{"id":4402,"date":"2021-02-17T08:20:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T08:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/news-fr\/legal-entity-management-beyond-compliance\/"},"modified":"2021-02-17T08:20:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T08:20:00","slug":"legal-entity-management-beyond-compliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ibj.be\/fr\/partnerblog-fr\/legal-entity-management-beyond-compliance\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Entity Management: Beyond Compliance"},"content":{"rendered":"

The time for action is now. Group structures have become increasingly complex. Compliance obligations and processes vary in complexity by jurisdiction, and statutory compliance timelines are often non-negotiable. These regulatory pressures have pushed effective entity management up the agenda for Boards and General Counsel. Organisations are responding to greater scrutiny by regulators and the public by being more proactive in promoting ethical behaviour.<\/p>\n

Entity compliance is becoming a focal point. For some time, governments have been saying that enforcement is increasing. New rules are being introduced or previous ones are being better enforced. Fines can be high in some countries, liability can be personal to directors, and there is a risk of asset seizures or strike offs because of non-compliance.<\/p>\n

The combination of external pressure to be compliant and an internal desire to benefit from compliance is shifting attitudes towards entity management.<\/p>\n

What is involved in Legal Entity Management? There are four pillars, specifically:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Annual compliance and corporate changes<\/li>\n
  2. Data collection and document management<\/li>\n
  3. Organisation charting and corporate planning<\/li>\n
  4. Legal entity data and deadline tracking<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Further down this blog, we will take a closer look at the annual compliance and corporate changes.<\/p>\n

    Technology as enabler<\/h5>\n

    Although entity management compliance is gaining priority in agendas, many organisations are still only taking action when a certain event triggers their reaction. Whatever the reason for such a project\u2019s launch, there are several clear considerations in meeting the compliance challenge.<\/p>\n

    Technology is seen as an enabler, allowing legal teams to do more for less. Fundamentally, technology on its own does not solve the problem. It needs to be populated and properly maintained with high quality data. Whatever the role of technology in achieving better entity management compliance, people very much remain an important part of the solution.<\/p>\n

    Entity management and compliance is a rapidly developing area. We observe many examples of organisations struggling to keep abreast of changes across their global footprint, increasing the risk of non-compliance. An effective way to reduce this risk is to work with providers specialising in compliance, keep up to date with regulatory developments, and invest in technology with a commitment to incremental improvement.<\/p>\n

    The latest technology allows stakeholders to obtain an up to date picture at the press of a button, based on a single source of truth. The old approach had different functions each maintaining their own versions of the legal entity map within different silos across the organisation.<\/p>\n

    Annual compliance and corporate changes<\/h5>\n

    As mentioned, annual compliance and corporate changes is one of legal entity management\u2019s four pillars. The main event within this pillar is of course the annual general meeting that approves annual accounts.<\/p>\n

    As you may know, annual accounts must be submitted to the general meeting for approval within six months after a financial year\u2019s closing, and in accordance with the company\u2019s articles of association.<\/p>\n

    The penalties for not approving the annual accounts on time can be significant; it is therefore very important to ensure this within the stipulated period:<\/p>\n