PSA3013: PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING

SEMESTER 2, 2022/2023

GROUP A: GROUP ASSIGNMENT 1

GOVERNMENT AGENCY:

COMPANIES COMMISSION OF MALAYSIA (SSM)

NAME MATRIC NUMBER

USHASSHINY A/P SHANMUGA VELU D20201092462

JAYASHREE A/P RAVICHANDRAN D20201092486

KIRUTHIGAAH A/P KANADASAN D20201092478

VAISNAWI A/P SARAVANAN D20201092463

HIROSHINI A/P BASGARAN D20201092473

PREPARED FOR: PROFESOR MADYA DR. HARTINI BINTI JAAFAR

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TABLE OF CONTENT

NO CONTENT PAGE

1.0 INTRODUCTION 1

2.0 ALIGNMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE 1-2

3.0 REPORTING STRUCTURE 3-4

4.0 4-6
MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY OF SSM

5.0 BARRIERS OR SILOS IN COMMUNICATION OR COLLABORATION 6-7

6.0 ALLOCATIONS OF RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE GOALS 8-9

7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 10

8.0 CONCLUSION 11

9.0 REFERENCE 12-13

10.0 APPENDIX 14-15

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

The Registrar of Companies (ROC) and the Registrar of Businesses (ROB) in Malaysia merged
to form the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM), a statutory body that oversees companies
and businesses. SSM began operations on April 16, 2002. SSM's primary function is to act as an
organization for the incorporation and registration of businesses, as well as to disseminate
company and business information to the public. As the leading body for bettering corporate
governance, SSM performs its duty to ensure adherence to corporate and business registration
laws through extensive enforcement and monitoring activities in order to maintain the nation's
corporate and business sectors' positive developments.

2.0 ALIGNMENT OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE

Vision: To be the premier business and corporate learning center.

Mission:

● To develop and harness competent, efficient, productive and multi-skilled human

resources for SSM through training and development programmes.
● To instill good corporate governance and promote proper conduct amongst officers of
corporations, business owners, industry groups and professional bodies through
continuous education.
● To develop the Academy’s global dimension by conducting and initiating strategic
collaborations with relevant institutions of higher learning, professional and international
bodies in providing training and education programs to regional and international
organizations.

SSM’s Goals:

● To conduct training and education programmes to enhance the competency of SSM’s

employees.
● To develop, organize and conduct training and educational programmes for SSM’s
external stakeholders including students of higher institutions and international
counterparts/agencies.
● To conduct research programmes in the development of business and corporate matters.

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 ● To conduct Training Needs Analysis (TNA) and Training Needs Identification (TNI) with
the aim to develop the appropriate training programmes for internal and external
stakeholders.
● To identify, develop and maintain a pool of trainers and experts on relevant areas in
relation to corporate and business matters; to market and promote training programmes.
● To develop and enhance the resource center to facilitate the corporate, business, and
academic communities.
● To do all things necessary in promoting and aiding business ethics and corporate
governance amongst directors, secretaries, managers and other officers of a corporation.
● Self-regulation by corporations, companies, businesses, industry groups and professional
bodies in the corporate and business sectors.

Furthermore, SSM focuses to develop the Academy’s global dimension by conducting and
initiating strategic collaborations with relevant institutions of higher learning, professional and
international bodies in providing training and education programs to regional and international
organizations. SSM also reviews and adjusts policies from time to time.

According to the Companies Commission of Malaysia Act 2001, Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia
(Companies Commission of Malaysia) (SSM) is a statutory body that oversees businesses and
companies in Malaysia. The Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs oversees SSM. In
addition to serving as a corporate regulator, SSM also acts as an organization for the incorporation
of businesses, the registration of businesses, and the dissemination of business and company
information to the general public. Furthermore, the Companies Commission of Malaysia Training
Academy (COMTRAC) was established in April 2007 with the goal of fostering good corporate
governance through ongoing education, efficient oversight, and enforcement. It was created to
lead the initiatives for external stakeholder training within SSM. Its goal is to educate and train a
broad range of corporate role-players, including directors, company secretaries, company
management and employees, auditors, business owners, inventors, and members of professional
bodies, in accordance with SSM's responsibilities as outlined in Sections 17(d) and 18(2) of the
Companies Commission of Malaysia Act 2001. From March 2019, the Academy will be known as
the COMTRAC & Knowledge Management Division. This shows that the structure aligns with the
agency’s vision, mission, and goals.

