Starting a company is easy but maintaining it requires adequate resources. Before you make the decision to incorporate a company (Sdn. Bhd.) or a Private Limited Company in Malaysia, planning out a concise budget for its yearly maintenance is a crucial first move.
“Yearly maintenance” refers to the fees you need to pay in order to keep the company compliant with the regulations and laws in Malaysia.
Who are you paying?
For a company, there are typically 4 professionals that will assist you in meeting the compliance requirements.
Company Secretary
A company secretary’s role to take charge of your company’s secretarial matters in compliance with the Companies Act 2016 with Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM). This requires a qualified licensed company secretary to act as one of the officers of the company.
Normally, an SME would not hire their own full-time, in-house Company Secretary as it is simply not cost-effective. Therefore, SMEs outsource this to service providers such as Ashton Corporate Services to provide a cost-effective solution.
The retainer cost to appoint a Company Secretary in Malaysia typically ranges from RM60 to RM100 per month or RM720-RM1,200 per year.
Annually, a Company Secretary will assist in performing the Annual Return of the company. Annual Return is a return stating yearly up-to-date information of a company as at anniversary date. Typically the cost fee of performing an annual return is RM400-RM800 depending on whether the fee to SSM is included or not.
Another task that the Company Secretary needs to do is to lodge the company financial statement to SSM. Private companies must lodge the audited financial statements within 30 days after it has been circulated to members. Typically the cost fee of the lodgement of audited financial statement to SSM is RM800-RM1200 depending on whether the fee to SSM is included or otherwise.
Tax Agent
It is not advisable for business owners to file their own company taxes as the lodgement is complex, and Directors may miss important tax optimization opportunities. Business owners usually appoint tax agents to track deadlines, complete and file the tax computation with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRB).
Upon company incorporation, it is advisable to fix your financial year-end and to appoint a tax agent so that he or she can monitor your tax compliance deadlines. Typically, a startup company would incur between RM1,000-RM1,500 as the tax computation and filing fee.
Auditor
All companies incorporated in Malaysia must have their accounts audited by an approved and qualified auditor as mandated by the Companies Act of 2016.
In general, professional fees are charged depending on the size of the company (based on revenue, assets and expenses for example). Malaysia Institute of Accountant (MIA) has a recommended pricing guide which most audit firms will adopt.
Typically, a startup company’s audit fee for the first year would be between RM1,500 – RM2,500. After the auditor prepares the audited financial statement and approved by the board, it will be lodged to the SSM within 30 days after the circulation by the Company Secretary.
Accountant
Financial statements are usually prepared by the accountants before being audited by an auditor. Some companies may have their own accountant and in this regard, there is no outsourcing fee. However, companies can also choose to outsource this service to a freelancer, or service providers like Ashton Corporate Services due to cost savings and efficiencies.
How much would the accounting fee cost? Well, it usually depends on the workload. If your company incurs many transactions per month then the accounting fee is usually higher compared to if you have a low volume of transactions per month. Typically a startup company would spend around RM500 to RM3,500 a year on outsourced accounting services.
Summary of the yearly cost of running a newly set up company in Malaysia
