Julia Tay, Assistant Chief Executive (Accountancy), Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Presentation at IFAC SMP Forum, March 2012

1. Shaping Regulation and
Standards to Suit SMEs and
SMPs
A Singapore Regulator’s Perspective
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2. Singapore Corporate Factsheet – as of 31 Dec 2011
151,071
Sole Prop/Ptnrships
229,371 940
Local Companies Public Accountants
226,741
Private Companies
PIE Audits Non- PIE Audits
Big-4: 192 SMPs: 648
2,630 SMPs: 100
Public Companies
773 59% audited by Big-4
Listed on SGX * 31% audited by SMPs
* Inclusive of foreign listed companies
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3. Issues faced by SMPs in Singapore
Lack of
partner
supervision
Unable to Low
Fee/High Unable to
deliver
attract and
quality Volume retain staff
audits Model
Unable to
invest in
quality
controls
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4. Sustaining audit quality through firm-level
quality controls
(1)
Tone at the top
and
Leadership
(6) (2)
Monitoring Independence SSQC applies to all firms…the
and nature and extent of the
ethics policies and procedures
developed by an individual firm
to comply with this SSQC will
(3) depend on various factors
(5) Client and such as the size and operating
Engagement engagement characteristics of the firm.
performance acceptance
(4) and
Human continuance
Resources
polices and
procedures
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5. A Collaborative Approach to Audit Regulation
• Remediation Tools
– Remediation plans
– Hot reviews and peer reviews
– Customised courses
• Communications and Guidance
– Annual Public Accountants Conference
– Annual Practice Monitoring Programme Public Report
– Audit Practice Bulletins and Financial Reporting Practical Guidance
– Audit Practical Guidance (ICPAS)
– Audit Manual for Small Companies (ICPAS)
• Other contributors of audit quality
– Financial Reporting Surveillance Programme
– Outreach to preparers and users of financial statements on financial
reporting quality and value of audit
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6. www.ifac.org