Accounting and Auditing Services in Malaysia: An Overview

Auditing and Accounting are essential functions for any company working in Malaysia as it maintains a track record of all the financial and fiscal transactions of the company. Maintenance of these records helps the management to assess the financial health of the company and take better-informed decisions. Additionally, maintenance of these records helps in dealing with statutory authorities at the time of audit and meeting other legal compliances. 

Outsourcing the auditing and accounting tasks for the company allows the company to save huge overhead costs. Enterslice offers accounting and auditing services in Malaysia for your businesses by precisely catering to the auditing and accounting needs of your Malaysian registered company.

Statuary requirements for Accounting and Auditing Services in Malaysia

• Auditing

According to the Malaysian Companies Act of 2016, all the companies in Malaysia are supposed to get their financial accounts audited unless they fall within the ambit of the audit exemption. The qualifying criteria for audit exemption are that the private limited company must fall within any of the following categories:

• Dormant Company
• Threshold-qualified company
• Zero-revenue company

Dormant company: a dormant company is one that is not carrying any business and has no record of financial transactions in the financial year.

Threshold-qualified Companies: for a company to claim audit exemption, the following 3 requirements must be met by the company:

1. The company must have an annual revenue of RM 100,000 or less during the financial year and the in the past two years.
2. The company’s total assets mentioned in the current statement of financial position should be RM 300,000 or less and also in the past two years.
3. The company has 5 or less than 5 employees at the end of the current financial year and in the past two years.

Businesses that have been registered in the form of a partnership or as a sole proprietorship are not obligated by Malaysian laws to get their financial statements audited annually.

Zero-revenue Companies: a company can claim audit exemption if:

1. It does not generate revenue in the current financial year.
2. It did not receive any revenue in the past two financial years.
3. The total value of the company’s assets in the current statement of the financial position does not exceed RM 300,000
4. The total value of the company’s assets in the statement of the financial position in the past two years does not exceed RM 300,000

• Accounting

It is the obligation of every company registered in Malaysia to maintain the accounting and other related records of the company that explain the transactions and financial position of the company. These records should provide a true and fair view of the financial affairs of the company. All the financial transactions of the company are supposed to be recorded within a period of 60 days of their completion, and the records are to be maintained for a period of at least seven years.

Malaysian companies are supposed to prepare their financial statements according to the accounting standards issued by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB). In the case of foreign companies that are listed on the stock exchange, the financial statements are supposed to be prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).

For private companies in Malaysia, the approved accounting standards are the Malaysian Private Entities Reporting Standards (MPERS), and for non-private companies, the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRSs) are followed. All companies are supposed to prepare their accounts in accordance with the relevant accounting standards.

Types of Accounting Services in Malaysia

• Bookkeeping Services -

Every company in Malaysia is supposed to prepare and maintain proper records of accounts in order to comply with the applicable regulations. The financial statements are important for the purpose of accounting and business references. Majorly, the financial records of the company include invoices, serial numbered receipts, purchase and business expense records, income records, and accounting and statement records.

Following are the benefits of bookkeeping services:

• They help in the understanding of the business performances
• They give a clear financial foresight and a better understanding of the company’s overall financial condition.
• They help in tracking expenses made by the company
• They are crucial in making discoveries of the possible financial mismanagement made in the company

Enterslice will assist your company in establishing your books of accounts along with the accounting ledgers required by your business on a cloud-based platform and make a smooth transition from paper and old computerised accounting systems to cloud-based accounting platforms for better access.

• Preparation of Annual Financial statements for the company -

According to section 248 of the Companies Act of 2016, the directors of the company have the duty to prepare the financial statements of the company within 18 months from the date of incorporation and subsequently within a period of 6 months from the company’s financial year end.

These financial statements have to be audited before being sent to every member of the company who is entitled to receive a notice of general meetings. Additionally, a copy of these audited statements is sent to every auditor of the company and also to every debenture holder of the company.

In the case of public limited companies, the financial statements have to be sent to the persons mentioned above and also at the annual general meeting of the shareholders of the company. If this direction is violated by any director of the company, then such a director can be fined for not more than RM 500,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year or both.

What is included in the financial statements of the company?

