About the Accounting Standards Committee
The Accounting Standards Act was passed in Parliament on 27 Aug 2007 and came into effect on 1 Nov 2007. With the enactment of the Accounting Standards Act 2007, the Accounting Standards Council (the Council) took over the task of making or formulating accounting standards for companies from the Council on Corporate Disclosure and Governance (CCDG). In addition, the Council was responsible for the making or formulation of accounting standards for charities, co-operative societies and societies. The creation of the Council was a positive step towards ensuring consistency in accounting standards, facilitating comparison of financial statements between different entities and enhancing the credibility and transparency of financial reporting.
With the passing of the Accountancy Functions (Consolidation) Act 2022, the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), the Council, and the Singapore Accountancy Commission merged under one entity (ACRA) with effect from 1 April 2023. The Act conferred the function of making or formulation of accounting standards for companies, charities, co-operative societies and societies on ACRA and reconstituted the Council as the Accounting Standards Committee (ASC) under ACRA, to continue performing the function of making or formulation of accounting standards in the same way as the Council had done. The Act also provided for any accounting standards made or formulated or deemed to have been made or formulated, and any practice directions issued or deemed to have been issued, by the Council before 1 April 2023, and which have not been revoked before that date, to continue in force after that date as if made or formulated or issued by the ASC after that date. The merger would strengthen the effectiveness of regulation, standard-setting, and sector development by harnessing synergies across complementary functions, and strengthen ACRA's ability to develop and manage talent in a sustained manner.