Singapore Auditors Wanted: Regulator Seeks Changes to Rules

(Bloomberg) -- The Singapore exchange wants all listed companies to appoint locally registered auditors, about a year after it signaled its plans to overhaul accounting oversight.

The regulatory arm of Singapore Exchange Ltd. has launched a month-long consultation on requiring firms to appoint an auditor registered with the country’s accounting regulatory body, according to a statement. The exchange is also seeking powers to appoint an additional auditor in some cases.

Singapore’s regulators have faced criticism of how they handled the collapse of commodity trader Noble Group Ltd., which has been under fire following accusations of improper accounting. The exchange had previously highlighted the changes to its accounting oversight early last year.

The proposed changes “will increase the accountability of auditors and improve investor confidence in audits,” Tan Boon Gin, head of Singapore Exchange Regulation, said in the statement.

Non-Singaporean firms traded in the country will also need an auditor registered in the city-state.

The exchange also wants to raise the reporting standards of property valuation by listed companies, and proposed the following changes:

• Valuers should be independent of issuers, and must have at least five years’ relevant experience in conducting valuations
• Valuers should be members of the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers or a similar professional body in their home jurisdiction
• All issuers and listing applicants should comply with SISV standards for domestic property valuation, and SISV or International Valuation Standards for overseas properties

To contact the reporter on this story: Ishika Mookerjee in Singapore at imookerjee@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lianting Tu at ltu4@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen

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