Thursday, July 2, 2015

Audit - consideration of compliance with manpower rule in Singapore

Talent / labour crunch in Singapore is a common issue in Singapore. There are certain rules imposed by Ministry of Manpower in Singapore. There is a lot of discussion with regard to the manpower of Singapore - as there are certain comments commented that there are significant number of foreign workers, whilst on the other hand there are business owners commented that it's not easy to hire sufficient labour for production or construction work.


Ministry of Manpower imposed certain restriction on the number of foreign workers that can be hired by a Company i.e. the Company is allowed to hire certain number of foreign workers for each headcount of Singaporean.


As an auditor, we should understand what's the process implemented by management to ensure that this rule is being complied with. Somebody may ask why would auditor has to consider this?


The answer is if the regulation is not complied - there is risk that the company may receive penalty or fine or in the worst case scenario, the company's operating license may be in question. Hence, we should have a word with management on how does the company ensure that they have complied with the rules and regulations prevalent to the company.


In addition, if you have overseas operations, it is also critical to understand how has the overseas management manage the compliance with overseas rule. For instance, how does the manager in China ensure compliance with contribution of pension fund required by local law.



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