In Singapore, every company registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) is required to file an annual return. This filing is essential to ensure that the company complies with the regulatory requirements and maintains its legal status. The documents required for ACRA’s annual return must be submitted accurately and on time, as failure to do so can lead to penalties or even the removal of the company from ACRA’s register.
In this article, we will guide you through the key documents required for ACRA compliance for Singapore SMEs' annual return.
What It Is:
The financial statements provide a snapshot of your company’s financial health over the fiscal year. These statements typically include the balance sheet, income statement (profit and loss), and cash flow statement. ACRA requires companies to file these documents annually, either as audited or unaudited statements.
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How AI Can Help:
AI-powered accounting tools like ccMonet automatically generate financial statements in compliance with the Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS). The software can quickly produce balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and cash flow reports, making the process of preparing financial statements faster and more accurate.
What It Is:
XBRL is a standardized format for submitting your company’s financial statements to ACRA. It allows for better data exchange, analysis, and comparability of financial information. ACRA mandates that all companies submit their financial statements in XBRL format.
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How AI Can Help:
AI accounting tools like ccMonet automate the conversion of financial data into XBRL format, ensuring compliance with ACRA’s specific tagging requirements. This eliminates the need for manual tagging, reduces the risk of errors, and speeds up the filing process.
What It Is:
A director’s report typically includes information about the company’s activities, governance, financial health, and other relevant business matters. It provides context for the financial statements and gives shareholders, investors, and regulators insight into how the company is managed.
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How AI Can Help:
AI tools can help automate the preparation of director’s reports by pulling relevant data from your financial statements and summarizing it into a clear, professional report. AI can also help ensure compliance with formatting and content requirements.
What It Is:
ACRA requires companies to provide updated information about their shareholders, including the names and addresses of individuals or entities that hold shares in the company. This includes confirming the total number of shares and the proportion held by each shareholder.
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How AI Can Help:
AI-powered accounting tools help automate the tracking and updating of shareholder data, making sure that all information is current and accurate when preparing your annual return.
What It Is:
ACRA requires that companies provide the registered office address, which is the official address of the company where all legal and regulatory correspondence will be sent.
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How AI Can Help:
AI solutions like ccMonet automatically track and store your company’s address information, ensuring that it is always up-to-date and ready for submission when preparing the annual return.
What It Is:
ACRA charges a fee for submitting the annual return. The filing fee varies depending on the size and nature of the company, but it is a standard requirement for all companies.
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How AI Can Help:
AI-powered accounting tools help businesses keep track of due fees, automatically alerting users when payment is required. These tools can also integrate with payment systems to facilitate seamless fee payments directly from the accounting platform.
What It Is:
Certain companies may need to submit a statutory declaration along with their annual return. This declaration serves as a formal attestation that the financial statements provided are accurate, complete, and in compliance with the relevant laws.
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How AI Can Help:
AI systems can automatically generate the required declarations and assist in ensuring that the language and content comply with legal requirements, streamlining the process of filing the statutory declaration.
What It Is:
If a company has not changed its financial year-end date, ACRA requires a confirmation to that effect. If the company has changed its financial year-end date, additional documentation must be provided.
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How AI Can Help:
AI-powered accounting tools track financial year-end dates and automatically notify you when confirmations are due. This ensures that any necessary filings related to changes in financial year-end are completed on time.
Automating your company’s financial processes with AI-powered tools like ccMonet makes ACRA compliance much easier. Some ways that ccMonet helps include:
Filing your annual return with ACRA is a critical part of maintaining your company’s compliance and legal standing. By ensuring that you submit the required documents — including financial statements, XBRL filings, shareholder information, and more — you can avoid penalties and stay on top of your regulatory obligations.
AI-powered accounting tools like ccMonet make the process of preparing these documents faster, more accurate, and more efficient. By automating the preparation and filing process, you ensure compliance while saving time and resources.
👉 Ready to simplify your ACRA filing process? Learn more about how ccMonet can help streamline your company’s compliance.
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