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3.0 REPORTING STRUCTURE

Institution of SSM

SSM is an agency under the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) known
as the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living (MDTCOL) since 3 December 2022, and
plays an essential role in ensuring that the Ministry's vision and purpose are achieved. MDTCOL
develops policies, plans, and examines issues of domestic trade development. From a positive
point of view, the pandemic that resulted in layoffs and job losses has increased interest among
the unemployed to pursue a business career, and choosing online businesses that require
minimal human interaction will boost efficiency and reduce business running expenses. MDTCA
(MDTCOL), through SSM, has taken numerous proactive activities and launched 11 projects in
support of the government's attempts to reduce the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the
corporate sector and the national economy such as the introduction of Skim Pendaftaran
Perniagaan Prihatin (SPPP) that offers one-year free registration of new businesses, the
continuation of Skim 1 OKU 1 Perniagaan (S1O1P) and extension of time for FREE registration
of SSM BizTrust.

Responsibility of SSM

SSM's primary function is to act as an agency for incorporating companies and registering
businesses and providing public access to company and business information. SSM fulfils its
function as the leading authority for improving corporate governance by ensuring compliance with
business registration and corporate legislation through comprehensive enforcement and
monitoring activities to sustain positive developments in the Nation's corporate and business
sectors. SSM is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the following laws:
Companies Commission of Malaysia Act 2001, Companies Act 2016 (Act 777), Interest Schemes
Act 2016 (Act 778), Registration of Businesses Act 1956 (Act 197), Limited Liability Partnerships
Act 2012, Trust Companies Act 1949 (Act 100), Kootu Funds (Prohibition) Act 1971 (Act 28) and
any subsidiary legislation made under the acts specified above such as: Companies Regulations
2017, Interest Scheme Regulations 2017, Registration of Businesses Rules 1957, Companies
Commission of Malaysia (Licensing of Secretaries) Regulations 2017 and Limited Liability
Partnership Regulations 2012.

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Reporting Structure to SSM

There are few government agencies that report to SSM which are Inland Revenue Board (IRBM),
Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Human Resources Development Berhad (PSMB), Social
Security Organisation (SOCSO) and SME Corp. Malaysia. These agencies are MyCoID (Malaysia
Corporate Identity) participating agencies. MyCoID is an online business incorporation and
registration service established by SSM that enables company incorporation services to be
completed online in a straightforward, quick, and hassle-free manner. MyCoID also refers to the
company number used only when communicating with the relevant government agencies and
registering for various activities. Companies can be formed and registered with the relevant
participating government agencies by using MyCoID.

Section 6 of the Companies Commission of Malaysia Act 2001 states that the Minister of Domestic
Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) appoints the commission members. The Commission
Members are chosen from top corporate executives, senior government officers, experts, and
professionals with well-known backgrounds. These exceptional individuals are entrusted with
overseeing, directing, and setting the direction of SSM.

Moreover, the commission made contributions to the Retirement Fund (Incorporated) (KWAP) for
employees who are in the Government pensionable scheme and the Employees Provident Fund
(EPF) for employees who have chosen the EPF scheme. In addition, every company in Malaysia
should report to SSM in terms of registration, change of company name, conversion of company,
Annual Return (AR), Financial Statement and Report (FS) and Exemption Applications (EA)
related to the FS and AR and more.

4.0 MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY AND EFFICIENCY OF SSM

The vision and mission statements provide a focal point that helps to align everyone with the
organization, thus ensuring that everyone is working towards a single purpose. This helps to
increase efficiency and productivity in the organization. The same concept can be applied to SSM
as an organization as well. The vision of SSM is to be a top tier corporate registry and regulatory
authority. Whereas the Mission of SSM is not one but many.

One of the first missions of SSM is to provide training and educational programs for SSM
stakeholders, including higher education students. To work towards this mission SSM introduced

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Skim Pendaftaran Perniagaan Prihatin or also known as (SPPP). All B40 youngsters, single
mothers, and full-time students from public and private higher education institutions, polytechnics,
colleges, skills institutes, and skills centers in Malaysia are eligible for this initiative (Refer
Appendix 1). The SPPP project was made available to everyone in the B40 group who plans to
launch a business but hasn't yet registered their enterprise. The SPPP offers free business
registration services.

