Companies Act 1967 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 6 · Financial Statements and Audit
199. Accounting records and systems of control
Last amended by an amending law of 2025. 3 amendments in all.
Official textFrom Singapore Statutes Online, unchanged
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.
company
“company” means a company incorporated under this Act or under any corresponding previous written law;
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.
financial year
“financial year” —(a)in relation to a corporation — means the period in respect of which the financial statements of the corporation is made up, whether that period is a year or not; and(b)in relation to a company — is also to be determined in accordance with section 198;
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.
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.
registered
“registered” means registered under this Act or any corresponding previous enactment;
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.
financial statements
“financial statements” means the financial statements of a company required to be prepared by the Accounting Standards;
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.
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.
officer
“officer”, in relation to a corporation, includes —(a)any director or secretary of the corporation or a person employed in an executive capacity by the corporation;(b)a receiver and manager of any part of the undertaking of the corporation appointed under a power contained in any instrument; and(c)any liquidator of a company appointed in a voluntary winding up,but does not include —(d)any receiver who is not also a manager;(e)any receiver and manager appointed by the Court;(f)any liquidator appointed by the Court or by the creditors; or(g)a judicial manager appointed under Part 7 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018;
Terms defined in this Act
company
Defined · s 4“company” means a company incorporated under this Act or under any corresponding previous written law;
default penalty
Defined · s 4“default penalty” means a default penalty within the meaning of section 408;
director
Defined · s 4“director” includes any person occupying the position of director of a corporation by whatever name called and includes a person in accordance with whose directions or instructions the directors or the majority of the directors of a corporation are accustomed to act and an alternate or substitute director;
financial statements
Defined · s 209A“financial statements” means the financial statements of a company required to be prepared by the Accounting Standards;
financial year
Defined · s 4“financial year” —(a)in relation to a corporation — means the period in respect of which the financial statements of the corporation is made up, whether that period is a year or not; and(b)in relation to a company — is also to be determined in accordance with section 198;
officer
Defined · s 4“officer”, in relation to a corporation, includes —(a)any director or secretary of the corporation or a person employed in an executive capacity by the corporation;(b)a receiver and manager of any part of the undertaking of the corporation appointed under a power contained in any instrument; and(c)any liquidator of a company appointed in a voluntary winding up,but does not include —(d)any receiver who is not also a manager;(e)any receiver and manager appointed by the Court;(f)any liquidator appointed by the Court or by the creditors; or(g)a judicial manager appointed under Part 7 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018;
public accountant
Defined · s 4“public accountant” means a person who is registered or deemed to be registered under the Accountants Act 2004 as a public accountant;
registered
Defined · s 4“registered” means registered under this Act or any corresponding previous enactment;
subsidiary company
Defined · s 209A“subsidiary company” means a company that is a subsidiary as defined in the Accounting Standards;
Part 7
Arrangements, Reconstructions and Amalgamations
Part 8
Part 8A
Part 9
Investigations
Part 10
Dissolution
Part 10A
Transfer of Registration
Part 11
Various Types of Companies, Etc.
Part 11A
Register of Controllers, Nominee Directors and Nominee Shareholders of Companies
Part 12