Corporate services or business services are activities which combine or consolidate certain

enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

-wide needed support services, provided based on specialized knowledge,

best practices A best practice is a method or technique that has been generally accepted as superior to other known alternatives because it often produces results that are superior to those achieved by other means or because it has become a standard way of doing ...

, and technology to serve internal (and sometimes external) customers and business partners. The term corporate services providers (CSPs) is also used. In the United Kingdom, the public audit agencies produced a report in May 2007 called "Value for Money in public sector corporate services". This provides performance indicators in five categories: Finance, Human Resources, Information & Communication Technology, Procurement, and Estates Management.

Examples of Corporate Services

Business Advisory Service

Business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

advisory service advises current and future businesses prospects of a

client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...

, with the aim of advancing their

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." Having a business name does not separ ...

company A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared ...

. This service is used by all types of businesses and would involve examining the legal, tax, finance, market and risks factors involved to start up a

or making new changes to the

. Business advisory services are given by organisations with experience in company formation.

Company Incorporation

Company incorporation is the process of forming a company

corporation A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...

officially in the country of residence. It is also possible non-residents to set up a company: see

offshore company The term "offshore company" or “offshore corporation” is used in at least two distinct and different ways. An offshore company may be a reference to: * a company, group or sometimes a division thereof, which engages in offshoring business pr ...

. However, laws vary in all countries. International corporate service

consultants A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization. Consulting servi ...

specialise in dealing with incorporation in the country in question. Once application is successful, the company will receive a

certificate of incorporation A certificate of incorporation is a legal document/license relating to the formation of a company or corporation. It is a license to form a corporation issued by state government or, in some jurisdictions, by non-governmental entity/corporation. Its ...

. Which provides valid existence of the company under the registered name given.

Registered Agent

A registered

agent Agent may refer to: Espionage, investigation, and law *, spies or intelligence officers * Law of agency, laws involving a person authorized to act on behalf of another ** Agent of record, a person with a contractual agreement with an insuranc ...

, also known as a resident agent or statutory agent,''E.g.'',

Ohio Revised Code The ''Ohio Revised Code'' contains all current statutes of the Ohio General Assembly of a permanent and general nature, consolidated into provisions, titles, chapters and sections. However, the only official publication of the enactments of the Ge ...

br>§ 1701.07
is a business or individual designated to receive

service of process Service of process is the procedure by which a party to a lawsuit gives an appropriate notice of initial legal action to another party (such as a defendant), court, or administrative body in an effort to exercise jurisdiction over that person s ...

(SOP) when a

business entity In law, a legal person is any person or 'thing' (less ambiguously, any legal entity) that can do the things a human person is usually able to do in law – such as enter into contracts, sue and be sued, own property, and so on. The reason for ...

is a party in a

legal action In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

such as a lawsuit or summons. Some examples of related services include: * Compliance services *

Business licensing Business licenses are permits issued by government agencies that allow individuals or companies to conduct business within the government's geographical jurisdiction. It is the authorization to start a business issued by the local government. A ...

* DBA Doing Business As filings. * Preparation and filing of reports that must be filed from time to time (Annual, Biennial, etc.)

Finance and Banking

Corporate services such as finance and banking were first introduced to remove pressure from the client's organisation when dealing with complex banking and finance issues. Specialist information and tips are provided by the consultancy to manage finances appropriately, and some can set up a corporate bank account for clients. Some examples of tailored services include: * Corporate

bank account A bank account is a financial account maintained by a bank or other financial institution in which the financial transactions between the bank and a customer are recorded. Each financial institution sets the terms and conditions for each type of ...

s *

Offshore bank An offshore bank is a bank regulated under international banking license (often called offshore license), which usually prohibits the bank from establishing any business activities in the jurisdiction of establishment. Due to less regulation and ...

accounts * Multi-currency accounts *

Brokerage A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be con ...

accounts *

Private banking Private banking is banking, investment and other financial services provided by banks and financial institutions primarily serving high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs)—defined as those with very high levels of income or sizable assets. A bank that ...

* Corporate

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

applications

Accounting and Tax Services

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

and tax services are useful for companies wanting to

outsource Outsourcing is an agreement in which one company hires another company to be responsible for a planned or existing activity which otherwise is or could be carried out internally, i.e. in-house, and sometimes involves transferring employees and ...

their basic work. The services involve preparing and submitting obligatory documents required by authorities associated with business practice. Some basic services include: *

Payroll A payroll is the list of employees of some company that is entitled to receive payments as well as other work benefits and the amounts that each should receive. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time worked or tasks pe ...

* Maintaining

cash flow A cash flow is a real or virtual movement of money: *a cash flow in its narrow sense is a payment (in a currency), especially from one central bank account to another; the term 'cash flow' is mostly used to describe payments that are expected ...

books * Tax registration * Tax returns *

Corporation tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities. Many countries impose such taxes at the national level, and a similar tax may be imposed a ...

Tax avoidance Tax avoidance is the legal usage of the tax regime in a single territory to one's own advantage to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law. A tax shelter is one type of tax avoidance, and tax havens are jurisdi ...

(international)

Investment and Stock Exchange

Market research for investment along with risk evaluation is another corporate service designed to help clients make financial decisions.

Intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, co ...

protection is seen as an investment, this is a service some consultancies may also advise on. Similarly,

stock exchange A stock exchange, securities exchange, or bourse is an exchange where stockbrokers and traders can buy and sell securities, such as shares of stock, bonds and other financial instruments. Stock exchanges may also provide facilities for t ...

services can bring about specialist reports on past, current and forecasted

trends, with a personalised analysis.

Offshore Bundled Services

Where local Corporate Service Providers (CSPs) offer bundled basic services to support

tax residency The criteria for residence for tax purposes vary considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and "residence" can be different for other, non-tax purposes. For individuals, physical presence in a jurisdiction is the main test. Some jurisdictio ...

tests such as "central management and control" type tests (typical in UK law) of a

brass plate company A brass plate company or brass plate trust is a legally constituted company lacking meaningful connection with the location of incorporation. The name is based on a company whose only tangible existence in its jurisdiction of incorporation is th ...

shell company A shell corporation is a company or corporation that exists only on paper and has no office and no employees, but may have a bank account or may hold passive investments or be the registered owner of assets, such as intellectual property, or s ...

or other

special-purpose vehicle A special-purpose entity (SPE; or, in Europe and India, special-purpose vehicle/SPV; or, in some cases in each EU jurisdiction, FVC, financial vehicle corporation) is a legal entity (usually a limited company of some type or, sometimes, a limited ...

that has been set up in the jurisdiction. Usually located in either

offshore financial centres An offshore financial centre (OFC) is defined as a "country or jurisdiction that provides financial services to nonresidents on a scale that is incommensurate with the size and the financing of its domestic economy." "Offshore" does not refer ...

or in onshore financial centres. Typical services include: * Maintain books and records * Compiling annual accounts * Conducting annual audits * Filing tax returns * Providing local Directors * Providing

registered office A registered office is the official address of an incorporated company, association or any other legal entity. Generally it will form part of the public record and is required in most countries where the registered organization or legal entity ...

address * Providing meeting rooms for Board meetings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corporate Services Service industries