Not only that, SSM also has a mission to develop and harness competent, efficient, productive
and multi-skilled human resources for SSM through training and development programmes. This
is to ensure the employee of SSM is constantly competent and multi-talented. To align with this
goal SSM takes initiative to do continuing professional education (CPE) through online training to
foster a culture of continuous learning and enhancing the knowledge. Company secretaries attend
online class to ensure CPE points collection are complied with condition of renewing Company
Secretary Practicing Certificate. (Refer Appendix 2).

Next mission of SSM is to review and adjust policies in line with the department's mission. This
mission commonly binds with the procurement department. The procurement department
oversees and studies, reviews, and does adjustments to policies, circulars, and guidelines. It also
provides training and awareness campaigns, creates annual procurement plans, monitors
contracts, ensures procurement compliance, and manages suppliers. The Policy Management
Unit is the main unit that supports the function of this department. SSM currently has proposed
amendments to the Company Act 2016 regarding the Corporate Rescue Mechanism (CRM) and
scheme of compromise of arrangement.(Refer Appendix 3)

However, SSM also has a mission to develop and enhance the resource center to facilitate the
corporate, business, and academic communities. Resource center should have been a one stop
center for business people to collect information needed by them. This comes under the Property
& Facility Management Department. This department binds with the mission to provide good
facilities for the stakeholders of SSM. The mission to provide a good facility is not fully
accomplished as there is no adequate information that there is a resource center where it is
accessible to everyone to access physically or virtually.

Not only that, SSM has been receiving numerous complaints regarding technical inefficiencies.
The page seems to be always down when it is accessed or needed the most. Though, it is merely
seen as a technical issue but as the world is moving to online for all works SSM is struggling to

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cope up with it. There are no specific departments such as the Information Technology
department to handle the technical inefficiency. The time taken to settle a business registration
online is a big hassle for customers. Moreover the portal of SSM is frequently on maintenance
and not well maintained as it is not user friendly (Refer Appendix 4). The SSM’s one and only
vision to be the premier business and top tier corporate registry and regulatory authority. The
vision cannot be achieved if SSM does not work towards bringing better technology to their
stakeholders.

From this, it can be concluded that not all departments align with the vision and mission of SSM.
It can be considered that SSM is not efficient as wholly. Though, there are hiccups here and there
in SSM it is still practicing working on achieving its mission and vision. As a whole organization
SSM has more things that go well than things that do not.

5.0 BARRIERS FACED BY SSM IN COMMUNICATION OR COLLABORATION

5.1 COVID-19 Pandemic

The World Health Organization (WHO) classified COVID-19 an outbreak in March 2020 after the
viral outbreak spread to several nations. The Movement Control Order (MCO), which was
implemented in Malaysia on March 18, 2020, has a considerable influence on daily life in the
country's communities, the economy, and commercial operations. The Suruhanjaya Syarikat
Malaysia (SSM) operated with limited activities from the MCO stages in 2020 through the third
quarter of 2021. Movements, as well as the requirement for physical distance and Work From
Home facilities, had a substantial influence on the SSM’s budgetary planning and operations.
SSM’s mission to enhance multi-skilled human resources through training and development
programmes might be affected by COVID-19 pandemic due to social distancing.

The MCO announcement made it difficult for SSM to interact with their employees as efficiently
as previously. The issue got worse as a result of certain staff members' ignorance of modern
communication methods. The reporting system had flaws, and the personnel occasionally
received false information. When there is a breakdown in communication across functions,
information is no longer effectively exchanged and instead becomes imprisoned within
departments, frequently to the cost of the entire business. By offering its employees training, SSM
was able to adapt their business practices to the new norm.

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SSM did, however, start functioning during the MCO transition period from the fourth quarter of
2021 to the end of the first quarter of 2022 in accordance with the Malaysian government's
declaration. On April 1, 2022, COVID-19 was an outbreak in Malaysia before becoming endemic.
Recognizing the possibility of COVID-19 spreading, the administration of SSM periodically
examines how well it is running, putting public health precautions into practice, and being vigilant
in all daily actions.

5.2 Reporting of False News

Fake news can severely damage a company's brand because it takes very little money to do it.
In actuality, spreading misleading information on social media is a common source of
misinformation. To exert pressure on the company, these materials may be published by both
internal and external parties (Rodrguez-Fernández, 2019). A company's reputation may be
harmed by the spread of misleading information, leading clients and potential collaborators less
willing to cooperate with them.

