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 * Enterpris ...

-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 alternatives because it tends to produce superior results. Best practices are used to achieve quality as an alternative to mandatory standards. Best practice ...

, and technology to serve internal (and sometimes external) customers and business partners. The term corporate services providers (CSPs) is also used. Corporate Service Providers may work in a diverse set of fields such as

finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

consulting A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

IT service management Information technology service management (ITSM) are the activities performed by an organization to design, build, deliver, operate and control IT services offered to customers. Differing from more technology-oriented IT management approach ...

, advisory services,

auditing An audit is an "independent examination of financial information of any entity, whether profit oriented or not, irrespective of its size or legal form when such an examination is conducted with a view to express an opinion thereon." Auditing al ...

and so forth. Typically the emphasis of the service agreement is on providing clients with an improved functional and experiential quality over time. 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 Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

Advisory Service counsels clients re the current and future state of their

Company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of legal people, whether Natural person, natural, Juridical person, juridical or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members ...

, with the aim of advancing the prospects of the enterprise in question. This service, used across various industries, involves (i) examining the relevant legal, tax, financial, market, and/or

risk factors In epidemiology, a risk factor or determinant is a variable associated with an increased risk of disease or infection. Due to a lack of harmonization across disciplines, determinant, in its more widely accepted scientific meaning, is often ...

, and then (ii) advising re start-up (including

company formation Company formation is the term for the process of incorporation of a business in the UK. It is also sometimes referred to as company registration. These terms are both also used when incorporating a business in the Republic of Ireland. Under UK ...

), or more common, re ongoing

strategic Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "troop leadership; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the "art o ...

and operational improvements to the business.

Company incorporation

Company incorporation is the process of forming a company

corporation A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

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 proce ...

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

consultants A consultant (from "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice or services in an area of specialization (generally to medium or large-size corporations). Cons ...

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 the state government or, in some jurisdictions, by a non-governmental entity/corporati ...

. 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 insuran ...

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

Ohio Revised Code The ''Ohio Revised Code'' (ORC) 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 o ...

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

service of process Each legal jurisdiction has rules and discrete terminology regarding the appropriate procedures for serving legal documents on a person being sued or subject to legal proceedings. In the U.S. legal system, service of process is the procedure ...

(SOP) when a

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

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 part ...

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 s ...

* 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 transaction A financial transaction is an Contract, agreement, or communication, between a buyer and seller to exchange goods, ...

s *

Offshore bank An offshore bank is a bank that is operated and 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 ...

accounts * Multi-currency accounts *

Brokerage A broker is a person or entity that arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller. This may be done 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. Neith ...

accounts *

Private banking Private banking is a general description for banking, investment and other financial services provided by banks and financial institutions primarily serving high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) – those with very high income or substantial asset ...

* Corporate

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

applications

Accounting and tax services

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

and tax services are useful for companies wanting to

outsource Outsourcing is a business practice in which company, companies use external providers to carry out business processes that would otherwise be handled internally. Outsourcing sometimes involves transferring employees and assets from one firm to ...

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 a list of employment, employees of a company who are entitled to receive compensation as well as other work benefits, as well as the amounts that each should obtain. Along with the amounts that each employee should receive for time ...

* Maintaining

cash flow Cash flow, in general, refers to payments made into or out of a business, project, or financial product. It can also refer more specifically to a real or virtual movement of money. *Cash flow, in its narrow sense, is a payment (in a currency), es ...

books * Tax registration *

Tax returns A tax return is a form on which a person or organization presents an account of income and circumstances, used by the tax authorities to determine liability for tax. Tax returns are usually processed by each country's tax authority, known as a ...

Corporation tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax or corporate income tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but i ...

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. A tax shelter is one type of tax avoidance, and tax havens are jurisdictions that facilitate reduced taxe ...

(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 ...

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

shell company A shell corporation is a company or corporation with no significant assets or operations often formed to obtain financing before beginning business. Shell companies were primarily vehicles for lawfully hiding the identity of their beneficial ...

or other

special-purpose vehicle A special-purpose entity (SPE), also called a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) or a financial vehicle corporation (FVC), is a legal entity (usually a limited company of some type or, sometimes, a limited partnership) created to fulfill narrow, speci ...

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

Legal aspects

In ordinary circumstances, corporate service providers may not, or alternatively will not, act as a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

for the clients which they provide services to. This is to maintain the integrity of the client organization and its ability to represent itself in

legal process Legal process (sometimes simply process) is any formal notice or writ by a court obtaining jurisdiction over a person or property. Common forms of process include a summons, subpoena, Mandate (criminal law), mandate, and warrant (law), warrant. ...

es. It also avoids excessive risk on behalf of the purveyor of corporate services. This practice seeks to ensure that the

corporate personhood Corporate personhood or juridical personality is the legal notion that a juridical person such as a corporation, separately from its associated human beings (like owners, managers, or employees), has at least some of the legal rights and respon ...

of the client is secured. Exceptions to this may be in litigations or corporate

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

filings where the enterprise entity of the client is considered legally incapacitated and is therefor incapable of representing itself in a court process. In these rare cases the corporate service provider may decide to act as a trustee for the client.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corporate Services Service industries Corporations Knowledge firms