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Company Administration Services
Many of our clients require us to look after the ongoing administration of the companies and trusts we establish for them. Qualified and trained administrators in our Perth and London offices look after the day-to-day operation of client matters. They deal with meetings, minutes, bank instructions and many other functions, maintaining close contact and reporting regularly to the client. We are widely experienced in matters of company administration including the sale, purchasing and management of commercial buildings, the administration of fixed and liquid assets, and the day to day administration of service and commodity trading companies.
We can offer a comprehensive service on a reasonable fixed price basis, or tailor-made services on a time-cost charging basis.
The level and choice of services available are very flexible. We are happy to work with our clients at any level they wish.
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Renewal
If you have retained our company administration service your company will continue in existence as long as you wish. Each year we will invoice you for the annual fees and any government taxes and duties which are payable. You will also be billed at least once a year, and more frequently for very active company’s, for any administrative work we have done on your behalf since the last bill.
Accounts
Companies are generally required to keep, publish, and submit some form of accounts. We can take care of this function for you reasonably and efficiently. For further information refer to link.
Audit
Some jurisdictions require an annual financial audit by an independent accountant or CPA of the company's activity for the year. We can advise on the selection of a suitable firm to undertake this work and provide fee estimates. Often a non-trading company, such as an asset holding company, can simply file a non-trading declaration.
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Banking?
Corporate Governance and Compliance
Governance
Corporate governance means the rigorous supervision of the management of a company; it means ensuring that business is done competently, with integrity and with due regard for the interests of all stakeholders. Good governance is a mix of legislation, non-legislative codes, self regulation and best practice, structure, culture, and board competency.
The key governance issues affecting companies are:
Board structure and maintenance
Board management
Directors’ remuneration
Financial controls
Accountability and audit
Relations with shareholders
At its most basic it is about complying with the law and applying policies and procedures that are undepinned by sound business reason and the culture within.
We provide a corporate governance consultancy service aimed at those businesses who wish to ensure compliance and sound governance.
Compliance
Corporate compliance means complying with all legislation, regulations, standards and codes that may be applicable to a company. Clearly Government, Companies House, and HM Revenue and Customs legislate for and stipulate requirements that are to be met by companies and their officers. There may also be issues of insurance, health and safety at work, and business continuation to consider. In addition companies may have compliance targets that are specific to their trade or profession. For example the compliance requirements of a property holding company are likely to be influenced by different factors to that of a company trading in commodities.
Our compliance consultancy service is aimed at those businesses who wish to ensure they remain compliant.
Nominee Services and Provision of Directors
Nominee Shareholder Service
For many valid commercial reasons some shareholders (the ultimate beneficial owners) may require their confidentiality to be maintained. Whereas company directors can apply to have their home addresses excluded from the public register this facility is not available to shareholders.
The use of nominee shareholders resolves this problem. The nominee executes a declaration of trust in favour of the beneficial owner, whereby the nominee undertakes to exercise voting rights and otherwise deal with the shares in accordance with the benficial owners instructions.
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Nominee Company Secretarial Service
Provision of Directors
In certain circumstances we are able to provide directors to client companies This may be in circumstances where a company is required to be tax resident of the UK, where certain skills of directors are required by the company, or where there is a legitimate reason for confidentiality.
We do not provide directors on a nominee or name only basis. We require that all directors appointed shall have day to day management and control of the company while at all times maintaining their fiduciary responsibilities to the ultimate beneficial owners, shareholders, and other stakeholders.
Annual fees for director services are dependent on the responsibilities taken on by the directors. In addition, ad hoc work undertaken by the directors is charged for on a time spent basis
Banking
Provision of Banking Facilities
We arrange a wide range of banking services in conjunction with our company formation and administration. Clients using our company administration services will normally need banking facilities to allow trade or the movement of assets.
We establish bank accounts in the UK because of the close relationships we have with banks there but, in practice, bank accounts can be set up in any location. We use carefully selected international banks offering a wide range of facilities who are experienced in dealing with corporate structures.
Account Opening Requirements
Anti money laundering laws require that banks obtain detailed due diligence information, in addition to that held by us, before they will open a bank account.
