Much Ado About ACRA Annual Returns For A Startup

Startups usually have a bunch of tech and business people who are usually clueless about accounting, and even if they do, the rules and regulations involving the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority Singapore (ACRA) might baffle them.

Here, co-founder of local company Bloomerang, the team behind bloomerHang® – completely biodegradable and recyclable cardboard clothing hangers with advertising on them – Wong Joon Ian talks about his experiences trying to file his annual returns and provides a case study for other startups. (You can also check out our interview with him.)

Joon Ian writes…

A few months ago we got a bunch of letters and e-mails from the government and our corporate secretary telling us it was time to get our accounts in order and submit our annual returns for the year. After a mad dash for our old receipts and phone calls to friends with accounting degrees, we thought it was all over.

But a coffee last night with another start-up-running pal revealed something shocking: We didn’t need to submit our accounts at all! At least, that’s what our friend told me.

When the issue first came up last year, we got conflicting answers to our questions from our corporate secretary, ACRA and online. So I started re-investigating the matter today.

Do we have to file our annual returns?

The first page I hit at the ACRA site was this, which seems to state very clearly that we had to file our annual return and accounts:

p style=”padding-left: 30px”>All locally incorporated companies are required to hold their Annual General Meeting (AGM) and file their annual returns under S175, S197 and S201 of the Companies Act.

At the AGM, directors shall present a true and fair view of the company’s accounts to their shareholders.

But…how about being an EPC?

Then I scrolled to the bottom of the page and follow the link to ‘Filing Requirements’. This page talks about something called an EPC — exempt private company. This sounds promising.

What is an Exempt Private Company (EPC)?