CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD: Elevating Regulatory Risk Management in Singapore's Emerging Financial Services Firms
Paul R. Chan, PrincipalRisk and compliance advisors, CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD, has emerged as an indispensable partner to financial institutions by offering practical and strategic risk and compliance solutions, in an increasingly regulated and rapidly evolving environment.
“We founded CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD in 2014 with a vision to become one of the best risk management advisors in Singapore. Our mission is to bring value to the financial sector with a best- in-class competitive risk and compliance advisory model aimed at supporting progressive and emerging financial institutions”, says Paul R. Chan, Principal.
The heightened regulatory climate is particularly impacting smaller financial institutions. Of the 1,580 Capital Markets Services Licensed companies in operation, some 80 percent are small to medium in business scale. Since many smaller financial firms adopt a cost-first approach, many turn to boutique operators for compliance support. Many boutiques lack a range of capabilities such as qualifications, practice track record and experience, financial resources, cybersecurity, governance, and professional accreditations, which are critical for risk compliance operations in the highly regulated financial sector. This minimalist approach could well expose smaller financial firms to a host of regulatory breaches, which will lead to regulatory sanctions, costly remediations, and possibly reputational damage.
An Institutional-Grade Advisor With A Professionally Accredited Group
CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD is an institutional-grade advisory practice due to its ownership by FooKonTan LLP (FKT), a preeminent public accounting firm in Singapore founded in 1968. Being part of FKT comes with rigorous oversight by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), which encompasses stringent requirements in cybersecurity, advisory and assurance quality, training, and financial strength. Such regulatory oversight and professional accreditation in an advisory practice are vital credentials for supporting critical risk compliance functions in the financial sector – as encouraged by regulators. Capital Governance (S) Pte Ltd also benefits from an international network through FKT, which is the Singapore partner of UK-based HLB International, a global top 10 accounting and advisory group with a presence in 156 countries.
Fortifying Advisory Capability With Regulator-Level Engagements
CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD core competencies are bolstered by regulator-level engagements, an area where only a select number of professionally accredited firms can provide advisory or audit services.
The firm has been assisting financial institutions in their post-regulatory inspection remediation audits. Such engagements often commence after the MAS has identified deficiencies during inspections. The appointment of an audit firm to conduct such remediation audits necessitates prior approval by MAS on the basis of key criteria including the institutional status of the audit firm, credentials and experience of the audit team.
The firm is also distinguished in governmental work by being appointed by a Singapore ministry to assist in industry inspections. This work involves comprehensive review of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing (AML CFT) operations, which is an ever-growing major risk area for the financial sector as well as other industries such as real estate.
With the benefit of regulator-level engagements, the firm is able to also bring more value in the area of new regulations. As new laws undergo public consultations such as for the transition of the Registered Fund Management regime, the firm aims to provide a “big-picture” perspective of oncoming new regulations, enabling clients to make appropriate operational adjustments in a timely anticipatory manner.
Advising On Practice with Solid Academic and Professional training
A major asset in CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD is its people. It has a progressive leadership, supported by talented professionals who hail from leading global universities in disciplines such as finance, economics, law, and risk management. Their credentials are complemented by professional certifications from ISO Standards, OCEG, International Compliance Association, and industry experience.
This blend of solid academic background and practical experience allows the team to proficiently navigate complex regulations such as the Securities Futures Act, Financial Advisers Act, and Payment Services Act, Singapore Exchange Listing Rules to apply to real-world operational issues such as in licensing, AML-CFT, outsourcing business continuity, hiring, capitalization, decentralized finance (blockchain-based financial services), artificial intelligence and sustainability management.
Articulating his team’s mission, Paul says, “Our goal is to translate complex regulations into actionable risk management advice that considers the scale, nature, and complexity of our client’s business to support their strategic objectives. This value is evident and enabled by more than a decade of broad based practice experience.”
