Accountants Act 2004

Accountants Act 2004 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act relating to public accountants. [5/2013] [1 April 2004] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Accountants Act 2004. Interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “accounting corporation” means a company approved as an accounting corporation under section 17; “accounting entity” means an accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP; [Act 24 of 2025 wef 06/05/2026] “accounting firm” means a firm approved as an accounting firm under section 18; “accounting limited liability partnership” or “accounting LLP” means a limited liability partnership approved as an accounting limited liability partnership under section 18A; [Deleted by Act 21 of 2024 wef 09/12/2024] “ACRA administered Act” means the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority Act 2004 or any of the written laws specified in the Second Schedule to that Act; [Act 21 of 2024 wef 09/12/2024] “Authority” means the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority established under the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority Act 2004; “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Oversight Committee; “company” has the meaning given by the Companies Act 1967; “Complaints and Disciplinary Panel” means the Complaints and Disciplinary Panel appointed under section 39; “Complaints Committee” means a Complaints Committee constituted under Part 6; “constitution”, in relation to a company, has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Companies Act 1967; [Act 24 of 2025 wef 06/05/2026] “contact address”, in relation to an individual, means an address that meets all of the following conditions: (a) it is a physical address at which the individual can be physically found or contacted by post; (b) it is not a post office box number; (c) it is located in the same jurisdiction as the individual’s residential address; [Act 21 of 2024 wef 09/12/2024] “corporate practitioner” — (a) in relation to an accounting corporation, means a director or an employee of the corporation who is a public accountant and practising as such in that corporation; and (b) in relation to an accounting LLP, means a partner or an employee of the accounting LLP who is a public accountant and practising as such in the accounting LLP; “costs and expenses”, in relation to any proceedings under Part 6, includes — (a) the costs and expenses of any legal assessor and any advocate and solicitor appointed by the Oversight Committee for proceedings before a Complaints Committee or a Disciplinary Committee; (b) such reasonable expenses as the Oversight Committee may pay to witnesses; and (c) such reasonable expenses as are necessary for, or incidental to, the institution and conduct of proceedings before a Complaints Committee or a Disciplinary Committee; “Disciplinary Committee” means a Disciplinary Committee constituted under Part 6; “electronic transaction system” means the electronic transaction system mentioned in section 12A(1); [Act 21 of 2024 wef 09/12/2024] “firm” means a sole proprietorship or partnership; “full name” or “name” means — (a) in the case of an individual registered under the National Registration Act 1965 — the name as it appears in the latest identity card issued to that individual under section 9 of that Act; or (b) in the case of an individual not registered under the National Registration Act 1965 — the name as it appears in the latest passport issued to that individual or such other similar evidence of identification as is available; [Act 21 of 2024 wef 09/12/2024] “identification” means — (a) in the case of an individual issued with an identity card under the National Registration Act 1965, the number of the individual’s identity card; and (b) in the case of an individual not issued with an identity card under that Act, particulars of the individual’s passport or other similar evidence of identity that is acceptable to the Registrar; “individual practitioner”, in relation to an accounting entity, means — (a) in the case of an accounting corporation or accounting LLP — a corporate practitioner; or (b) in the case of an accounting firm — a public accountant who is — (i) a partner or an employee of the accounting firm; and (ii) practising as a public accountant in the accounting firm; [Act 24 of 2025 wef 06/05/2026] “lay person”, in relation to the Complaints and Disciplinary Panel, a Complaints Committee or a Disciplinary Committee, means an architect, a banker, an advocate and solicitor, a company director, an insurer, a professional engineer, a medical practitioner or a person who possesses such other qualifications as may be approved by the Oversight Committee; “limited liability partnership” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005; “manager”, in relation to a limited liability partnership, has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnership Act 2005; “Oversight Committee” means the Public Accountants Oversight Committee appointed by the Authority under section 4; “professional indemnity insurance” includes insurance indemnifying a public accountant, an accounting corporation, an accounting firm or an accounting LLP against liability to compensate a third party who has sustained financial loss or any other damage or injury due to a breach of professional duty or to any professional negligence on the part of such public accountant, accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP, as the case may be (including any such negligence by any director of such accounting corporation or any partner of such accounting LLP), or fraud or dishonesty; “proliferation financing” means the financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; [Act 24 of 2025 wef 06/05/2026] “public accountancy services” means the audit and reporting on financial statements and the doing of any other acts that are required by any written law to be done by a public accountant; “public accountant” means an individual who is registered or deemed to be registered in accordance with this Act as a public accountant; “Register of Public Accountants” means the register kept and maintained under section 5(1)(a)(i); “Register of Public Accounting Corporations” means the register kept and maintained under section 5(1)(a)(ii); “Register of Public Accounting Firms” means the register kept and maintained under section 5(1)(a)(iii); “Register of Public Accounting Limited Liability Partnerships” means the register kept and maintained under section 5(1)(a)(iv); “Registrar” means the Registrar of Public Accountants appointed by the Authority under section 7(1)(a) and includes a Deputy Registrar and an Assistant Registrar appointed under section 7(1)(b); “relevant particulars”, in relation to a public accountant, an accounting corporation, an accounting firm or an accounting LLP, means such particulars of the public accountant, accounting corporation, accounting firm or accounting LLP as the Oversight Committee may determine to be relevant for inclusion in the Register of Public Accountants, the Register of Public Accounting Corporations, the Register of Public Accounting Firms or the Register of Public Accounting Limited Liability Partnerships, as the case may be; “repealed Accountants Act” means the Accountants Act (Cap. 2, 2001 Revised Edition) in force immediately before 1 April 2004; “residential address”, in relation to an individual, means the individual’s usual place of residence; “rules” means rules made under section 64; “voting share”, in relation to a company or an accounting corporation, means an issued share in the company or accounting corporation other than — (a) a share to which, in no circumstances, is there attached a right to vote; or (b) a share to which there is attached a right to vote only in one or more of the following circumstances: (i) during a period in which a dividend (or part of a dividend) in respect of the share is in arrears; (ii) upon a proposal to reduce the share capital of the company or accounting corporation; (iii) upon a proposal that affects rights attached to the share; (iv) upon a proposal to wind up the company or accounting corporation; (v) upon a proposal for the disposal of the whole of the property, business and undertakings of the company or accounting corporation; (vi) during the winding up of the company or accounting corporation. [11/2006; 35/2014] (2) In this Act, a reference to improper conduct by, of or on the part of, a public accountant, an accounting corporation, an accounting firm or an accounting LLP includes any breach of any code of professional conduct and ethics prescribed by order under section 64AA(1)(a). [Act 32 of 2022 wef 01/07/2023] (3) For the purposes of sections 11(7), 15(6), 20(1), (3) and (4), 31(7) and 48(3), (4) and (5), any reference to the Minister includes a reference to such Minister of State for his or her Ministry who is authorised by the Minister for the purpose of hearing an appeal under that section. [35/2014]