Singapore legislation
Section 199
Section 199
Accounting records and systems of control
(1)
Every company must cause to be kept such accounting and other records as will sufficiently explain the transactions and financial position of the company and enable true and fair financial statements and any documents required to be attached thereto to be prepared from time to time, and must cause those records to be kept in such manner as to enable them to be conveniently and properly audited.
(2)
The company must retain the records referred to in subsection (1) for a period of not less than 5 years from the end of the financial year in which the transactions or operations to which those records relate are completed.
(2A)
Every public company and every subsidiary company of a public company must devise and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide a reasonable assurance that —
assets are safeguarded against loss from unauthorised use or disposition; and
transactions are properly authorised and that they are recorded as necessary to permit the preparation of true and fair financial statements and to maintain accountability of assets.
(3)
The records referred to in subsection (1) must be kept at the registered office of the company or at such other place as the directors think fit and must at all times be open to inspection by the directors.
(4)
If accounting and other records are kept by the company at a place outside Singapore there must be sent to and kept at a place in Singapore and be at all times open to inspection by the directors such statements and returns with respect to the business dealt with in the records so kept as will enable to be prepared true and fair financial statements and any documents required to be attached thereto.
(5)
The Court may in any particular case order that the accounting and other records of a company be open to inspection by a public accountant acting for a director, but only upon an undertaking in writing given to the Court that information acquired by the public accountant during his or her inspection must not be disclosed by the public accountant except to that director.
(6)
If default is made in complying with this section, the company and every officer of the company who is in default shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months and also to a default penalty.