ACRA, Singapore Accountancy Commission and Accounting Standards Council secretariat to merge by H2 2022

4 August 2021

On 1 July 2021, the Ministry of Finance (“MOF”) announced that it will merge the accountancy-related units in the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (“ACRA”), the Singapore Accountancy Commission (“SAC”) and the Accounting Standards Council (“ASC”) secretariat into a strengthened accountancy function under one entity (“Merged Entity”). ASC will remain as a Council appointed by the Minister for Finance.

Currently, the Government’s accountancy-related functions are housed in three entities:

• ACRA registers and regulates public accountants, business entities, and corporate service providers;
• SAC develops the accountancy sector and oversees the Chartered Accountant of Singapore, or CA (Singapore), designation, as well as its qualification programme - the Singapore Chartered Accountant Qualification (SCAQ) programme; and
• ASC sets accounting standards for companies, charities, societies, and co-operative societies.

According to MOF, the merger will strengthen the effectiveness of regulation, standards setting, and sector development by harnessing synergies across complementary functions. This will strengthen the Merged Entity’s ability to better develop and manage talent in a sustained manner, and provide better career development opportunities to officers.

MOF announced that the Merged Entity will be formed and will commence operations by the second half of 2022 and will retain the name Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, which encompasses the enlarged functions of the Merged Entity, and is well-recognised by accountancy and business stakeholders. Ong Khiaw Hong, Chief Executive of ACRA, will oversee the Merged Entity.

Reference materials

The press release is available on the MOF website www.mof.gov.sg.