A statement of concurrence is a sworn document in which a director, company secretary or other officer confirms whether they agree with a statement of affairs that someone else prepared for a company that is being wound up. In a court-ordered winding up, section 142 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 lets the Official Receiver or liquidator require it; in a creditors’ voluntary winding up, section 168 lets the liquidator require it from any director who did not make the statement. Either way it must be submitted within 14 days of the request unless extended. You can concur, concur with stated qualifications, or not concur and give reasons. It is verified by affidavit, using Form CWU-8 in a court-ordered winding up.
This guide is for directors, nominee and non-executive directors, former directors and company secretaries who have been asked to concur in a statement of affairs, and it reflects the law as at 6 November 2026.
What is a statement of concurrence, and why are you being asked for one?
When a Singapore company is wound up by the Court, its directors and secretary must submit a statement of affairs: a sworn list of the company’s assets, debts, creditors and securities as at the date of the winding up order. Our guide to statements of affairs explains the wider picture.
Often only one person, usually the managing director or finance director, actually prepares that statement. The liquidator (the person appointed to take over the company, realise its assets and pay creditors) or the Official Receiver (the government officer in the Ministry of Law’s Insolvency Office who frequently acts as liquidator) may then want the other officers on record. Section 142(1) lets them require any of those officers to submit a statement of concurrence, verified by affidavit, stating whether they agree.
The request is not a formality. It gives the liquidator the views of people who may know things the maker of the statement left out, and it fixes each officer’s position on the record at an early stage of the liquidation. If you are new to the process, our overview of court-ordered winding up in Singapore sets out the stages, and the Insolvency Office’s page on liquidation and winding up explains the Official Receiver’s role.
Who can be required to give a statement of concurrence?
The people who can be asked are those listed in section 141(2) of the Act:
- directors of the company at the date of the winding up order;
- the company secretary;
- any person who is or has been an officer of the company, if the Official Receiver or liquidator requires it, subject to the direction of the Court; and
- any person who took part in forming the company within one year before the winding up order.
This means a former director can be asked, even if they resigned some time ago and the resignation was properly lodged with ACRA. A nominee director, appointed mainly to satisfy the local resident director requirement, can also be asked. Being a nominee does not reduce the legal duties of a director. Our article on nominee directors in Singapore explains why.
What are your three options under Form CWU-8?
Form CWU-8 in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution (Court-Ordered Winding Up) Regulations 2020 gives three alternatives. Section 142(2) of the Act allows a qualified statement where you are not in agreement with the makers, consider the statement erroneous or misleading, or lack the direct knowledge needed to concur.
| Option | When it fits | What you write | Main risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| I concur | You know the company’s affairs well and have checked every schedule against records you trust | A simple confirmation that you concur with the statement of affairs | You adopt every figure and omission as your own sworn position |
| I concur, subject to qualifications | You agree with most of the statement but disagree with, or cannot verify, specific items | A numbered list of the items you do not agree with, consider misleading, or have no direct knowledge of | Vague qualifications (“subject to further review”) protect little and annoy the liquidator |
| I do not concur | The statement is materially wrong or incomplete, or you have no basis at all to confirm it | Specific reasons, item by item | You may be asked to explain further or provide the correct information yourself |
Each version is then verified by an affidavit, sworn or affirmed before a Commissioner for Oaths or a Notary Public, stating that the particulars in your statement of concurrence are true to the best of your knowledge and belief. An affidavit is a written statement of facts made on oath or affirmation, so making it carelessly carries real consequences.
How long do you have to respond?
Section 142(3) requires the statement of concurrence to be submitted within 14 days after the request, or within any extended time the Official Receiver, the liquidator or the Court specifies. Where the Official Receiver is not the liquidator, a copy must also be lodged with the Official Receiver.
Fourteen days is short if you first need a copy of the statement of affairs and supporting records. If you cannot respond properly in time, write to the liquidator early, explain what you still need, and ask for an extension. Do not let the deadline pass in silence. Our statement of affairs deadline guide covers how to frame an extension request.
Section 141(4) also allows a person making a statement of concurrence to be paid, out of the company’s assets, the costs and expenses of preparing it that the Official Receiver or liquidator considers reasonable, subject to an appeal to the Court.
Why should you read the statement of affairs line by line?
Because once you concur, you have sworn to it. Three provisions make that matter:
- Material omissions are an offence. Section 234(1)(d) makes it an offence for a past or present officer of a company being wound up to make “any material omission in any statement relating to the affairs of the company”, punishable by a fine of up to S$10,000 or imprisonment of up to 2 years. There is a defence if the accused proves no intent to defraud, but you would carry the burden of proving it.
- Sworn statements become evidence. In judicial management, section 106(5) expressly says a statement of affairs may be used in evidence against any person making or concurring in making it. It is sensible to treat a concurrence in a winding up with the same care.
- Your duty to cooperate continues. Section 243 requires officers, past and present, to give the liquidator information they reasonably require and to attend when asked, with a fine of up to S$10,000 and a further daily fine of up to S$200 for continuing default.
Concurring also has a practical cost later. If a liquidator brings a misfeasance application against directors, an earlier unqualified concurrence in a statement that omitted a director’s loan or a transfer to a related company is difficult to explain away.
How do you review a statement of affairs before concurring?
The steps below assume you have received a written request and have 14 days.
