Audit

REGISTRAR’S NOTICE TO THE AUDITOR ON ITS DUTIES UNDER SECTION 39 OF THE MONEYLENDERS ACT

Licensees are required under the section 39(1) of the Moneylenders Act (“the Act”) to appoint an auditor to carry out an audit of their accounts every year. The Registrar of Moneylenders (“Registrar”) may also appoint an auditor for the same purpose under the circumstances mentioned in section 39(3) of the Act.

Additional Duties

Pursuant to section 39(5) of the Act, the Registrar of Moneylenders (“Registrar”) hereby notifies the auditor appointed under section 39(1) or section 39(3) of the Act (“appointed auditor”) to impose the following duties in addition to those stated in section 39(4) of the Act:

to provide a report that the statements submitted to the Registrar after the end of each quarter of a year starting from the first day of January, April, July or October of the year pursuant to section 39(3) of the Act are accurate*; and
to provide a report that the licensee has complied with section 70(1) of the Act. Specifically, in respect of section 70(1)(a), an appointed auditor shall certify that the borrower information provided by the licensee to the designated credit bureau is accurate, complete and current, after verifying that such borrower information is consistent with the borrower information collected by the licensee.

[Specifically, this is with respect to the borrower particulars (i.e. name of borrower (as stated in identity document), identity document type, identity document number, nationality, residential address, annualincome) as well as loan information (i.e. loan amount, type of loan and rate of interest).]

Submission of Auditor’s Report and Auditor’s Certificate

Pursuant to section 39(8) of the Act, licensees must submit, or cause to be submitted, the following to the Registry of Moneylenders by 30 April of every calendar year:

a copy of the auditor’s report made under section 39(4)(b) of the Act attached to the licensee’s financial statements or consolidated financial statements; and
a copy of the auditor’s report made pursuant to paragraph 2 of the Registrar’s Notice.

The attention of all appointed auditors is drawn to section 39(9) of the Act, which provides that the auditor must immediately report the matter to the Registrar if in the course of performing the auditor’s duties, he is satisfied that:

there has been a serious breach or non-observance of the provisions of the Act;
a criminal offence involving fraud or dishonesty has been committed; or
serious irregularities have occurred, including irregularities that compromise the confidentiality, security or integrity of any data obtained, used or disclosed by the licensee.

Appointed auditors should also take note that any non-compliance of section 39(5) or (9) is an offence under of the Act, and the auditor shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $30,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.

Agreed Upon Procedures (AUPs) for Reporting Under the Additional Duties

Auditors may wish to refer to the a set of AUPs here in performing their duties and producing their reports under the Additional Duties stated in the above Registrar’s Notice.

(Note: While auditors are encouraged to refer to the above set of AUPs, please note that it is not mandatory to do so.)