Singapore sets December start for public accountants’ expert rules
ACRA’s revised code adds external-expert engagement and suitability checks for Singapore public accountants and accounting entities.
Singapore’s Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority has announced revised ethics rules for public accountants using external experts, with new requirements taking effect on 15 December 2026.
The changes add Section 390 to the professional conduct and ethics code. They address how accountants engage outside specialists and assess whether those specialists have the expertise, resources and objectivity needed for the work.
ACRA announced the revision on 16 October, following publication of the amending order in the Government Gazette on 15 October. The changes adopt an international ethics pronouncement issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants and published in January 2025.
For accounting practices, the rules connect the decision to use an expert with specific engagement and evaluation duties. Where laws, regulations or other professional standards have not already addressed the matter, the accountant must agree what work the expert will undertake, its boundaries and its purpose.
Audit, review and other assurance engagements carry additional requirements. The terms must provide for written information that helps the accountant assess the expert’s objectivity, together with a commitment to report relevant changes through the issuance of the assurance report.
Accountants must also assess the expert’s competence, ability to perform the assignment and objectivity. Relevant considerations include experience suited to the work and sufficient time to carry it out. The assessment of objectivity addresses influences such as bias, conflicts of interest or undue reliance on others that could affect professional judgment.
The section concerns external expertise used in a professional service. It does not apply to experts hired by a client to help prepare its information, subcontractors working under the accountant’s direction and review, or general-use information sources such as industry datasets.
The Code’s accompanying guidance identifies further matters an accountant may discuss when agreeing an expert’s engagement: the intended use and timing of the work, confidentiality, fees, and the form of the completed assessment. This includes how the expert presents assumptions and limitations in the work supplied.
Source: ACRA’s 16 October 2026 announcement and Government Gazette Order S 775/2026.