- Get the full statement, not a summary. Ask for the complete Form CWU-7, including every schedule (A to H), the statement of the causes of winding up and the maker’s affidavit.
- Note what you actually know. Before reading the figures, write down the bank accounts, major customers, suppliers, loans, vehicles, leases and disputes you personally know about. This stops the document from shaping your memory.
- Compare schedule by schedule. Check receivables (Schedule A), assets and cash (B), secured assets and claims (C), contingent assets (D), unpaid share capital (E), preferential claims such as wages, CPF and tax (F), unsecured creditors (G) and contingent claims (H). Our guide to what goes into a statement of affairs explains each schedule.
- Look for what is missing. Common gaps are director or shareholder loans, amounts owed by related companies, assets transferred shortly before the winding up, deposits with landlords and pending lawsuits.
- Ask for the documents behind any figure you doubt. The liquidator holds the books, so request the bank statements or ledgers for the specific items concerned.
- Draft precise qualifications. Refer to the schedule and line, say what you disagree with and why, or state plainly that you have no direct knowledge.
- Swear or affirm the affidavit and submit it. Use a Commissioner for Oaths or Notary Public, keep a full copy, and send it within the deadline or any agreed extension.
What does a useful qualification look like?
Compare these two. “I concur subject to my further review of the company’s records” tells the liquidator nothing. “Schedule G does not list the loan of about S$40,000 that I understand the company received from a shareholder in 2025; I have no direct knowledge of the amounts in Schedule A, which were prepared by the finance director” identifies the issue, explains your position and gives the liquidator something to investigate.
Which documents should you ask for or gather?
- The full statement of affairs and the maker’s affidavit
- Your appointment and resignation records, and any board minutes you attended
- The last audited or unaudited financial statements and the latest management accounts
- Bank statements for the period you were in office, if the liquidator will provide them
- Any guarantees, loan agreements or security documents you signed for the company
- Emails or messages showing what you were, and were not, told about the company’s finances
- Your own records of any money you lent to, or received from, the company
How might this work for a nominee director?
Example: This is a hypothetical scenario. A Singapore company owned and run by an overseas founder is wound up on a creditor’s application. The founder, who is also a director, prepares and swears the statement of affairs. The company’s local nominee director, who attended no management meetings and never had banking access, receives a request from the liquidator for a statement of concurrence.
The nominee reads the statement and finds that it lists only two unsecured creditors. From board papers circulated a year earlier, the nominee knows of a third supplier who was threatening legal action, and recalls a company car that does not appear in Schedule B. The nominee has no knowledge of the receivables at all.
Signing a simple “I concur” would mean swearing to figures the nominee cannot check and adopting the omissions. A qualified concurrence is more appropriate here: concurring only in so far as the nominee has knowledge, stating that the nominee has no direct knowledge of Schedule A, and identifying the missing supplier claim and vehicle with the documents that support them. Whether the liquidator then pursues those items is a matter for the liquidator, but the nominee’s sworn position is accurate.
The same approach works for a director who resigned before the winding up: state the dates you held office and confine your concurrence to what you knew during that period.
Frequently asked questions
Can I refuse to give a statement of concurrence?
If you are a person within section 141(2) and the Official Receiver or liquidator requires one, you should respond within the time allowed. Choosing “I do not concur” with reasons is a proper response; ignoring the request is not, and may also breach your duty to cooperate under section 243.
Is a statement of concurrence required in every winding up?
No, it is only required when asked for, but the request can come in two kinds of winding up. In a court-ordered winding up, section 142 lets the Official Receiver or liquidator ask any of the officers listed in section 141(2). In a creditors’ voluntary winding up, section 168 lets the liquidator require any director who did not make the statement of affairs laid before the creditors’ meeting to submit a statement of concurrence verified by affidavit. The same three grounds for qualifying it apply, and it is due within 14 days of the request unless the liquidator or the Court extends the time. Form CWU-8 is the court winding up form, so in a voluntary winding up ask the liquidator what format they want.
I was only a director for a few months. Can I concur in part?
Yes. A qualified concurrence can state the period you held office and that you lack direct knowledge of matters outside it. Section 142(2)(c) expressly allows qualification where you are without the direct knowledge necessary to concur.
What if I later find out the statement of affairs was wrong?
Tell the liquidator in writing as soon as you find out, with whatever documents you have. Correcting the record voluntarily is far better than having the error discovered in an examination or a claim against directors.
Who swears the affidavit, and where?
You swear or affirm it yourself, before a Commissioner for Oaths or a Notary Public. The form provides for the country where it is sworn, so a director overseas can usually swear it locally before a notary, but check with the liquidator what they will accept before you arrange it.
Need help with a statement of concurrence request?
Raffles Corporate Services can help you check a statement of affairs against the company’s bank statements and books, reconcile its debtor and creditor lists, and prepare the supporting schedules for your statement of concurrence before you submit it to the liquidator or Official Receiver.
If your company, or you as a director or shareholder, is dealing with a liquidator’s request for a statement of concurrence, contact the Raffles Corporate Services team at [email protected] or on WhatsApp at +65 8501 7133 or +65 9018 0072. We will help you understand the documents and deadlines. Where your matter needs a lawyer, we will refer you to a firm on our panel of Singapore law firms that regularly handles insolvency and director liability matters. Raffles Corporate Services is a corporate services provider, not a law firm, and this article is general information, not legal advice.
Willie Tan, Raffles Corporate Services