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This is normally:
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A reference from an existing banker.
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A reference from a professional person such as a lawyer or accountant.
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A true and clear copy of the client’s passport. This may need to be legalised in the country of origin, to confirm identity.
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Proof of permanent residential address.
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An indication of the likely activity on the account.
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A full explanation of the company's trading activities.
Operation of company bank accounts
Where we are appointed as directors to a company, we will insist on providing signatories to the company's bank account. No fee is charged for the provision of signatories in these circumstances. Should the client wish to exercise a degree of control over the account, we can accommodate this by appointing the client as a joint signatory to the account. In this way, neither party can transfer funds from the account without the other party's consent.
All bank instructions passed to us by clients must be in writing and accompanied by documentation relevant to and supporting the transaction.
Safeguards
We only appoint senior staff as signatories to client company bank accounts. Each instruction is checked for accuracy and signed off by a senior staff member as being correct before being sanctioned by the bank signatories and passed to the bank.
Accounting Book-keeping and Invoicing
Company law requires that the directors of a company maintain proper accounting records, including the preparation of final accounts on an annual basis. In the UK as in some other jurisdictions accounts have to be filed with the companies registry.
Our client accounting team can take care of this task for you.
Services provided include:
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Full statutory account preparation
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Management accounts and general ledger maintenance
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Bank account maintenance and payments/receipts management
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Value Added Tax
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Corporation and other taxes computation and submission
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Third party liaison and representation
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Book-keeping and Invoicing
We can undertake your company’s invoicing with a service as basic or comprehensive as required. We are specialists in providing invoicing services in multi currencies and in the collection of debt and credit control. We can also provide book-keeping for your company to Trial Balance stage, using a variety of software applications.
VAT Administration
The threshold above which a company is obliged to register for VAT in the UK is £67,000. Failure to appropriately register for VAT may result in penalties and fines being imposed.
We can register appropriate UK companies for VAT and provide VAT administration services. Registration is given at the discretion of H M Revenue & Customs, and the process usually takes three months unless further queries arise during the application process. We cannot guarantee that a business will be registered, or that it will continue to be registered following an inspection of the records.
Our ongoing VAT administration service includes:
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Preparing and submitting applications for VAT registration to HM Revenue & Customs
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Acting as VAT agent and providing a UK address as a point of contact for HMRC
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Advising when VAT returns are due for submission and requesting copy invoices
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Scheduling the invoices received, and compiling the quarterly return
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Advising of any VAT due or passing on any repayments received
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Completing EC sales lists and other government survey forms where appropriate
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Attending VAT inspections made by local customs officers
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Dealing with any miscellaneous correspondence and telephone enquiries received from H M Revenue & Customs in relation to the business
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Virtual Office Solutions
Registered Office Facility
It is a requirement that each company or Limited Liability Partnership has a registered office. This is so that offical mail sent to the company by Companies House and HM Revenue & Customs can be properly delivered.
For companies established in England and Wales we can offer registerd office facilities in London or Doncaster. The annual fee for London is £ and for Doncaster £
For companies established in Scotland we can offer a registered office in Perth. The annual fee is £
All mail forwarded is charged at £0.50 per item or from London £1.00 plus postage costs.
Correspondance Office Facility
We provide correspondance office facilities for those companies wishing to have correspondance and general mail deleivered to them in the UK.
For companies established in England and Wales we can offer correspondance office facilities in London or Doncaster. The annual fee for London is £ and for Doncaster £
For companies established in Scotland we can offer a correspondance office in Perth. The annual fee is £
All mail forwarded is charged at £0.50 per item or from London £1.00 plus postage costs.
Dedicated Telephone and Fax Numbers and e-mail forwarding
We offer a number of telephone and fax number facilities. These range form numbers which are provided free of charge to those that are charged at per minute or per second rates. All calls to these numbers will be automatically re routed to a number of your choice.
Telephone numbers can be specific to the correspondance office location or national non-specific numbers.
We also provide an e-mail forwarding service.
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+44 (0)1738 500 400 
info@firstcorporateservices.co.uk
