A Singapore company can change its financial year end (FYE) through ACRA's Bizfile portal. For local companies, the change can only apply to the current or immediately preceding financial year, provided the relevant statutory deadlines have not been missed.
There is no ACRA filing fee for changing the FYE. Changes that do not require approval take effect immediately, while applications requiring ACRA approval can take up to 14 working days.
When can a company change its FYE?
A company may change its FYE for its current or immediately previous financial year.
However, ACRA does not allow the change if the company has already missed the applicable deadline for:
- Holding its Annual General Meeting (AGM);
- Filing its Annual Return; or
- Sending financial statements to its members.
The company should therefore check its existing compliance deadlines before deciding on a revised FYE.
If you are choosing an FYE for a newly incorporated company, rather than changing an existing one, see our guide to choosing a financial year end.
When is ACRA approval required?
Not every FYE change requires ACRA's approval.
| ACRA approval | Situation |
|---|---|
| Not required | Revised financial year is 18 months or shorter, and the repeat-change restriction does not apply. |
| Required | Revised financial year exceeds 18 months. |
| Required | The company changed its FYE on or after 31 August 2018 and wants to change it again within five years from the end of the previously changed financial year. |
Where approval is required, the company must provide a supporting document explaining the reason for the proposed change.
For changes that do not require approval, the revised FYE is updated immediately upon successful submission. Applications requiring approval may take up to 14 working days.
How to change your FYE through Bizfile
The change can be filed by an authorised company position holder or through an appointed Corporate Service Provider (CSP).
Before starting, prepare the company's UEN, proposed FYE date and resulting financial-year period. If ACRA approval is required, prepare a PDF explaining the reason for the change.
- Step 1: Log in to Bizfile. Visit ACRA Bizfile and select Business User to log in through Corppass. Confirm that the correct company is selected on the dashboard.
- Step 2: Locate the FYE change service. From the main navigation menu, select Manage → Local company → Update change of financial year end date. Click Start to begin.
- Step 3: Enter the revised FYE. Enter the proposed financial year-end date and select the applicable financial-year period, such as a 12-month or 52-week accounting period. Review the resulting financial period before proceeding.
- Step 4: Provide supporting documents, if required. If the proposed change requires ACRA approval, upload a PDF explaining the reason. ACRA requires supporting document filenames to exclude spaces, special characters and foreign-language characters.
- Step 5: Review and submit. Confirm the information and submit the application. Where no approval is required, the new FYE takes effect immediately. Otherwise, ACRA will review the application, and the updated FYE will be reflected in Bizfile upon approval. A notification will also be available in the company's Bizfile inbox.
What happens after changing the FYE?
Changing the FYE affects the company's accounting period and its annual compliance deadlines.
For a non-listed Singapore company, the usual deadlines include:
| Requirement | Deadline |
|---|---|
| AGM, where required | Within 6 months after FYE |
| Annual Return | Within 7 months after FYE for a non-listed company, or 8 months where the overseas branch-register exception applies |
| ECI (if required) | Within 3 months after FYE |
The revised financial period can also affect the company's corporate income tax basis period and Year of Assessment.
The company should update its accounting and compliance records accordingly, and ensure its accountant, company secretary and auditor (where applicable) are working with the revised FYE.
Can a company change its FYE to extend its filing deadlines?
An FYE change is not the same as an extension of time.
Changing the FYE alters the company's accounting period, whereas an extension of time provides additional time for a particular statutory obligation.
If the company has already missed the applicable AGM, Annual Return or financial-statement-sending deadline, it cannot use an FYE change to work around that deadline.
Where the existing FYE is correct but additional filing time is needed, the company should consider the applicable extension-of-time procedure instead.
Official reference: ACRA: Updating changes to your financial year end (FYE).
Need help changing your company's FYE?
We can assist with reviewing the proposed FYE, preparing the relevant corporate documentation and submitting the change to ACRA.
If you need assistance, please contact us. We will be happy to help.