On 28 September 2021, according to a local news site (The Rakyat Post), a well-known database
market forum was selling a database that was reportedly owned by SSM (Refer to Appendix 5).
A price tag of 0.3 Bitcoin, or around RM54,000 to individual buyers, is attached to the database.
Additionally, the vendor proposed to stop selling the database in exchange for one Bitcoin, or
roughly RM174,000, from the proprietor of www.ssm-einfo.my. The article claimed that the
database held the profiles of almost 1.4 million Malaysian enterprises. However, the Companies
Commission of Malaysia (SSM) has denied allegations that there were data leaks involving
business entities in Malaysia as reported by a portal on Wednesday (Khalid.S , 2021).

This kind of false report could destroy the trust of the collaborators that might affect SSM to
achieve their mission to develop the Academy’s global dimension through collaboration. In spite
of that through a statement SSM claimed that it had performed an internal review and that all
company information provided to it was safe and secured by multiple certified layers of information
security technologies. To further investigate this claim, SSM collaborated with the National
Security Council (MKN), the National Cyber Security Agency (NACSA), and others.

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6.0 ALLOCATIONS OF RESOURCES TO ACHIEVE GOALS
The management and distribution of resources in accordance with such a company's strategic
objectives is known as resource allocation. Those resources may include skill and managerial
focus and commitment.

SSM's primary function is to act as an institution for the establishment of businesses and the
presentation of company information to the general public. Which highlights the importance of
working and being beneficial for the public. As a result, SSM has developed resources and
implemented certain modifications in conjunction with the government's attempts to aid in the post
Covid-19 pandemic economic recovery to benefit the public. Such as.

● 90% of the original amount will be reduced from the penalty for each offense.
The purpose is to assure that documentation on company entities in the SSM register is
updated and to encourage businesses to comply with standard guidelines for corporate
governance, particularly the submission of financial statements and the most recent data
in the SSM. (Bernama. 2023, March)
This is done by SSM to provide a boost to the public to be more responsible and give a
second chance to those offenses, to avoid the same mistakes in the future since one of
SSM goal is to expand and improve the resource center in order to aid corporate and
business and educate the public with proper policies.

● Increasing the free SSM BizTrust registration period.

This enables the public to have more time to register and use the benefits that are being
provided. (Bernama. 2023, March)
SSM provides this to encourage more people to engage themself in business and utilize
the incentives that are being provided by the government. By increasing the registration
period, the public will have more time to think and make better decisions.

● Free business registration for B40 group business owners & full-time college students.
In order to overcome the present economic issues, it is intended to motivate
entrepreneurial households and students to utilize business as a part of their revenue
sources. (Bernama. 2023, March)
For this the students just need to present their student card and the b40 group just needs
to submit their salary slips and fill up the form to be eligible for this incentive. This

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 encourages the people in need to do business to generate income and also SSM gets to
play a small role to reduce their financial burden in cooperation with the government and
educate the public regarding business related education.

Moreover, SSM also organizes many programs that could benefit the public where the contents
of the program are packed with current business information and guidelines. Such as, Corporate
Directors Training Programme Fundamental 4.0 + Cyber Security Awareness Corporate,
Managing Stress for Today’s Work Life Balance, Directors Training Programme Fundamental 4.0
+ Financial Statements 101 and many more beneficial programs. (Training Calendar & Brochure,
2023, SSM). All of the programs and training provided by SSM is highly beneficial for the public
and also for their own employees as well, since these new ideas and skills enable SSM to teach
the public the proper method of managing a company and export the news regarding the updated
knowledge that is happening around the world. Many companies and people can learn a lot from
these training and programs which enables them to upgrade their skills and knowledge.

Moving on, SSM also provided “Company Secretaries Training Programme Essential 1.0” which
recently started in January 2023, where it is provided specially to cover latest innovations and
inventive solutions to the professional issues faced by business secretaries. It seeks to improve
the corporate secretaries' learning, abilities, and skills in their capacity as advisors to the director's
committee. This was also provided to the SSM employees as well to upgrade their knowledge
and learn new skills to keep up with the evolving world, since one of SSM goal is to develop,
organize and conduct training and educational programmes.

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7.0 RECOMMENDATIONS

Despite the resources being allocated properly according to their organization goals. There are
changes from time to time, so it is equally important to be up to date all the time. Meaning,
although they may now have the necessary resources in place, when the company works toward
certain company goals, it's probable that they'll be required to reevaluate them or even come up
with new innovative ideas.

