Peace of Mind for a Foreign Company

A Canadian listed company set up its Asian Sales and Marketing branch office in Singapore with 2 headcount – the Regional Sales Director and one salesperson, both of whom want to focus just on sales and marketing. They do not want to be bothered with something they do not know - cash flow management as well as accounting or statutory reporting issues.

The head office wants the peace of mind to ensure the far-away branch is financially healthy, and that reporting is promptly & professionally attended to. Given their local setup and needs, they decided that outsourcing is a more viable option than setting up their own accounting department.

They appointed AccountServe to serve as its accounting and finance department in Singapore. AccountServe assisted in the setup of the branch and conversion later to a private limited company. AccountServe has been and is still taking care of the routine accounting and administration functions:

Initial Setup

1. Assistance in registering the Singapore branch and subsequent incorporation process
2. Documentation and liaison with Head office in setting up bank account with the provision of independent (managerial level) authorised bank signatories
3. Design of documents, e.g. sales invoices, payment vouchers, etc
4. Set up of payroll system, including registration with the Central Provident Fund ("CPF")
5. Set up of reporting format after understanding the reporting requirements of the Head Office
6. Documentation of standard operating procedures (SOP) for various transactions (e.g. disbursement of funds, issuance of invoices, collection of debts, routine reporting)

Routine duties

1. Raise purchase orders and corresponding sales invoices
2. Liaise with suppliers on the delivery of goods
3. Manage cash flow
4. Handle remittances & process disbursements
5. Produce monthly statement of accounts and follow up on outstanding debts
6. Submit regular reporting to Head office
7. Process monthly payroll and ensure compliance with CPF regulations
8. Attend to Goods and Services Tax compliance and filing
9. Attend to statutory audit, corporate tax compliance and statutory filing

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