Accounting Support for Foreign-owned Companies

Korean subsidiaries of foreign groups often run lean finance teams. The local books follow Korean rules, while HQ needs a reporting package on group policies and timelines. I help bridge the two.

What this covers

• Monthly, quarterly and year-end closing support
• HQ reporting packages and group reporting deadlines
• Reconciling Korean GAAP (K-GAAP / K-IFRS) to group IFRS or US GAAP

Which accounting framework applies?

There is no single answer for foreign companies in Korea. A Korean branch or subsidiary that is not consolidated may keep its statutory books under K-GAAP; a subsidiary of a US group may need its numbers converted from US GAAP to K-IFRS (or the other way round) for local or group reporting; listed groups bring their own requirements. I look at your actual setup — branch or subsidiary, consolidated or not, what HQ reports under, and what Korean law requires locally — and recommend a framework and a practical conversion process.

Conversion work I've done

• Converted the US GAAP financial statements of a US subsidiary into K-IFRS for the consolidated reporting of its Korean parent. The same work in reverse — turning a Korean subsidiary's books into a group reporting package under HQ's US GAAP or IFRS — follows the same logic.
• Many conversions between IFRS / K-IFRS and K-GAAP for Korean companies.
• Combining a US branch into the financial statements of a Korean company.

IFRS vs K-IFRS: same standards, local practice

K-IFRS is IFRS as adopted in Korea, and the differences in the standards themselves are very small (one visible example: Korean rules require operating profit to be shown in the income statement). What catches foreign groups out is local practice: how Korean auditors and regulators expect certain items to be presented, disclosed and documented, and how tax-driven entries in the local ledger flow into the financial statements. That is where working with a local CPA saves time and back-and-forth. - Preparing for the statutory audit and responding to auditor requests - Explaining Korean accounting and tax-driven entries to HQ in plain English - Working directly with HQ in English (calls, email, documents) when there is no Korean-speaking contact on your side

Independence note

If your Korean entity is audited by Sinseung Accounting Firm, some of these services cannot be provided by the firm. We check this before any engagement.