When You Should Hire an Accountant?
An accountant can help a business in Singapore to keep track of its daily transactions. With an accurate and consistent accounting record, your business can flourish without having to face problems that will arise from accounting errors. While having an internal accountant may not be possible for all businesses, there is always the option of outsourcing your accounting needs.
Here are a few situations where you should consider hiring an external accountant in Singapore.
Mistakes in Accounts
While such double entry mistakes are easily apparent to an accountant, they may be hard to spot for someone without prior accounting knowledge (Also see Differences Between Accounting and Bookkeeping). Failure to have accurate accounting records may result in an adverse impact on the business, as the owner may not be able to make informed business decisions.
To ensure that your accounting records are accurate, you should certainly consider hiring an accountant to help you. A dedicated accountant can help to resolve your accounting errors and ensure that your records are accurate, with proper documentation. That will greatly assist the business owner in coming up with strategic plans for the future of the business, as they can have a better idea of the firm’s financial accounts.
When Your Accounts Do Not Comply with the Regulations
While mistakes in accounts may affect the future of the business, the more urgent matter will be how keeping inaccurate accounts are against accounting regulations in Singapore. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) have made it compulsory for all businesses in Singapore to keep proper accounting records.
Inaccurate accounting records may result in the understatement or overstatement of expenses (Also see What are Ordinary & Necessary Business Expenses?) in the tax returns. Although you may consider yourself voluntarily compliant with the tax return laws, you may still be convicted under the Income Tax Act for filing incorrect tax returns. While you can try to resolve the problem via IRAS’s Voluntary Disclosure Programme, hiring an experienced accountant will prevent such problems from occurring at all.
Pending Audit
An audit by audit firms appointed by various authorities may occur if your financial reports have significant errors, or if you did not provide the required tax documents. Regardless of the reason for the audit, the investigations on your financial records will likely still be threatening and result in harsh penalties.
An external accounting firm in Singapore can then provide services to ensure that the audit can pass smoothly, or even help to reduce the possibility of your business being audited. With the aid of a knowledgeable accountant, you can understand the forms required for taxation purposes and ensure that the minute accounting details are correct.
Looking for Investment
Investments can help a business to fulfil its goals due to the increased amount of funds available. Investors will likely be more interested in businesses that provide precise and transparent accounting information, as the business will seem like a better investment opportunity. Having an accurate accounting record will also help business owners to craft a more compelling business plan to appeal to potential investors.
Finding an accountant that can provide the accounting services in Singapore will help your business resolve or even prevent the above situations from happening.