3E Accounting, was established by entrepreneurs, professional accountants, and partners Lawrence Chai, 30, and Stephanie Chua, 31, after they had the realisation of the unfair practices occurring at some accounting firms in Singapore. Some accounting firms were charging their clients more money for lower quality services.

After much deliberation, the husband and wife duo concluded they needed to establish an accounting firm that provided businesses and individuals with a diverse range of high quality services at an economical rate. To reinforce their message, the company based its foundation on three keys words—efficiency, effectiveness, and economical.

Since then, the company, which started with only two employees in 2011, now, boasts more than 600 employees. The accounting firm aims to establish several more firms in the coming years in various parts of the country such as in Southeast Asian countries.

The Journey of 3E Accounting

When the accounting firm started in 2011, they were a small fish in a big pond. However, the owners along with team branched out by differing themselves from competitor accounting firms in Singapore. On top of the usual accounting services—accounting and taxation— offered at most accounting firms, 3E Accounting decided to include a spectrum of different services that include:

Company setup

Business setup

Corporate secretarial

Immigration services

Human resource

Virtual office services

Stamp and seal makers services

Business advisory services

IT and design services

Software sale and development

Legal services

Other jurisdictions setup

In all of Singapore, the company became the first accounting firm in Singapore to feature other services than just the conventional ones. Over the years, the company has won several awards and recognitions some of which include:

Approved Employer by ACCA Award (2012)

Enterprise Services ranked the company in their Top 10 Premium Compliance Service Providers of 2016 in the APAC region (2016)

TAFEP Exemplary Employer Award (2016)

Top 30 Accounting Firms in Singapore in Singapore Business Review’s Magazine (2016)

Top Player Firm Award in Singapore by Singapore Brand (2016)

Xero Certified Advisor (2016)

The Owners:  Lawrence Chai and Stephanie Chau

Lawrence Chai is the Managing Director at 3E Accounting. He established an accounting firm with his wife, Stephanie Chua, the Director at 3E Accounting. Both the husband and wife duo share several years of experience in between. They both have experience in performing audits, taxation, accounting, and more for both non-listed and listed businesses, belonging to different industries.

The couple also has experience in providing accounting services to differ industry sectors such as manufacturing, water treatment plants, hospitality, trading, retailing, non-profit organization, investment holdings, property development, construction, and hypermarket.

Their experience in the accounting industry has earned them several accolades and accreditations over the years. Lawrence holds the following accreditations:

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

A Chartered Accountant of Singapore of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)

An Accredited Tax Practitioner of the Singapore Institute of Accredited Tax Professionals (SIATP)

An Affiliate of the Singapore Association of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries & Administrators (SAICSA)

A Member of Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS)

An Associate Member of Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)

An Ordinary Member of Singapore Institute of Directors 

Stephanie holds the following accreditations:

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants

A Chartered Accountant of Singapore of the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA)

3E Accounting’s Team

The accounting firm also has a team of employees, consisting of mainly females. The company’s staff compromises of eighty percent employees. In 2013, the accounting firm won the Accredited Training Organization award. The award is only given to businesses that provide extensive training and development opportunities to their employees.

One of the reasons the company won the award is due to its focus on providing their team with a work life balance. To create a work life balance, the accounting firm provides its employees with flexible work hours, which allows them to perform their duties and complete tasks on time.

How the Company Connects with their Global Clients?

The company utilises high-tech robotic technology to perform several different accounting services. The accounting firm uses the Cloud to control and back up their work progress. This enables them to increase employee productivity at the same time to provide their clients with an efficient service. The engage with their clients using emails, conferences, online chat portals, and phone calls. The company always looks to update their technology to provide their clients with a more efficient service.

Plans for Expansion

3E Accounting already has offices established in various parts of the globe. They have setup their accounting firm in North America, South America, Oceania, Africa, and Europe. In total, they have thirty-eight offices and have a combined staff of more than 600 employees.

The accounting firm has plans to establish their offices in countries part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) by 2017. The company already has an office established in Malaysia. The company wants to promote a customer-centric culture where they put the needs of their clients first.

They accounting firm also aspires to provide its employees it with a better working environment by incorporating the same technology and provide the same resources as they offer at the main headquarters in Singapore to all the other future and existing offices they want to establish in other countries by 2017.

The company aims to increase their visibility by offering clients in other countries with accounting services focused on providing them with quality services at affordable and cost-effective rates. So far, the company seems to be on track as per the owners, Lawrence and Stephanie.