Outsource Accounting in Singapore 2023: An Ultimate Guide by Chartered Accountant

Most business owners choose to outsource accounting in Singapore due to the multiple benefits it provides.

Tetra Consultants’ team of Chartered Accountants has years of experience providing accounting services for small businesses, SMEs and MNCs in Singapore. Our accounting solutions in Singapore include bookkeeping services, cloud accounting, outsourced IT support, GST registration as well as audit.

We have consolidated 5 important considerations before you engage an external service provider for accounting and bookkeeping services in Singapore.

5 considerations before you outsource accounting in Singapore

#1 Cost Assessment

Many business owners choose to engage 3^rd party accounting services in Singapore to reduce expenditures. This is mainly due to the increase in average CPA (Certified Public Accountants) salaries over the years in Singapore. According to PayScale, the average salary for an accountant with a few years of working experience amounts to S$52,000 per annum.

If you are a business owner of a Singapore company that does not require an accountant to report to work daily, choosing to outsource your accounting function may be the optimum solution.

By relying on on-demand accounting services instead of paying a monthly salary to an in-house accountant, the company will be able to cut down monthly overhead costs and resources. This is definitely beneficial for the company’s financial health, especially if you are a small business in Singapore.

Consequently, companies can continue doing business while leveraging the expertise of external Chartered Accountants. Business owners no longer must worry about monthly bookkeeping or annual tax return filing deadlines as they are all being managed professionally.

If you ultimately decide to outsource accounting, make sure the Singapore accounting service provider is qualified and has experience with the local regulations. Performing a background screening or scheduling a call with the Chartered Accountant in charge may be a good idea at the start. On the other hand, it is important to ensure that the outsourced accounting service provider is transparent with the fees from the start. This is to ensure that there are no hidden clauses in the engagement letter which will result in additional fees throughout the engagement.

#2 Assessing Trustworthiness

Before engaging external accounting and bookkeeping services in Singapore, it is essential to ensure that the accounting service provider has a well-designed Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) policy in place. While preparing your financial statements or bookkeeping, the accountant will have access to your company’s confidential information such as bank statements and customer details.

To prevent data leaks, we recommend you interview the Singapore accounting service provider regarding their basic measures of data security. A few key things to consider will be the data storage method, data protection policy and encryption method used.

#3 Identifying Requirements

By being familiar with the mandatory statutory requirements and deadlines of your Singapore company, you will be able to better understand exactly what type of accounting solutions you require. This is to ensure that you are only paying for what you need.

For example, a Singapore company is not required to file an ECI (Estimated Chargeable Income) if it meets the following criteria:

1. Annual revenue is not more than $5 million for the financial year; and
2. Estimated Chargeable Income is NIL for the YA.

However, most outsourced accounting service providers will include this as part of their service package. Hence by understanding what is mandatory, you are able to request lower outsourced accounting pricing.

It is also advisable to enquire about the fees and job scope in the event your company requires on-demand accounting services. As and when the company expands, you may require additional services such as GST registration and quarterly submission once you hit certain thresholds.

#4 Responsiveness

Are you facing slow response time from your existing Singapore accounting service provider? This may be because they are either overwhelmed or that your accounting tasks have been outsourced by the accounting service providers themselves.

This means that after the engagement, the 3^rd party accountant outsources part or the entire task to another 4^th party service provider and act as an intermediary. Prior to engagement, it is important to clarify who will be the person in charge of your accounting services in Singapore.

This is to ensure that you will receive fast responses and prevent your company’s financials from being passed on to other irrelevant parties. In the event you are late to submit accounts to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), the penalties in Singapore are significant. According to Singapore Companies Act, late filing will result in the Singapore company directors and secretary being fined.

Tetra Consultants Chartered Accountants will be solely in charge of your accounting and bookkeeping services in Singapore. Our in-house team will be fully responsible for your engagement and we maintain a strict 24-hour reply policy to all our international clients. In addition, Tetra Consultants is 24/7

#5 Termination Clause

Another key consideration that is often overlooked will be the termination clause. Many accounting service providers do not co-operate or provide the master data file from the book-keeping software during the termination of services. This will result in additional costs should you choose to terminate and switch to a new provider. Hence it is crucial, you discuss upfront on termination what will be the fees involved and the data file will be provided.

Tetra Consultants ensures that the terms and conditions for termination are clearly stated within the appointment letter prior to the start of the engagement. In the unfortunate event, you decide to switch accounting service providers, Tetra Consultants will play our part and cooperate with the handover.

Why outsource accounting in Singapore to Tetra Consultants?

After you have decided to outsource accounting in Singapore, choosing the right partner as your external accountant is the most important step.

#1 Qualified Chartered Accountants

Tetra Consultants’ team of qualified Chartered Accountants will help you reduce workload and allocate resources to other more important functions such as business development and growth.

Prior to the start of the engagement, our Chartered Accountant will explain the requirements and step-by-step process. This includes the documents required, deliverables, chart of accounts, timelines and deadlines.

#2 Partnership with Reputable Firms

Tetra Consultants is a registered Xero Certified Partner in Singapore.

Our partnership with Xero, coupled with our highly qualified team of Chartered Accountants, has enabled us to provide seamless accounting and bookkeeping services to our international clients. In addition, our team is able to extend our services in multiple areas, not limiting to cloud accounting.

#3 Experts in International Offshore Accounting and Tax

Tetra Consultants has experience with offshore accounting in multiple jurisdictions. If you have a number of companies in different jurisdictions, you are able to only speak to one company instead of multiple different accountants.

If you require international tax planning, our team of dedicated consultants will be able to advise on the most optimum corporate structure and international tax strategies.

#4 Transparency

Tetra Consultants believes in transparency with our clients. We expect our international clients to declare and provide us required documents and information on time.

In exchange, Tetra Consultants provides extremely competitive accounting services price. Our Chartered Accountant will provide a clear breakdown of the fees and types of services that you will require throughout the engagement.

This is to ensure that you are clear on the cost to outsource accounting to Singapore and can budget how much to outsource accounting.

#5 Full Range of Accounting and Bookkeeping services in Singapore

• Book-keeping
• Preparation of financial statements to meet the statutory requirements and Singapore financial reporting standard. (SFRS)
• Preparation and submission of quarterly GST returns to Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)
• Conversion of financial statements to XBRL format for submission to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA)
• Preparation of payment listing for supplier invoices and employee expenses claims.
• Issuance of payment vouchers, preparation of cheques and fund transfers
• Mailing signed cheques to payees, processing electronic payments or remittance of funds by telegraphic transfer
• Liaising with Singapore auditors and other third parties such as Tax Agent or IMDA.
• Preparation of Estimated Chargeable Income Tax Computation

Contact us to find out more about our Singapore accounting and bookkeeping services. Our team of experts will revert within the next 24 hours.