 November. Books kept up to date shorten the audit.
Send us your latest management accounts and latest financial statements, and tell us how many full-time employees the company has and whether it has a parent or subsidiaries. We run the small company and small group tests, confirm whether an audit is needed, and quote our fee after reviewing the company's size, records and timeline.
One team handles your statutory audit from your books to the signed audit report: the accountants who keep your books prepare the year end, the schedules and the draft financial statements, then manage the audit with the auditors. The auditors receive complete schedules, fewer follow-up questions reach you, and you deal with one contact throughout.
Audit exemption does not change the filing rules. A solvent exempt private company need not file financial statements, and a dormant relevant company need not prepare them. Most other companies file Full XBRL with the annual return, or Simplified XBRL if revenue and total assets are each S$500,000 or less and the company is not publicly accountable. Our XBRL filing service checks which applies and prepares the file.
Fees are quoted after we review the company's size, records and timeline. A company with up-to-date books and a simple structure needs far less year-end work than a group with a backlog. Send us your last financial statements and current trial balance, and we will confirm the scope and fee in writing before work starts.
Need A Hand? We Got You