According to s. 249 of the Companies Act of 2016, the annual financial statements of a company should give a true and fair view of the company’s financial position and performance. These statements should also reflect the performance of the company’s subsidiaries. The financial statements include the following:

• Remuneration for the Directors
• Retirement benefits for directors
• Compensation paid to the directors in case of loss of office
• Quasi-loans, loans and other dealings in favour of the directors
• The total amount paid to or received by the auditors as remuneration for the services rendered by them as directors

The financial statements of the private companies are supposed to be submitted to the SSM in the XBRL format within a period of 30 days from the date of distributing the financial statements and reports to the members of the company. Enterslice will prepare these reports according to the needs of your organisation.

• Preparation of XBRL reports -

XBRL stands for eXtensible Business Reporting Language, which is a software language specifically used in the automation of business information requirements to make the analysis and exchange of corporate financial information easier and more reliable by allowing data to be extracted and processed automatically by XBRL. It processes financial data and reduces cost, and helps in improving the accuracy and efficiency. 

The Malaysian Business Reporting System has also been developed on the XBRL platform, which is used to submit both non-financial and financial information by Malaysian companies. Following are the components included in an XBRL report:

• Annual returns
• Financial statements and reports
• Income Statement or Statement of comprehensive income
• Exemption applications related to the financial statements and reports and annual return applications
• Balance sheets
• Cash flow statements
• State of change in equity  

Preparation of an effective and regulatory-compliant XBRL report requires a lot of skills, time and effort. Enterslice can assist your company with dependable solutions with respect to XBRL filings. The team of experts at Enterslice will provide accurate and revised XBRL-compliant filing reports and also keep you updated with upcoming regulatory changes. 

• Consolidation of Accounts -

Consolidation of accounts is the process of grouping the financial records of all the subsidiary companies and further preparing the combined results of the parent company. The service of consolidation of accounts becomes necessary when the parent company owns the majority of voting shares in its subsidiary or when it has contractual control over another company.

The consolidated accounts are prepared by the parent company by adjusting the entries and eliminating intercompany transactions. To sum up, consolidated accounting is a process of combing the liabilities, assets, equity and operating accounts of the parent firm and its subsidiaries into one financial account.

Enterslice prepares tailor-made regulatory-compliant solutions for your company while consolidating the accounts for your company. To know more about the process, connect with the accounting experts at Enterslice.

• Installing the Accounting Systems -

An accounting system that is tailor-made according to the needs of the company has become a necessity for all companies in Malaysia. It is necessary for the reason of better financial management and ensuring that accurate and reliable financial information is recorded and made available for the management. One of the advantages of having a customised accounting system for the company is that it helps the management to access the relevant financial information of the company at any time, which equips it to take appropriate decisions. Additionally, integrating an apt accounting system saves the company both time and energy and increases efficiency in the company. 

Enterslice will assist you in selecting an apt accounting software that will cater to the peculiar accounting needs of your company. The service also includes the creation of filing systems for necessary papers, generating and analysing financial reports etc.

• Assistance in the filing of tax returns -

All eligible Malaysian companies are supposed to file their tax returns, and it is the responsibility of the management to file the tax returns on a regular basis. These tax returns are generally filed by tax professionals having expertise beyond just filing tax returns, such as in tax laws, tax planning and tax compliance. Professionals at Enterslice assist your firm regarding tax and business sustainability so that tax management becomes easy for your firm and does not become a hindrance in doing your day-to-day business.

Types of Auditing Services in Malaysia 

• Statutory Audit -

According to the Malaysian Companies Act of 2016, private and public limited companies in Malaysia are required to hire an external auditor to get their financial statements audited and report about the audit to the shareholders and members of the company every year. Statutory audits include inspection of the organisation’s accounts and its financial statements to ensure that they represent the true and fair view of the finances of the company and to find out any discrepancies and misrepresentations. Enterslice, being your statutory auditor, will ensure that the statutory audit is conducted according to the respective guidelines.   

• Forensic Audit services -

A number of activities fall under the scope of forensic audit services. Generally, forensic auditing refers to the investigation done by accountants deep into the company’s financial matters. If there is a doubt that fraudulent activities are taking place within the company, then forensic audit services can be engaged in Malaysia to investigate the issue. Enterslice also has a team of seasoned forensic experts having expertise in undertaking forensic audits to save your company from financial fraud. 

• Internal Audit -

The scope of internal audit is not restricted to establishing compliance measurement but also involves advising the decision makers, such as the senior management or the Board of Directors, on how to better execute their roles and responsibilities. Internal audit is very important for an organisation because they help in evaluating the effectiveness of the organisation and protecting the organisation against risks. Having internal auditors within an organisation brings a number of benefits to the management in making timely decisions and for the overall betterment of the company.