Can Singapore accountants accept a referral commission from SourceX?

Whether a Singapore accountant may accept a referral commission depends on the professional code, whether the company is a client, and disclosure. The code is built on the IESBA framework. Check it, get your firm's written view and disclose the arrangement before you register as a SourceX partner.

Can a Singapore public accountant accept a referral commission?

It depends on your code, your license status and whether you also serve the referred company as a client. Singapore public accountants are bound by the professional code that ACRA administers (commonly cited as EP 100), which is built on the international IESBA framework. Fees, commissions and independence sit in that framework, and SourceX cannot tell you how it applies to you.

What SourceX can tell you is how the program works, so you can test it against your code. Partners earn 25% of the eligible platform fees SourceX actually collects from the referred company's licensing deals, capped at $100,000 cumulative per referred company. Rewards become payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee, and no reward is guaranteed. The reward is a share of SourceX's fee and is never deducted from what the company receives.

This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm with ISCA, ACRA or your own compliance partner before acting.

What should you check in the code before registering?

Check five things, in this order. Each one can change the answer on its own.

Question	Why the code cares	What to confirm
Is the referred company an assurance or audit client of your firm?	Commissions create a self-interest threat to objectivity when you also give the client an opinion	Whether any commission is restricted or prohibited for that client
Do you recommend a product or service to the client, and is a commission attached?	The code's concern is a payment that could bias your advice	Whether disclosure to the client is required, and in what form
Is the arrangement contingent on a result?	Contingent remuneration is treated separately from referral commissions	Whether this reward counts as a contingent fee for the service you provide
Who receives the reward: you, your firm or a separate company?	Firm policy and the license holder's duties can differ	Whether your firm partners or compliance function must approve
Is there a written record of the client's informed consent?	Disclosure is the usual safeguard where a commission is allowed	What your firm expects in the file

If the answer to the first question is yes, treat that company as outside this program for you until your regulator or firm confirms otherwise. Plenty of other companies in your network are not your clients at all.

How does disclosure usually work for a referral reward?

Where a code permits a commission at all, the safeguard is nearly always transparency: tell the person you are introducing that you may be rewarded, and record it. Disclosure should come before the introduction, not after.

A workable pattern for a Singapore practice:

Decide first whether the company is a client, a former client or a stranger. Keep a short note of the reasoning in the file.
Ask your firm's ethics or quality partner for a written view before you register as a partner. Many firms keep a register of outside income and referral arrangements.
Before you mention SourceX to the company, say in writing that you may receive a share of SourceX's fee if a licensing deal completes and is paid.
Make clear that the reward does not reduce the company's proceeds, which is the SourceX structure, and that the company decides whether to proceed.
Keep your introduction to basic fit information. You never export, upload or describe confidential records.

What about tax paperwork for a payer in the United States?

Rules on commissions and rules on tax paperwork are separate questions. A Singapore resident individual normally gives a US payer a Form W-8BEN so the payer can document foreign status, and an entity uses Form W-8BEN-E. The IRS says Form W-8BEN is given to the withholding agent or payer when requested, not filed with the IRS, and describes Form W-8BEN-E for foreign entities.

If your practice will receive the reward rather than you personally, read our walkthrough on filling out a W-8BEN-E for an advisory or consulting firm. Singapore tax treatment of the income is a question for your tax adviser and IRAS guidance, not for this page.

Which situations are lower risk and which need a written ruling?

Situation	Lower risk or needs a ruling	Next action
Introducing a friend's company you have never advised	Lower risk, subject to firm policy	Disclose to the owner, keep a file note
Introducing a tax-only or bookkeeping client	Needs a view from your ethics partner	Ask in writing before any approach
Introducing an audit or review client	Treat as off-limits until cleared	Escalate to the engagement partner and, if unsure, ISCA
Introducing through a separate non-practising company you own	Needs a view on whether the structure sidesteps the code	Take professional advice on the structure
Sharing a client's records to help the company qualify	Never acceptable	Stop; the partner never handles confidential records

Questions to put to ISCA or your firm's ethics partner

Does the code restrict a commission I receive from a third party for an introduction that is not part of my engagement?
Is disclosure to the person I introduce enough, or is consent needed?
Does the answer change if the company was a client in the past two years?
Do I need to record the arrangement in a register of outside business interests?
If I am an employee of a firm, who signs off on outside income?

Ask for the answer in writing and keep it. Rules are revised from time to time, so check the current edition rather than relying on a summary, including this one.

Next step

If your code and firm allow it, register as a partner and use the referral earnings calculator to see how the published formula works. Compare the position of neighbouring regimes in our notes for Irish accountants and Dutch accountants, read the Singapore partner guide, and see whether non-US residents can join a US referral program. Final economics are set by the signed agreement and the program terms.

Step 1Share your linkSend your personal link to a company you know.
Step 2Company appliesThe company applies itself at /apply.
Step 3Buyer selects and paysThe buyer selects and pays for the data and SourceX receives its fee.
Step 4You get your rewardYour share of SourceX fees becomes payable.

Common questions

Does SourceX tell me whether I may accept the reward?

No. SourceX sets out how the program works and leaves the professional-conduct question to you, your firm and your regulator. Show your ethics partner the published terms, ask for a written view, and register only if the answer is clear. If it is not clear, wait or introduce only companies that are not your clients.

What if the company is my audit client?

Treat that company as outside the program for you unless your regulator or firm confirms in writing that the reward is permitted. A commission linked to an assurance client is the situation codes worry about most. The company can still apply directly at sourcex.si/apply without any introduction from you.

Do I have to tell the company I may be rewarded?

Disclosure is good practice even where no rule forces it, and many codes require it where a commission is allowed. Say it in writing before the introduction, and explain that the reward is a share of SourceX's fee, never deducted from what the company receives.

Can my firm receive the reward instead of me personally?

Possibly, but changing the payee does not remove the conduct question, and it adds a tax-paperwork one. A foreign entity usually documents its status on a W-8BEN-E given to the payer. Ask your firm's partners and your tax adviser how the income should be handled.

Is a lead, meeting or signed agreement enough to earn a reward?

No. Rewards become payable only after the buyer pays and SourceX receives its fee. No reward is guaranteed, and many introductions will not lead to a deal. Credit goes to the first valid referrer whose introduction leads to a verified company application within the attribution window.

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By SourceX Partnerships Team · Published 2026-10-09 · Updated 2026-10-09

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