The Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025) formally commenced on 6 May 2026, bringing several significant changes to Singapore company law. Our earlier overview covered the full range of changes. This follow-on article focuses on a specific and immediately actionable requirement: the obligation for audit reports to now name the individual public accountant personally responsible for the audit engagement — and what directors and company secretaries must do before their next set of audited accounts is finalised.

The New Requirement: Individual Public Accountant Named in Every Audit Report

Prior to the commencement of CALA 2025, Singapore audit reports were signed off in the name of the audit firm only. The individual engagement partner responsible for the audit was known to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) internally, but was not disclosed in the audit report itself — the document that directors, shareholders, bankers, and the public rely on.

From 6 May 2026, this has changed. Every Singapore company that is required to have its accounts audited must ensure that the audit report states the name of the individual public accountant who personally conducted and took responsibility for the audit engagement.

This reform aligns Singapore with major international audit transparency regimes, including:

  • The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) requirements in the United States (in place since 2017)
  • The Financial Reporting Council requirements in the United Kingdom
  • The Australian Auditing Standards

The rationale is straightforward: naming the individual accountant promotes personal accountability for audit quality, enables investors and regulators to identify patterns of conduct across an individual’s audit engagements, and strengthens confidence in the reliability of financial statements.

Which Companies Are Affected?

This requirement applies to all Singapore companies that are legally required to have their accounts audited — that is, all companies not qualifying for the audit exemption under Section 205C of the Companies Act.

Who Is Exempt From Audit (and Therefore Not Affected)?

A Singapore private company qualifies as a small company — and is exempt from audit — if it satisfies at least two of the following three criteria for the immediate past two financial years:

  • Total annual revenue of S$10 million or less
  • Total assets of S$10 million or less
  • 50 or fewer employees

Additionally, a company that is part of a group must also qualify as part of a small group (i.e. the consolidated group satisfies the same two-out-of-three criteria).

If your company qualifies for the audit exemption, the new individual accountant naming requirement does not apply — because you do not need an audit at all. If you are unsure whether your company qualifies for the audit exemption, our guide on CALA 2025 and what directors must know provides a helpful overview.

Who Is Affected?

If your company does not qualify for the audit exemption, the new requirement applies to every audit report issued for financial years that commenced on or after 6 May 2026 — and potentially to audit reports issued on or after that date for earlier financial years, depending on when the audit is completed. You should confirm the specific application to your situation with your auditor.

Categories of companies most commonly affected:

  • Companies with annual revenue exceeding S$10 million
  • Companies with total assets exceeding S$10 million
  • Companies with more than 50 employees
  • Public companies and listed companies
  • Subsidiaries of large groups, even if the subsidiary itself is small (if the group does not qualify as a small group)

What Directors and Company Secretaries Should Do Now

Action 1 — Confirm With Your Auditor

The most immediate step is to contact your external auditor and confirm that the individual public accountant’s name will appear on your company’s next audit report. Ask specifically:

  • Who is the engagement partner responsible for our audit?
  • Will their name appear on the audit report as required under CALA 2025?
  • Has the engagement letter been updated to name the individual responsible?

Well-prepared audit firms will already have updated their procedures and engagement letter templates. If your auditor appears unaware of this requirement, that itself may be a cause for concern.

Action 2 — Review Your Audit Engagement Letter

The audit engagement letter — the formal agreement between your company and the audit firm setting out the terms of the audit — should now identify the individual public accountant who is the engagement partner. Review your current engagement letter to confirm this is included. If your audit is already under way with an engagement letter that predates CALA 2025, ask the audit firm to issue an updated letter or addendum confirming the individual responsible.

Action 3 — Update Your Internal Compliance Checklist

Company secretaries should add the following items to the annual compliance calendar for audited companies:

  • Before audit completion: confirm the audit engagement letter names the individual engagement partner
  • Upon receiving draft audit report: verify the individual public accountant’s name appears in the report as required
  • At the board meeting to approve financial statements: minute the name of the engagement partner and confirm the audit report complies with CALA 2025

Action 4 — Board Review and Minuting

The approval of audited financial statements is a matter for the board of directors. At the board meeting where the financial statements are approved, directors should specifically note that the audit report names the individual public accountant as required under CALA 2025, and this should be recorded in the board minutes. This creates a clear governance record and demonstrates that the board has exercised proper oversight of the audit process.

ACRA Enforcement: What Happens if the Audit Report Is Non-Compliant?

CALA 2025 gives ACRA enhanced regulatory powers. Audit reports that do not comply with the new requirements — including the individual accountant naming requirement — may be treated as defective. Directors who approve non-compliant financial statements, and auditors who issue non-compliant reports, may face regulatory consequences. ACRA has the power to require accounts to be re-filed and to impose penalties on both directors and auditors for non-compliance.

Importantly, the directors bear responsibility for ensuring that the accounts presented to shareholders are compliant — not just the auditor. This means directors must actively check the audit report, not simply sign off on whatever the auditor delivers.

Why This Matters for Corporate Governance

The introduction of individual accountant naming is part of a broader global trend toward greater transparency and accountability in corporate reporting. For directors, it means that the chain of responsibility for audit quality is now more clearly visible: the individual partner who signed off on your accounts is now identified by name in a public document. This should raise the quality of audit conversations at board level — directors can engage more meaningfully with the specific person responsible for the audit, rather than treating it as an institutional process.

For company secretaries, this is another item to add to the growing list of governance obligations arising from CALA 2025. Our article on CALA 2025: What Directors Must Know covers the full suite of changes including enhanced director liability provisions and off-market share buyback requirements.

If you need legal advice on your company’s audit and governance compliance obligations, we can point you in the right direction. For the latest Singapore regulatory news for business owners, there are useful resources available. For investment and business decisions, understanding the regulatory environment is an increasingly important component of sound governance.

To speak with the team at Raffles Corporate Services, you can email [email protected] or call, SMS, or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. We are happy to assist with any queries.

— The Editorial Team, Raffles Corporate Services