Firstly, they must first reassess the existing resources because the world is moving towards digital
evaluation. Professionals to help them navigate the procedure or new or improved technology
and resources to handle and sustain stakeholder connections may be needed. For example, their
website is complicated and not organized which makes it difficult for the public to search for
information and sometimes the website is not working, and the system is down which is a bit
problematic for the public. To solve this problem, they could update their website and come up
with new innovative technology to solve this system since now there are many technologies
available to solve such problems.

Next, even if there are many opportunities and incentives provided by SSM, the information is still
unreachable to most of the public and this might be due to the lack of advertising and promoting.
So to solve these issues, they can come up with new unique ideas to promote more and to reach
more people to pass the beneficial information. For example, they could be more active in social
media to promote their programs and advertise more on television to reach more people. SSM
could also email to their registered companies regarding the training and programs that are being
provided by SSM to attract more people and companies so that they all can benefit from these
amazing programs and upgrade themselves.

Moreover, to develop the country and move towards technological development, SSM could come
up with more current technology related business ideas and programs to promote it to the public
and provide guidelines on how to build such business to develop and be up to date in the current
revolving world. To do this, they could work more closely on innovation research and development
to come up with new business ideas and opportunities for the public.

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8.0 CONCLUSION

To summarize, SSM is a statutory body that oversees companies and businesses, ensuring

adherence to corporate and business registration laws. The institution of SSM is the Ministry of

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs (MDTCA) known as Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost

of Living (MDTCOL) since 3 December 2022. Some agencies that report to SSM are Inland

Revenue Board (IRBM), Employees Provident Fund (EPF), Human Resources Development

Berhad (PSMB), Social Security Organisation (SOCSO) and SME Corp. Malaysia, companies

and commission members.

One of its main missions is to develop competent, efficient, productive and multi-skilled human

resources, instill good corporate governance and promote proper conduct. SSM as a whole

organization works towards its vision and missions to ensure each department runs efficiently but

there is definitely room to improve. Due to the MCO during the COVID-19 pandemic and the

spread of fake news, SSM encountered barriers to effective communication and collaboration,

which did have a significant impact on their objectives. SSM should work on shaping their mission

and make sure the mission underlines the organization's purpose.

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REFERENCES

Bernama. (2023, March). Eight SSM initiatives for post-pandemic economic recovery in 2023.
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2023/03/894921/eight-ssm-initiatives-post-pandemic-
economic-recovery-2023

Companies Commission of Malaysia (2022). Facilitating the Nation’s Recovery: Annual Report
2021. Ministry of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, SSM. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/Windows%2010/Downloads/AnnualReport2021.pdf

Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) (2016). Offical website. Ministry of Domestic Trade
and Cost of Living. Retrieved from https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Home.aspx.

Companies Commission Of Malaysia Act, M.Y.S. & 6, (2001). Retrieved from

https://www.ssm.com.my/Pages/Legal_Framework/Document/CCMA%20Act%20614_as
%20at%201%20March%202018).pdf

Fake News: What is it and how does it impact the corporate environment? (n.d.). Vestigere.
Retrieved April 13, 2023, from https://www.vestigere.com/en/fake-news-impact-corporate-
enviroment/

Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (2012). Use Of Mycoid In Dealing With Income Tax Matters
With IRB [Media Release]. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/Windows%2010/Downloads/USE_OF_MyCoID_IN_DEALING_WITH_INC
OME_TAX_MATTERS_WITH_IRB.pdf

Ismail, A. R., Raj, K., & Fong, F. (2021, September 29). More Data Leaks, This Time It's SSM's,
For Sale Online | TRP. The Rakyat Post.
https://www.therakyatpost.com/tech/2021/09/29/more-data-leaks-this-time-its-ssms-for-
sale-online/

Khalid, S. (2021, September 29). SSM denies data leak involving business entities. The Edge
Markets. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/ssm-denies-data-leak-involving-
business-entities

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Skills You Need Ltd. (n.d.). Barriers to Effective Communication | SkillsYouNeed. Skills You
Need. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/barriers-
communication.html

The Centre for Legal Leadership. (2023). Identifying and overcoming barriers to collaboration |
Practical Law. Practical Law. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from
https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-031-
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Training Calendar & Brochure 2023. (n.d.). Suruhanjaya Syarikat Malaysia (SSM).
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Zahari, N. H. (2019). The effectiveness of training and development at Suruhanjaya Syarikat

headquarters. https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/23541/

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APPENDIX

Appendix 1

APPENDIX 2

APPENDIX 3

Appendix 2

Appendix 3

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Appendix 4

Appendix 5

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