Startups & Business › Southeast Asia

ACRA

Singapore's company registry, and the filings it requires.

Also known as: ACRA, Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, BizFile

ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority) is Singapore’s company registry: incorporations, officer and share changes, and annual filings all run through it (via the BizFile portal). For founders it is mostly plumbing — but lapsed filings compound into penalties, struck-off risks and blocked fundraising exactly when clean records matter most.

rhythm:  incorporate → appoint officers/secretary → transact → file annual return + financials
         → update ACRA on every share/officer change, promptly

The corporate secretary (required) typically manages the calendar — use a competent one and actually read their reminders. Annual general meetings, annual returns and financial-statement filings have statutory timelines; “the secretary handles it” works only if someone verifies they did.

The classic mistakes:

• Share changes filed late or never. Grants, transfers and conversions updated “at the next round” create cap-table archaeology under diligence pressure. File promptly, every time (cap table).
• Ignoring audit thresholds. Smaller companies may be audit-exempt; crossing thresholds triggers audit obligations founders discover mid-fundraise. Know your status yearly.
• Officer details stale. Resigned directors still listed, new ones missing — discovered by every bank, investor and partner doing checks. Update with changes, not annually.
• Assuming ACRA equals tax. Corporate registry compliance and IRAS tax compliance are separate obligations with separate calendars. Both need owners.

Treat ACRA hygiene like bookkeeping: current within weeks, reviewed quarterly, fundraise-ready always. Boring compliance is the cheapest kind.