EMPLOYERS received good news on (12/10) Tuesday, not just a six-month extension of Jobs Credit but also more goodies that await them in next year's Budget.

The upcoming offerings are aimed at helping companies boost productivity and devise better ways to do business to bolster Singapore's efforts to transform and grow its economy.

Singapore Prime Minister made the promise on Tuesday when he also said that companies which spur job creation over the medium to longer term will be rewarded.

He did not elaborate on the new incentives in his 45-minute speech at a labour movement conference, but identified broadly the critical steps that needed to be taken for Singapore's post-recession economy.

"We have to pursue higher productivity and build better capability, and move workers from less competitive businesses into newer, expanding ones."

According to Company Act Every business and company is required to keep proper books of account. Bookkeeping may appear as insignificant recording of historical financial transaction of a company but when it is managed by professionals the historical records will provide greater insight for sound decision making and efficient financial management.

Rikvin provides full spectrum of accounting services for companies that wish to outsource their Bookkeeping function

How it works

We assign a competent accounts manager for you. The accounts manager captures the nature of your business and accounting requirements.

On a regular periodical basis, send us your financial paper works such as, sales orders, purchase orders, expense notes, bank statements, etc. We can also pick up the paper works. Alternatively, you can also scan them into our document management system for us to process them.

Your dedicated accounts manager will reviews, organizes and compiles the reports and also monitors compliance issues, generates management reports, Compilation of Financial Statements in compliance with Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) for statutory filing, and work with you to ensure you are receiving and understanding your accounts information.

Our services address the following aspects of accounting function

• General Ledger Maintenance
• Accounts Payable Ledger Maintenance
• Accounts Receivable Maintenance
• Bank Reconciliation
• Fixed Assets Ledger Maintenance
• Cash Flow / Budgeting
• Financial Statements & Reports Monthly, Quarterly, Year-End Review
• Books Cleanup
• Management Reporting
• Financial Analysis

Rikvin Client Profiles

Because every business  is different, we take time to understand you and your company so that we can respond with precision and care to the needs of your business. Over the years, we have developed flexible ways of working with our clients as the short (fictionalized) profiles below illustrate:

Profile 1 - Call Private (Southeast Asia) Pte Ltd.

Call Private (Southeast Asia) Pte Ltd is a company focusing on mobile communications privacy. Their Finnish HQ requires weekly numbers, segregated by country.

The regional head Mr. Valentin Särkkä chose to engage Rikvin’s Accounting Agent service. Under the arrangement Rikvin collects documents every Monday morning from the company’s office in Republic Plaza. By Wednesday morning draft accounting reports for the preceeding week are ready including Income Statement by country. Once every quarter, financial statements for the quarter are generated along with the Goods & Services Tax (GST) schedule. On Mr Särkkä's approval Rikvin submits the GST return to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) on behalf of the company.

As per the request of the company the documents are safe kept by Rikvin and at the end of the year handed over to the auditor along with the annual financial statements. Rikvin then works closely with the audit firm to answer queries that come up.

Profile 2 - Just Beatz Pte. Ltd.

Just Beatz Pte. Ltd.  is a talent management firm started by a group of three enterprising individuals from Singapore. The business has experienced significant fluctuation in activity in the first few months of existence. Rikvin provides a monthly accounting service for the company that is priced based on how active the company was in the preceeding month. At the end of the year Rikvin’s friendly accountant Mr. James Konan who by now has developed a strong relationship with the partners spotted a potential tax saving by structuring Directors remuneration and suggested a consultation with Rikvin’s in-house tax experts to work out the numbers.

Once the numbers were finalized based on the most favorable scenario,  the Directors Report & Annual General Meeting (AGM) was prepared by Rikvin's professionals and sent for the signing of the partners. The signed documents were then submitted to the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the official acknowledgement of submission sent to the partners.

The Singapore Companies Act allows the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) to strike off the company Register, if there is reasonable cause to believe that a company has ceased operation.

The followings conditions must be met before the striking off process can be considered:

• The company has ceased operation
• The company is not and will not be involved in any court proceedings, whether in or outside Singapore
• The company has no assets and liabilities
• The company has no outstanding amount owing to any government departments.
• The company has file all its accounts up to date, if any with inland revenue

The entire striking off process will therefore take about 5 months.

• Tax Senior
• Accountant

Wages and salary payment with several intriguing components such as fringe benefits, allowances, deductions, government remittance etc has become such a complex task that if managed internally it becomes a burden on your company’s most valuable resources. Rikvin provides efficient Payroll process Management services to relieve you of this burden.

We provide highly customized Payroll Process Outsourcing Solutions. Our Payroll Experts are fully trained and equipped with the right system to process multiple clients with varied complexity.

By outsourcing the Payroll process to us you can rest assured that the government remittances such as CPF are paid on time, tax filing requirements are adhered to, and the payroll information is kept confidential offsite. With Rikvin handling your Payroll process, you can focus on your core business.

Why choose us?

• Efficient & Knowledgeable team
• Competitive pricing
• Data Security
• Scalable

Our services include:

• Salary Calculation based on requirements. i.e. weekly, bi- weekly, monthly
• Salary credit into employees accounts thru cheque or bank transfer.
• Central Provident Funds (CPF) Registration and Monthly timely Payment
• Issuing of IR8A for personal Tax including annual statutory returns

Rikvin's SOS Accounting team is equipped to assist in non-routine accounting work where speed is of essence.

