Importance Of Checking A Singapore Registered Company
Importance Of Verifying A
Singapore Registered Company
It’s always important to do your homework before connecting with a product supplier, merging your business with a company, or possibly entering into a business partnership. Before retrieving more details like the company’s background, statutory compliance status, and past credit score, you can begin with their company registration number for a start. The information you obtain as a result later should provide you with clarity of the company’s information as well as its business integrity as a whole. This will help you protect your business from scams, financial fraud, and unreliable partners.
This blog offers a brief how-to for checking and verifying a Singapore-registered company. One may find their Singapore business registration number, company’s vital information, and key details by conducting a search based on the company name.
Why should you verify Singapore-registered company information
It is always a good habit to navigate trust credibility by conducting an extensive background check along with verification of a company’s history and other legalities.
Hasty partnerships with any company can have terrible consequences, including loss of money, resources, and time to recover from serious damages to your business image. In addition, if a company’s information is not properly or adequately verified, you risk trusting incorrect information and may become a victim of dishonest partners.
This is why before concluding a deal or finalizing an agreement with a company, it is important to double-check with credible sources in order to protect your business in every aspect.
By verifying with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in Singapore, one could easily find out the company’s integrity, background, and financial statements. All this reliable and credible information can help you make a smart business decision.
How to Check a Singapore Registered Company in 4 simple steps
Step 1
Visit the ACRA’s free online directory search platform’s official website
Step 2
Enter the name of the business you want to verify.
Step 3
You will be required to authenticate your digital entry by proving yourself that you are not a bot by using the CAPTCHA form (an anti-spam technology).
Step 4
Next, you will receive the company’s information with the following details :
- Name, address, type of business, and Unique Entity Number (UEN). This information helps to ensure that the company is not registered with a fictitious or incorrect address.
- The company’s current status of business whether it is still existing or ceased.
- The date of the last day for filing the company’s Annual Return, as well as the fiscal year-end.
- The date of the most recent Annual General Meeting (AGM) that took place.
- The company’s compliance history is represented by the compliance rating.
- Dates on which Financial Statements (FS) were filed except for Solvent Exempt Private Companies, Dormant Exempt Private Companies (which are dormant since the date of incorporation), Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships and Limited Liability Partnerships which are exempted.
What type of company information matters most?
Company operational status
The operational status of a company is a measure that shows whether it is still in operation or has ceased. Failure to update company status on a regular basis could be a red flag for registered businesses. Something to take note of, if the company is still operating, it will be reflected as “live” in the status.
Legitimate address of the Company
A genuine and valid registered business address is particularly helpful when verifying a company because a questionable or outdated address would immediately trigger a warning sign. Always ensure that their address is not just a mailbox but a legitimate one.
Annual Returns of the Company
According to the Singapore Companies Act, every company must file an annual report to ACRA within 30 days of the annual general meeting with the shareholders.
Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company
A mandatory yearly meeting of interested shareholders is termed an Annual General Meeting (AGM). However, some private companies can skip holding AGMs if they can provide their members with their financial statements within five months after the end of the fiscal year. Always look out for the date of the latest AGM held by a public company and it shouldn’t be more than a year.
Financial Statements of the Company
The company’s well-completed financial statements are important and as a rule of thumb, they generally indicate whether or not it has complied with all requirements and are sent to ACRA.
Conclusion
When you think about it, company verification is a double-edged sword. The same may apply to you for others to verify your company. Having that said, the best way forward is to protect your business image by maintaining a spotless compliance record. So, speak to our expert to do the due diligence today.