A Private Limited Company (Sdn Bhd) is commonly the preferred form of business for new start-ups and SMEs to conduct business in Malaysia, mainly because of the ability to conduct equity fundraising.
All Private Limited Company (Sdn Bhd) need to prepare the annual compliance requirement. For new business owners or start-up founders, they might not familiar with the term \”Annual Compliance Requirement\”. How can they prepare for it? Through this article, we will help business owners or start-up founders to get familiar with the annual compliance requirement.
There are THREE (3) things in the Annual Compliance Requirement that you need to prepare:
1) ANNUAL RETURN
Every Private Limited Company (Sdn Bhd) must lodge its annual return for each calendar year with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (“CCM a.k.a SSM”) no later than thirty (30) days from the anniversary of its incorporation date.
What is an Annual Return?
It is basically a form to notify SSM of any material changes of information pertaining to the Company or to notify SSM that there are no changes in particulars. This is something your Company Secretary will prepare and lodge for the Company.
What do you need to do to comply?
Set a reminder on the anniversary of incorporation to instruct your Company Secretary to prepare the annual return and lodge it with SSM within thirty (30) days. Although most (if not all) Company Secretaries will send you a reminder, you are advised to not rely on them because at the end of the day the onus is on you to ensure that the requirement is complied with.
WARNING: Failure to comply with this requirement is an offense punishable with a fine not exceeding RM5000.00 and a further fine not exceeding RM1000.00 for each day the offense continue.
2) AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENT
It is the responsibility of all the director(s) of every company to prepare their audited financial statements within eighteen (18) months from the date of its incorporation and subsequently, within six (6) months of its financial year-end.
Next, the audited financial statement must be circulated to all Shareholder(s) within six (6) months of its financial year-end. Thereafter, lodge the audited financial statement to SSM within thirty (30) days from when the said statement is circulated to all Shareholder(s).
What is an Audited Financial Statement?
Financial statements of a company reflect the true and fair view of the financial position and performance of a company. To keep it simple, get an auditor to prepare for you.
Important Note: Auditor of the company must be appointed at least thirty (30) days before the end of the period for the submission of the audited financial statements.
How to Prepare for Audited Financial Statement?
Before an auditor can prepare an audited financial statement, they will need to see your management account and the book keeping record (General Ledger, Payment Voucher, Invoice, Receipts and etc.). You can either learn to do this yourself, use an accounting software and/or hire a book keeper.
Common Mistake: Business owners fail to maintain proper records of all these documents. Therefore, the auditor will not be able to prepare an audited financial statement due lack of records.
What do you need to do to comply?
Again, set a reminder at the end of the financial year to instruct the auditor to prepare the audited financial statement. But before you can do that, during the said financial year, you MUST keep all the relevant documents as mentioned above. It is advisable to start the process early and allow sufficient time to your auditor.
Common Mistake: Giving the instruction at the very last minute i.e. 1-2 months before the deadline. Ideally give the instruction as soon as the financial year end.
WARNING: Failure to comply with this requirement is an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding RM5000.00 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both.
3) DIRECTOR’S REPORT
The directors’ report shall be prepared by the director(s) for each financial year and must be attached to the financial statements (so the timeline is similar to audited financial statement).
What is a Director’s Report?
It is basically a document to notify SSM of any material changes of information pertaining to:
- The name of every past and existing director(s);
- The principal activities of the company;
- The net amount of profit or loss;
- Any shares or debentures; and/or
- Any other information required under the Companies Act 2016.
What do you need to do to comply?
Set a reminder to instruct your Company Secretary to prepare the said document for you. The timeline is similar to audited financial statement.
WARNING: Failure to prepare the directors’ report is an offence for the director(s) and punishable with a fine not exceeding RM500,000.00 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both. Failure to comply with this requirement is an offence for the company and every officer and punishable with a fine not exceeding RM20,000.00.