Check Auditor Registration With ACRA: Public Accountant Terms and Insurance From 20 October 2026

Short answer: To check auditor registration with ACRA, search the signing public accountant in Bizfile’s People search, which shows registration status and the related accounting entity. From 20 October 2026, public accountants may renew for 1, 2 or 3 years, and professional indemnity insurance now also applies to sole-proprietor and partnership audit firms.

Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of experienced Singapore law firms who offer cost-effective and efficient legal service and advice. This article is general information only and is not legal advice.

Most boards check their auditor once, at appointment, and then roll the engagement over each year. Knowing how to check auditor registration with ACRA has become more relevant since 20 October 2026, when two changes under the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 took effect: longer registration terms for public accountants and wider professional indemnity insurance requirements for audit firms. This guide explains what changed, how to run the checks in a few minutes, and the questions directors should ask before signing an engagement letter.

Who is allowed to audit a Singapore company?

Only a public accountant registered with ACRA can sign a statutory audit, and they do so through a registered accounting entity. Being a qualified accountant is not enough.

ACRA explains that PAs and AEs must register with ACRA to carry out independent statutory audits. The PA is the individual who signs the audit and gives the opinion; the AE is the firm through which PAs provide audit services to the public. There are three types of AE:

ACRA also states what it does not regulate: accountants in general, including bookkeepers, the way accounting entities run their business, and the quality of services they provide. Audit quality is overseen through practice reviews and orders, covered below. If your company qualifies for audit exemption, none of this applies to the statutory accounts, though lenders or investors may still ask for an audit; our guide to appointing a company auditor and the small company exemption sets out the tests.

What changed for auditors on 20 October 2026?

Two things: how long a PA’s registration can run, and which audit firms must carry professional indemnity insurance. Both come from the second phase of the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025, which ACRA announced on 6 October 2026.

First, public accountants can now choose to renew their registration for 1, 2 or 3 years rather than every year. Second, PII requirements now extend to accounting firms operating as sole proprietorships or partnerships, in addition to public accounting corporations and accounting LLPs. ACRA’s announcement of 6 October 2026 lists both alongside the other changes, which we summarise in what commenced on 20 October 2026 under CALA 2025.

How do you check auditor registration with ACRA?

Use Bizfile’s People search for the individual PA, and check the firm on its own Business Profile. Do it at appointment and again before each year’s audit begins.

1. Get the full name of the engagement partner who will sign the audit report, and the full name of the audit firm, from the engagement letter or proposal.
2. Search the partner in Bizfile’s People search. ACRA notes this shows a PA’s registration status and the related accounting entity.
3. Confirm the accounting entity shown matches the firm named on the engagement letter.
4. Note the registration term. With 1, 2 and 3 year renewals now possible, a registration checked last year may run beyond this year, or may have lapsed. Check rather than assume.
5. Check ACRA’s regulatory notices, where it publishes orders issued to PAs from practice reviews, orders to AEs from quality control reviews and disciplinary orders.
6. Record the date and result of the check in the board’s compliance file.

ACRA states that it is illegal to practise as a PA without a valid certificate of registration. Renewals are made through Bizfile between 1 and 31 December, so January is a sensible month to re-check.

What does the professional indemnity insurance requirement cover?

It sets a minimum level of insurance the audit firm must hold against professional liability claims. The figure scales with the size of the firm.

According to ACRA, the PII quantum is the highest of three amounts:

The example is illustrative only. For a client, the point is that every registered audit firm, whatever its legal form, now has to carry this insurance. It is reasonable to ask a smaller firm to confirm that its cover is in place.

What should directors ask before signing the audit engagement letter?

Five questions cover most of the risk. Ask them in writing and keep the replies with the engagement letter.

1. Who is the engagement partner, and is that person a PA currently registered with ACRA? (Confirm with Bizfile’s People search.)
2. Which accounting entity will issue the report, and is it a PAF, ALLP or PAC?
3. Does the firm hold professional indemnity insurance that meets ACRA’s requirement from 20 October 2026?
4. Will the audit rely on outside experts, such as valuers or IT specialists, and how will their work be handled? On 16 October 2026 ACRA amended its Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for PAs and AEs to adopt international revisions on using the work of an external expert.
5. What is the timetable, and does it leave room to hold the AGM and file the annual return on time?

On the last point, the annual return is due seven months after financial year end for most non-listed companies, and from 20 October 2026 it requires confirmation that the auditor’s particulars held by ACRA are accurate. Our annual return guide covers that confirmation, and our article on named auditors under CALA 2025 explains why the engagement partner’s identity matters.

How does ACRA keep public accountants in check?

Through registration renewal conditions, practice reviews and published orders. A PA who fails these cannot keep practising.

To renew, ACRA requires a PA to pass practice reviews under Part 5 of the Accountants Act 2004 or comply with any order of the Public Accountants Oversight Committee, and to meet continuing professional education requirements: 120 CPE hours over three years, at least 90 hours of structured learning, and at least 20 structured hours each calendar year. PAs must also notify ACRA of changes in their particulars within 30 days. Orders arising from reviews are published on ACRA’s website, which is why the regulatory notices check above is worth doing.

Common mistakes when appointing or reviewing an auditor

• Checking the firm but not the individual partner who signs.
• Relying on a check made at first appointment, years earlier.
• Assuming a small sole-proprietor firm does not need insurance; from 20 October 2026 it does.
• Appointing a bookkeeper or accountant who is not a registered PA to “audit” statutory accounts.
• Leaving stale auditor particulars on the ACRA record, which now has to be confirmed in the annual return.
• Not keeping a record of the board’s checks. For appointment and removal procedure, see our guide to appointing and removing auditors.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check if my auditor is registered with ACRA?

Search the engagement partner’s name in Bizfile’s People search. ACRA says it shows the PA’s registration status and the related accounting entity.

Does my auditor’s registration still expire every year?

Not necessarily. From 20 October 2026, PAs can renew for 1, 2 or 3 years. Check the current status rather than assume an annual cycle.

Does a sole-proprietor audit firm need professional indemnity insurance?

Yes, from 20 October 2026. ACRA extended PII requirements to accounting firms operating as sole proprietorships or partnerships.

How much professional indemnity insurance must an audit firm hold?

The highest of S$1 million, S$500,000 per public accountant in the firm, or 2.5 times the firm’s gross income for the last financial year, subject to a maximum of S$50 million.

Does ACRA regulate my bookkeeper?

No. ACRA states that it does not regulate accountants in general, including those who do bookkeeping. It regulates public accountants and public accounting entities.

Can my company skip the audit altogether?

Possibly. A private company that meets at least two of three criteria (revenue of S$10 million or less, total assets of S$10 million or less, 50 or fewer full-time employees) for the immediate past two consecutive financial years qualifies as a small company exempt from audit, subject to the group test (Companies Act 1967, section 205C and the Thirteenth Schedule).

Need help with this? Call, SMS or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133, or email [email protected]. Raffles Corporate Services works with a panel of corporate and employment law firms; this article is general information, not legal advice.

Last reviewed: 27 October 2026. The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services.