From 6 May 2026, audit reports of Singapore companies that are required to have a statutory audit must now identify by name the individual public accountant primarily responsible for the engagement. This change, introduced by the Corporate and Accounting Laws (Amendment) Act 2025 (CALA 2025), marks a significant departure from the longstanding practice of signing audit reports in the name of the accounting firm alone.

For directors, audit committee members, and company secretaries, this change has immediate practical implications — and the earlier you act, the smoother the transition will be.

What Has Changed — and What Has Not

Before CALA 2025 commenced on 6 May 2026, statutory audit reports in Singapore were signed in the name of the registered public accounting firm. The identity of the individual engagement partner — the public accountant personally responsible for signing off on the audit — was disclosed to ACRA (as regulator) but was not required to appear in the public-facing audit report itself.

From 6 May 2026 onwards, the engagement partner’s name must appear in the audit report. The firm name remains, but it is now accompanied by the name of the specific individual public accountant who has primary responsibility for the engagement.

What has not changed is the audit process itself, the firm’s overall responsibility, or the standards to which the audit is conducted. This is a transparency and accountability reform, not a substantive change to audit methodology.

Which Companies Are Affected?

The named auditor requirement applies to all Singapore companies that are required to have a statutory audit under the Companies Act (Cap. 50). This includes most companies that do not qualify for the small company audit exemption.

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

  • Annual revenue of not more than S$10 million
  • Total assets of not more than S$10 million
  • Not more than 50 employees

Additionally, a company must be a private company throughout the relevant financial year to qualify for the small company exemption. Subsidiaries of large groups and public companies are generally not exempt regardless of size.

If your company does not qualify for the small company audit exemption, the named auditor requirement applies to your next audit report signed on or after 6 May 2026.

Why Singapore Made This Change

Singapore’s move aligns it with a global trend toward enhanced audit transparency. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) in the United States has required engagement partner disclosure in audit reports since 2017. Similar requirements exist in the United Kingdom under the Financial Reporting Council’s audit standards, and Australia has had comparable transparency requirements for listed entities for several years.

The rationale is straightforward: audit quality is delivered at the individual partner level, not just at the firm level. By naming the engagement partner in the public report, stakeholders — including shareholders, lenders, regulators, and directors — can form their own views about the track record, expertise, and workload of the specific individual responsible. It also creates stronger personal accountability for audit quality.

For Singapore, where the audit profession is a cornerstone of financial reporting credibility and investor confidence, this change reinforces the country’s commitment to international best practices in corporate governance.

What Boards and Audit Committees Should Do Now

1. Confirm Updated Audit Report Templates Are in Place

The most immediate action for boards and audit committees is to confirm with your auditors that their audit report templates have been updated to comply with the named auditor requirement. This should be done before the next audit is signed. If your financial year ends on 31 December 2025, your audit report will be signed in 2026 and must comply.

2. Update Engagement Letters

Your auditors will typically update their standard engagement letters to confirm the name of the responsible engagement partner and to reflect the new reporting requirement. If you have not yet received an updated engagement letter, request one before the audit commences.

3. Consider the Named Partner as Part of Auditor Evaluation

With the engagement partner’s name now public, audit committees may wish to factor the named partner’s profile — including their experience, sector specialisation, and ACRA registration status — into their auditor evaluation and selection decisions. This is entirely appropriate and consistent with best practice in jurisdictions where named audit partner disclosure has been in place for years.

4. Update Board and AGM Documentation

The appointment or re-appointment of auditors is typically put to shareholders at the Annual General Meeting. The AGM notice and resolution may need minor updates to reflect the named auditor framework. Your company secretary can assist with updating the AGM documentation. For more on AGM requirements generally, see our practical guide to AGM requirements.

Implications for the Audit Profession

For registered public accountants in Singapore, being named as the engagement partner in a public document creates a new dimension of personal accountability. The named partner’s professional reputation is now more directly and publicly linked to the quality of each specific audit engagement.

This is likely to prompt greater attention to audit quality at the partner level, more careful partner workload management by accounting firms, and heightened scrutiny of engagement partner selection for sensitive or high-risk audits. Firms have already been updating their internal processes and client communications to reflect the change.

How This Fits Into the Broader CALA 2025 Framework

The named auditor requirement is one of several significant corporate governance changes that took effect under CALA 2025 on 6 May 2026. Other notable changes include:

For a comprehensive overview of CALA 2025 and its impact on directors and companies, see our CALA 2025 director’s guide.

These changes collectively signal Singapore’s continued commitment to raising corporate governance standards and aligning its framework with leading international practices. Directors should ensure they are familiar with the full scope of CALA 2025 changes and review their company’s compliance position accordingly. You can find key filing deadlines and compliance dates in our Singapore company compliance calendar.

Our Recommendation

If your company’s financial year has recently ended and your audit is pending, contact your auditors now to confirm that their report template complies with the CALA 2025 named auditor requirement. This is a simple administrative step that prevents last-minute complications when the report is ready for signing.

For audit committees undertaking their next formal auditor review, we recommend adding the named engagement partner’s profile to the evaluation criteria. In jurisdictions with longer experience of this requirement, the identity of the signing partner has increasingly become a material factor in auditor selection decisions.

For the latest Singapore business and corporate governance news, there are useful resources for directors and board members keeping pace with regulatory changes.

Beyond compliance, sound financial planning and investment decisions remain important considerations for business owners and directors.

If you need legal advice on your audit or corporate governance obligations, we can point you in the right direction.

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