Changing a company's financial year end (FYE) in Singapore is a straightforward process — but it must be done correctly through ACRA and within the constraints of the Companies Act. Whether you are aligning your company's reporting cycle with your parent company overseas, improving cash flow timing, or simply correcting an FYE that was set [...]
A shareholders' agreement is one of the most important legal documents a Singapore private company can have. It governs the relationship between shareholders, protects minority investors, structures decision-making and determines what happens when the unexpected occurs — a founder exits, a shareholder dies or investors disagree. Yet many Singapore SMEs and startups operate without one, [...]
Foreign businesses looking to establish a presence in Singapore face an important early decision: should they set up a branch office, a subsidiary company or a representative office? Each structure has a different legal character, tax treatment, regulatory burden and suitability for different business objectives. Getting this choice right from the start avoids costly restructuring [...]
A scheme of arrangement is one of the most powerful and flexible tools in Singapore company law. It is a court-supervised mechanism that allows a company to reach a binding compromise or arrangement with its creditors, shareholders, or both — even over the objection of a minority who voted against it. Once sanctioned by the [...]
Drag-along rights are one of the most important — and often most contentious — provisions in any Singapore shareholder agreement. They allow a majority shareholder (or a defined group of shareholders) to force minority shareholders to join in the sale of the company on the same terms and price. Understanding how drag-along rights work, when [...]
ACRA (the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) is a supporting organisation for the UGCNS MSME Day 2026, taking place on 18 June 2026 at the SGX Auditorium. The event is free to attend and is focused on helping small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) directors and business owners navigate compliance, growth, and regulatory updates. ACRA's participation [...]
The Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025) commenced its first major phase on 6 May 2026, bringing in heavier director penalties, the named audit partner requirement, expanded AML disqualification grounds, and new double-tier approval for selective share buybacks. But CALA 2025 is not yet fully in force. Singapore directors and company secretaries [...]
From 6 May 2026, Singapore companies that wish to repurchase shares selectively — that is, from specific shareholders rather than from all shareholders on equal terms — must navigate a new two-tier approval process introduced by the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025). This is one of the most significant changes to [...]
From 6 May 2026, every audit report for a Singapore company must now name the individual public accountant primarily responsible for the engagement. This change — introduced under the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025) — is one of the most significant shifts in Singapore's audit accountability framework in years, and it [...]
Scheme of Arrangement in Singapore: Court Process, Creditor Vote and Cross-Class Cramdown (2026) A scheme of arrangement is one of the most powerful restructuring tools available under Singapore law. When a company faces financial distress but has a viable underlying business, a scheme allows it to compromise debts with creditors and reorganise its affairs — [...]