Right now, somewhere in the world, a highly visible company is planning the launch of a new product. The company has spent years, untold toil, and millions of dollars to get here, and at this moment needs one thing above all: discretion.
Wisely, the company has already engaged a service provider to provide intellectual property protection for the launch. The provider formed an entity on the company’s behalf and staffed it with directors and officers, enabling the company to carry out objectives related to the launch well out of sight of its competitors. New trademarks were filed with little fanfare. No detail was overlooked, right down to the allocation of dedicated office space for the entity as well as phone, fax, and Internet connections.
For decades companies have used service providers to help them form special purpose entities and passive investment companies. But the demands of global business call for a new set of tools. As a result, more and more corporations are in search of outsource partners that can relieve them of a number of entity functions, from the basic (telephone answering and forwarding) to the high-stakes (holding company formation for the purpose of M&A deals); the traditional (local presence in tax-favorable jurisdictions) to the high-tech (anonymous registration of brand-specific domain names).
By farming out these and other crucial business activities, companies not only save time and money—they manage risk and discover new efficiencies.
A little or a lot: outsourcing à la carte
Most special purpose entities require a local presence. Along with registered agent service, a qualified service partner can offer a shared or private physical space, including boardrooms for corporate meetings, and secure locations for records storage, either electronic or onsite. Mail processing and forwarding should also be available for the company’s principal place of business, as well as telephone answering and messaging services.
Often, entities require directors and officers and these too can be supplied on request. The right service partner can staff entities, regardless of number, with directors, officers, and even employees as circumstances dictate. They should also be able to provide experienced corporate secretaries to carry out critical functions such as board meeting preparation, drafting resolutions and minutes, and company records management, in addition to handling state and local compliance matters.
From here the palette broadens. Name a service, and a capable outsource partner is likely able to provide it. Financial activities such as bank account maintenance and reconciliation, bill paying, investment account management, and funds transfer execution can be arranged. Accounting functions, formerly taken care of in house, can be outsourced to an experienced service provider, including financial statement and general ledger preparation, investment portfolio accounting, and other specialized services, including interest and royalty invoice preparation. Functions that traditionally fell under the human resources heading, such as payroll administration and 401(k) administration, are well within the scope of offerings available from the best service partners as well.
Maximize efficiencies with a single service partner
When companies have entity service needs, they have options. They can contract with several service providers to carry out the required work to achieve their objectives. But engaging a single company has its rewards: business functions are centralized, billing is easier, and accountability is greater. In most cases, services can be secured on a transactional or ongoing basis and offered either in conjunction with an existing service or provided à la carte.
By choosing the right outsource partner, any company, whether headquartered in Boston, Beijing, Denver or Dubai, can be confident that its most critical entity functions are in expert hands—day after day, month after month, and year after year.
Corporation Service Company (CSC) provides the services you need to operate special purpose entities more efficiently and cost effectively. Visit www.cscglobal.com/spe or contact us at 302.654.7584 to learn more.