Singapore is a country where taxes are significantly low. It has a free economy and it strategizes on policies that are investor-friendly. But in the last few decades, the businesses in Singapore have increased. That has led to an increased requirement for bookkeeping and accounting services. It also raised a demand for outsourcing accounting services.
What does it mean by accounting services in Singapore?
Accounting services in Singapore play a very significant role in helping the economy grow and succeed in Singapore. Accounting companies in Singapore have been thriving and there are over 500,000 companies under the same domain. Accounting and bookkeeping services in Singapore help you with professional bookkeeping and accounting services for businesses in Singapore.
But these services don’t provide only bookkeeping and accounting services in Singapore. These services also include GST filing, running an internal audit, running corporate finance, management of finances, and more.
Types of Accounting Services:
With the changing businesses, the requirements for the management of financial matters also change. For businesses that are in their early stages, bookkeeping ensures that their financial matters are handled well. But as the businesses scale, they require advanced management of the finances.
The accounting services that you receive in Singapore vary greatly. Therefore, the accounting firms in Singapore categorize accounting services in these categories:
- Cloud-based accounting
- Bookkeeping and Statutory Compliances
- Internal Audit
- Financial Accounts
- Part-time and full-time accounting
- Corporate Accounting Services
- Cost Accounting
Singapore Accounting Services Functions:
The client requirements keep changing with the changing businesses and accounting policies. Therefore, Accounting Services in Singapore change from time to time.
Management of Human Resources:
Accounting services play a huge role in the optimization of human capital costs and planning. This includes processing the payroll, processing the leave application, managing the employee database and employee claims.
Financial Management:
Financial management includes the preparation of financial statements. These financial statements include balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements. A certified public accountant in Singapore helps with the following:
- Supply and procurement of materials
- Receivables and payables
- Order management for customer and supplier
- Processing the bills and invoices
- Overall billing
Management for Customer Servicing:
Accounting firms in Singapore provide value-added services that include:
- Internal audit run for unaudited financial results
- Sales management that includes the management of customer relationship
- Management of inventory and assistance with reducing the cost for inventory carrying.
- Management of assets and their optimization.
Tax Filing and Management:
If a company is registered with Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in Singapore, has to follow IRAS tax requirements. It is a regulatory body based in Singapore. The companies must change their policies according to the changing laws at ACRA. They offer services like:
- Annual tax return filing
- Assistance and advice for filing for estimated chargeable income
- Preparing and submitting corporate tax calculations.
- Application for waiving and clearing taxes.
- Attending the queries of IRAS.
Management of GST:
If a company has a turnover of or more than $1 million, then they have to GST register their company in Singapore.
Factors that help you find the right accounting services:
There are multiple accounting firms in Singapore and it is a daunting task to find the right one. Hence, we have found a list of factors that help you find the right accounting services in Singapore. They are as follows:
- The cost incurred on the outsourcing
- Reliability and trustworthy
- Reputation and company’s integrity
- The level of digital transformation in their firm
- Experiences, qualification, and their certificates
- Firm’s referrals
- Clients they have worked with so far.
- Their market presence and existence.
Advantages of Accounting Services in Singapore:
When a company outsources accounting services, they can reap following advantages:
Reduced expenditure:
Price of outsourcing accounting services in Singapore can save you a huge amount of money. When a company recruits an inhouse accountant, the employee cost generally goes up for the company. The cost remains fixed and there is no way to reduce it. But having an outsourced accountant can reduce these costs significantly.
Time optimization:
We all know that running a business can be a tiresome thing. When accounting services for a small business in Singapore are concerned, it takes a lot of time. This is because when a company is a startup, the staff is usually small. And everyone shares the responsibility. Therefore, when you outsource Singapore accounting services, you can focus on your core business.
Experienced professionals with expertise:
Sometimes when an accountant is hired inhouse, they may or may not have all the information about the government policies. They may not know about regulatory compliances. But outsourcing Singapore accounting services may provide you with experts who handle all types of accounts daily. The experienced professionals work with your accounts and keep it in top condition.
Reduced stress:
When you hire an inhouse accountant, you may have to spend a lot of time finding the right candidate. Also, this may increase the cost on the company. While outsourcing the accounting and bookkeeping services in Singapore may result into less stress over finding the right professional.
Access to updated policies:
A certified public accountant in Singapore who works on contract or freelance basis generally know more than an inhouse accountant. As an entrepreneur, you can also keep up with the regular updates in the policies, rules and regulations. This helps you avoid penalties in the long run.
Regular assistance:
When you outsource accounting services in Singapore, you can also choose to have other services. These may include audits, financial analysis at regular intervals, GST plans, and tax planning. You can either find out the packages which may cover these services or get a custom plan.
Conclusion:
When you restructure the functions of the organization, the business tends to succeed. This is equally applicable for the accounting services in Singapore.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How is bookkeeping different from accounting?
Bookkeeping focuses heavily on maintaining the financial transactions in a systematic way. On the other hand, accounting provides strategy and analysis for short and long term decision making process. Accounting basically offers an insight into the financial state of the company. Basically bookkeeping is the subset of accounting.
What is the price of accounting services?
As far as accounting services in Singapore are concerned, the cost packages are generally transparent. This means that it does not include any hidden costs.
Accounting is a tedious job therefore accounting professionals work in a way that saves time and cost. If you are working with an outsourced accounting professional, the charges may vary. But, if you work with accounting service agency, the package costs may vary.
How can you outsource the accounting services?
A businessman can look for automated accounting service in Singapore. The accounting firms in Singapore work with various software applications that help with accounting. In that case, you can contact your agency or your professional if you run into problems.
Moreover, every agency works in a different way. Their packages and costs may vary. Hence, you have to find out the cost and services that suit your company’s budget.
Bestar Services is based in Singapore that offers various accounting services for companies based in Singapore. We are one-stop solution for all your accounting concerns and requirements.