Audit Services

Overview

Our mission is to help businesses enhance financial transparency, strengthen management efficiency, and ensure compliance with Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRS) and local regulatory requirements. Our audit services cover all types of company structures—from SMEs to multinational groups—delivering forward-looking and compliant professional support.

We have extensive experience serving clients in:
Trading, Shipping & Logistics, Investment Holding, Real Estate Development, Variable Capital Companies (VCCs), Fund Management, and Family Offices.

Statutory Annual Audit

All foreign-invested enterprises registered in mainland China must undergo a statutory audit of their annual financial statements after the end of each statutory fiscal year (i.e., December 31). This audit must be performed by an independent accounting firm with Chinese practice qualifications and a Chinese Certified Public Accountant (CPA). Internal compliance audits or reports issued by overseas audit firms engaged by the overseas parent company cannot legally replace the statutory audit requirements in China.

Core Uses and Compliance Period

The annual statutory audit report is a mandatory prerequisite for foreign-invested enterprises to complete several core compliance declarations for the following year:

Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Annual Settlement: Enterprises must file their annual tax return with the competent tax authority before May 31st of the following year. In many regions’ tax practices (especially for large and medium-sized enterprises with loss carry-forwards, significant losses incurred in the current year, or reaching specific turnover thresholds), tax bureaus usually require enterprises to attach an annual audit report issued by a CPA.
Joint Annual Report Disclosure by Multiple Departments: Enterprises must submit a comprehensive annual report to the market supervision, Ministry of Commerce, State Administration of Foreign Exchange, and Customs departments through the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System between January 1st and June 30th of the following year. When filling in the core financial and operational data, audited financial statements must be used.

Prerequisites for profit remittance (dividends)

For foreign-invested enterprises, statutory audits are not only an administrative compliance requirement but also a crucial step in foreign exchange compliance. If an enterprise wants to legally remit its current or cumulative net profit as dividends to a foreign investor (parent company) overseas, it must provide the handling bank with an annual financial audit report issued by a Chinese CPA and related profit distribution resolutions to prove that the enterprise has made up for previous years’ losses, legally withdrawn statutory reserves, and paid taxes in full.

Compliant with Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS)

China’s statutory financial audits must be strictly based on Chinese Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises (CAS). This means that even if the overseas parent company of a foreign-invested enterprise uses International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) when consolidating global financial statements, the accounting treatment and statutory audit reports of its Chinese subsidiaries must comply with CAS requirements.

Why Choose MSMC ASIA

Deep understanding of Southeast Asia’s regulatory environment
ACRA-registered professional accountants
Comprehensive knowledge of Companies Act amendments and SFRS
One-stop professional services: Audit, Tax, Accounting, Legal
Dedicated to compliance and growth for Chinese and regional enterprises
Proven expertise across Trading, Shipping, Investment, Real Estate Development, and VCC structures

Kindly contact us to explore tax planning solutions designed to support your business goals.

MSMC ASIA

#19-06 160 Robinson Rd, SBF Center, Singapore 068914