SINGAPORE’S AUDITOR OVERSIGHT SYSTEM RECOGNISED AS EQUIVALENT TO EUROPEAN UNION’S

SINGAPORE, March 21 (Bernama) -- The European Commission (EU) has recognised
Singapore’s auditor oversight system as being equivalent to that of the European
Union (EU) member states.

In a statement, Singapore's Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority
(ACRA)said the republic is amongst the first batch of 10 countries, including
Australia, Canada and the United States, to gain this recognition.

The authority said the decision paves the way for audit regulators in
individual EU member states to establish cooperative arrangements with ACRA.

This is with a view to relying on its oversight of Singapore audit entities
that audit companies listed in the EU member states, rather than subject these
entities to separate oversight by the EU audit regulators.

ACRA chief executive Juthika Ramanathan,said:"This is a good
testament to the robustness of our regulatory framework being recognised by our
fellow regulators.

"Such cooperative arrangements between ACRA and the relevant EU member
states will minimise the duplication of oversight efforts and alleviate the
regulatory burden on our firms."