Professional services · 🇸🇬 Singapore
Three subsidiaries, three charts of accounts, no consolidation
A Singapore holding structure closing 40 days after month end, with intercompany balances that never agreed.
Singapore holding company, 3 regional subsidiaries. Client identity withheld — we publish names only with written permission, so this engagement is described by its shape rather than by who it was.
40 → 9
Days to close
3
Entities consolidated
S$0
Intercompany variance at close
The situation
- Each regional subsidiary kept its own books with a different chart of accounts and a different local bookkeeper.
- Consolidation was a manual spreadsheet exercise performed once a quarter, and intercompany balances never agreed.
What we found
- Three incompatible charts of accounts, so no line item could be compared across entities.
- Intercompany transactions recorded on one side only in several periods.
- ECI filing deadlines being met by estimate rather than by close, because the numbers were not ready in time.
What we did
- Designed a single group chart of accounts and mapped each entity onto it without disrupting local statutory requirements.
- Introduced an intercompany matching routine run before close rather than after.
- Moved to a monthly group close with a fixed calendar and a defined owner per entity.
The outcome
- Close moved from roughly 40 days quarterly to 9 days monthly, and intercompany balances now agree at close rather than being reconciled afterwards.
- ECI is filed from actual figures within three months of year end rather than from an estimate.
Related
Where this applies
Start with a conversation
Recognise any of this in your own books?
Thirty minutes. We review where your books stand and where the money's actually going — no obligation.