Financial reporting duties for directors
Understand your legal duties for financial reporting as a company director. Get practical guidance on meeting your duties under the Companies Act.
Last updated 29 January 2026
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Your legal duties
Under sections 201(2) and 201(5) of the Companies Act, all company directors must:
Present financial statements that comply with prescribed accounting standards
Ensure financial statements give a true and fair view of your company's performance and position
Check the Directors’ Guide to the Financial Reporting Surveillance Programme (FRSP) for more details on your legal duties. These apply to all directors, regardless of your role or financial expertise.
How to meet your financial reporting duties
This guide covers key financial reporting duties. It does not include all director responsibilities under the Companies Act and related laws. When in doubt, seek legal advice.
Review financial statements carefully before authorising for issuance
Read and understand the financial statements.
Even if you are not an accounting expert, you should:
Challenge accounting treatments that do not match your understanding of the substance of the transaction
Apply professional scepticism (critically evaluate management’s judgements and estimates rather than accepting them without question)
Ensure that the financial information is clear, complete and reflects the entity’s performance and position
Acquire basic financial knowledge
You do not need to be an accounting expert, but you should have sufficient and up-to-date knowledge of accounting principles and practices. You need these to perform an effective high-level review of your financial statements.
If you need to build your knowledge:
Attend training courses
Get professional advice
Appoint the right senior management
Make sure your senior management has the right skills and experience. This includes your chief executive officer (CEO) and chief financial officer (CFO).
For companies listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX): Under the Code of Corporate Governance 2018, you should comment in the annual report on whether you have received assurance from your CEO and CFO that:
Financial records are properly maintained;
Financial statements give a true and fair view; and
Risk management and internal controls are adequate and effective.
Build a robust finance team
Your finance team should be made up of qualified and competent accountants. They should receive regular training on financial reporting developments.
Make sure they have enough resources to prepare good-quality financial statements.
Get external help when needed
You can:
Seek professional accounting advice
Outsource record-keeping and financial statement preparation to professional accounting service providers
Important points to note:
Directors remain legally responsible for financial statements, even when using external help.
Make sure the people you hire are qualified and knowledgeable.
Check that the advice from external parties is objective and unbiased.
Work effectively with auditors
Independent auditors are required to share key findings in the financial statements before they issue their report.
As a director, you should:
Resolve issues amicably
Seek help when necessary
Form your own opinion rather than relying entirely on auditors
Maintain internal controls and records
Records can be maintained in-house or outsourced. Either way, you need to make sure your management team:
Adopts appropriate accounting policies
Designs and implements appropriate internal control systems and processes
Maintains complete and accurate accounting and other records
Financial Reporting Practice Guidance
ACRA publishes guidance on the FRSP's review focus each year. This helps you:
Identify risks of misstatements in financial statements
Better meet the information needs of investors and other users of financial statements