Companies urged to raise quality of financial reporting

Companies urged to raise quality of financial reporting

    POSTED: 14 Aug 2013 11:22 PM
 
Companies need to take greater ownership over their financial statements and raise the quality of financial reporting. That is the conclusion following a survey conducted by ACRA and ACCA this year.

SINGAPORE: Companies need to take greater ownership over their financial statements and raise the quality of financial reporting.

That is the conclusion following a survey conducted by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) this year.

About half of the 400 accountants surveyed appeared to put the main responsibility for the preparation of financial statements on auditors.

Speaking at the Public Accountants Conference on Wednesday, Minister of State for Finance Josephine Teo said this suggests that poor preparation of financial statements stems from the lack of ownership of the quality of financial reporting by companies.

According to measures identified in the survey, companies should put greater emphasis on developing the resources needed for effective financial reporting. These include bringing on board qualified accountants, enhancing training and implementing suitable IT systems.

Meanwhile, ACRA is studying ways to further strengthen financial reporting.

These include making key office holders like CEOs and CFOs of listed companies legally liable for their companies' financial reports.

Currently, only directors have legal responsibility for the companies' financial statements.

Mrs Teo said: "The top management of a company has to set the tone right. They must also take ownership of putting in place the right systems and people to enable the preparation of accurate financial statements.

"High-quality financial reporting is part and parcel of good governance and is key to maintaining Singapore's competitive advantage as a trusted business environment."

- CNA/ms

- wong chee tat :)