We can help:

• Expedite preparation of financial statements to meet deadlines with tax authorities.
• Bring up to date accounting backlogs.
• Handle "messy" accounts.
• Provide experienced staff to help with crisis situations such as a key person leaving.

Personal Income Tax

Singapore’s Personal Income Tax structure is one of the most friendly and competitive one in the region. Personal income tax is payable annually on a preceding year basis. All income generated by an individual in Singapore is subject to tax. Barring a few exception, income generated overseas are not subject to Tax.

Overseas income received in Singapore is not taxable. This does not apply to overseas income received in Singapore through partnerships in Singapore.

Residency of Tax Payer

Tax rates differ on the basis of the residency of the tax payer. For the purpose of taxation an individual is deemed to be a resident for a particular Year of Assessment (YA) if he/she is

• A Singaporean/Singapore Permanent Resident who has established permanent home in Singapore
• A foreigner who, has stayed/worked (but not in the capacity of company director) in Singapore for 183 days or more, in the year preceding the YA

All others are treated as Non-residents.

Tax Rate for Resident Individuals

Resident Tax rates follow a progressive pattern where the rate ranges from 0%-20%. The maximum tax rate, for income above S$320,000, has been reduced over time and has reached the present rate of 20% since YA 2007.

Chargeable income is derived after deducting from the total income, all expenses, donations, and personal reliefs. Personal tax relief, subject to conditions, includes support of dependents, course fees paid for attending academic and professional courses and premiums paid on life insurance policies. For YA 2009, a personal income tax rebate of 20%, up to a maximum of $2,000 has been granted.

Tax Rates for Non – Resident individuals

The income of Non-Resident individuals is taxed at a flat rate of 15% or at the resident tax rates whichever results in higher tax amount. Non residents are not entitled to tax relief. Director fees, consultant fees and all other incomes are taxed at 20%.

A Non-resident is exempted from tax if the income derived is from a short-term employment for 60 days or less. However this rule does not apply if you are a director of a company, a public entertainer or exercising a profession in Singapore. Professionals include foreign experts, foreign speakers, queen's counsels, consultants, trainers, coaches etc.

Rikvin offers

• Advisory services on personal tax planning double taxation and reliefs claimable.
• Personal tax computation & filing services (Form B1/Form B/ Form M/E-Filing)
• Preparation of tax form IR8A (statement of salary for employees)
• Withholding tax assistance for non-resident individuals
• Personal tax clearance for individuals leaving Singapore

Tax planning is a key factor in determining the success of an organization. Universally 'Tax Savings' is the goal of financial function of companies. Rikvin will be your best partner in accomplishing this goal.

At Rikvin we provide objective insight and advisory services to integrate an effective tax plan strategically into your short term and long term business plans. We understand that every company’s needs are unique, based on the nature of its business, industry, size and scale of operations. Therefore our advisors deliver customized solutions that help you save tax, avoid tax related losses, highlight the risks and also suggest you ways to mitigate them.

Our corporate tax advisory professionals are experienced in all aspects of Singapore corporation tax as well as that of key jurisdictions. We have serviced diverse clients ranging from sole proprietorship to big corporations from various industries. Our expert team works closely with you and develops plans that best fit your organization.

Our range of tax services include:

• Tax efficient structuring of business entities
• Tax planning for companies
• Corporate tax compliance service
• Tax efficiency & compliance analysis and reporting
• Consultation on incentives and exemptions
• Consultation on DTA matters
• Tax planning for opening of foreign subsidiaries, acquisitions etc

This service is for companies that need an objective third eye to review their internal accounting data. Companies managing their accounting function internally would like assurance of accuracy & legal compliance. Rikvin provides a professional and objective accounting review service.

Our Qualified professionals review your accounting data and in a detailed report highlight issues, errors, unusual trends and anomalies.  We also suggest Best Practices in Accounting. Accounting Review can be done periodically such as every quarter before GST submission or annually. However it must be noted that the review is merely a quality assurance exercise and does not amount to an audit.

The cost and time taken for review depends on the volume of transaction and business complexity. As a standard practice we send a Quotation indicating the turnaround time and pricing rationale. We proceed with the reviewing process on approval of the Quotation.

Advantages of Accounting Review

• It significantly reduces the risk of error
• Improved and objective analysis
• Generate strategic insights
• Enhances standards & confidence

Document Required

For the purpose of the review we require financial statements (Balance Sheet, Income Statement & General Ledger) corresponding to the review period, along with the source documents.  The list of source documents below is extensive, only some of these may be applicable for your business. These can be sent via electronic format or physically.

1. Monthly bank statements, bank credit/debit advices, cheque butts
2. Sales invoices, credit notes
3. Expense receipts
4. Supplier invoices
5. Payment & petty cash vouchers
6. Payroll details
7. Agreements signed (Rental, Hire Purchase)
8. Details of fixed assets purchased during the year
9. Details of foreign bank acccounts, foreign investments
10. All communication from IRAS & ACRA