A Journey that Continues to Thrive
As the firm approaches its 10th anniversary in 2024, CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD can take pride in the fact that a number of its clients from its founding days not only remain as clients today but have grown substantially in their business. One of the success stories is a fund manager that has grown from assets under management of S$200 Million to over S$3 Billion over the last 10 years.
Another milestone for the firm is its emerging practice in Sustainability (ESG) Reporting for public-listed companies on the Singapore Exchange since 2018. Notably, its major client, Moya Holdings Asia Limited—a major water utility company in Indonesia—has received several ESG awards, including the esteemed Global Compact Network of Singapore (GCNS) Sustainable Solutions Award at the Singapore Apex Corporate Sustainability Awards in 2019.
In the coming years, the firm intends to invest more in technological capabilities to elevate its service delivery in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Industry outreach programs will also be expanded. However, the cornerstone of the firm’s success will always be anchored to its principles of delivering world-class risk management advice to its clients.
CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD core competencies are bolstered by regulator-level engagements, an area where only a select number of professionally accredited firms can provide advisory or audit services.
The firm has been assisting financial institutions in their post-regulatory inspection remediation audits. Such engagements often commence after the MAS has identified deficiencies during inspections. The appointment of an audit firm to conduct such remediation audits necessitates prior approval by MAS on the basis of key criteria including the institutional status of the audit firm, credentials and experience of the audit team.
The firm is also distinguished in governmental work by being appointed by a Singapore ministry to assist in industry inspections. This work involves comprehensive review of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing (AML CFT) operations, which is an ever-growing major risk area for the financial sector as well as other industries such as real estate.
With the benefit of regulator-level engagements, the firm is able to also bring more value in the area of new regulations. As new laws undergo public consultations such as for the transition of the Registered Fund Management regime, the firm aims to provide a “big-picture” perspective of oncoming new regulations, enabling clients to make appropriate operational adjustments in a timely anticipatory manner.
Advising On Practice with Solid Academic and Professional training
A major asset in CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD is its people. It has a progressive leadership, supported by talented professionals who hail from leading global universities in disciplines such as finance, economics, law, and risk management. Their credentials are complemented by professional certifications from ISO Standards, OCEG, International Compliance Association, and industry experience.
We founded CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD in 2014 with a vision to become one of the best risk management advisors in Singapore. Our mission is to bring value to the financial sector with a best- in-class competitive risk and compliance advisory model aimed at supporting progressive and emerging financial institutions
This blend of solid academic background and practical experience allows the team to proficiently navigate complex regulations such as the Securities Futures Act, Financial Advisers Act, and Payment Services Act, Singapore Exchange Listing Rules to apply to real-world operational issues such as in licensing, AML-CFT, outsourcing business continuity, hiring, capitalization, decentralized finance (blockchain-based financial services), artificial intelligence and sustainability management.
Articulating his team’s mission, Paul says, “Our goal is to translate complex regulations into actionable risk management advice that considers the scale, nature, and complexity of our client’s business to support their strategic objectives. This value is evident and enabled by more than a decade of broad based practice experience.”
A Journey that Continues to Thrive
As the firm approaches its 10th anniversary in 2024, CAPITAL GOVERNANCE (S) PTE LTD can take pride in the fact that a number of its clients from its founding days not only remain as clients today but have grown substantially in their business. One of the success stories is a fund manager that has grown from assets under management of S$200 Million to over S$3 Billion over the last 10 years.
Another milestone for the firm is its emerging practice in Sustainability (ESG) Reporting for public-listed companies on the Singapore Exchange since 2018. Notably, its major client, Moya Holdings Asia Limited—a major water utility company in Indonesia—has received several ESG awards, including the esteemed Global Compact Network of Singapore (GCNS) Sustainable Solutions Award at the Singapore Apex Corporate Sustainability Awards in 2019.
In the coming years, the firm intends to invest more in technological capabilities to elevate its service delivery in a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape. Industry outreach programs will also be expanded. However, the cornerstone of the firm’s success will always be anchored to its principles of delivering world-class risk management advice to its clients.
