Outsourcing ASIC Company Annual Reviews
Who can and who should outsource their ASIC Company Annual Reviews?
Let’s first look at what an ASIC Company Annual Review is. Each year ASIC requires that the directors of a company review all of the details of a company to confirm they are correct. This includes;
Addresses (Directors, Shareholders, Place of Business & Registered Office)
Share Holdings
Officeholder Details
If any of the details are not correct a change must be submitted to ASIC.
The directors are also required to confirm that the company is solvent by signing and storing a Solvency Resolution. This resolution is basically confirming that the company can meet its financial obligations, as and when they fall due.
The final step of the ASIC Company Annual Review is to pay an ASIC fee.
As you can see ASIC Company Annual Reviews are not particularly difficult, overly time consuming or complex (generally).
So, who typically completes the ASIC Company Annual Review?
In Australia, about 60% of companies are managed by an ASIC Agent and about 40% are self managed by company directors. ASIC Agents come in many forms but the greater majority of them are accountants and lawyers. There is no requirement for an ASIC Agent to have an accounting or law degree but it definitely helps.
ASIC Agents typically have 2 options to streamline the management of the companies on their list. The first option is the ASIC Portal which is a ASIC website provided for free to ASIC Agents. It has limited functionality and reporting and is slow and prone to downtime. The second option is to pay for specific ASIC software. There are a number of different providers on the market each with different features and benefits, and of course each has a different cost. Typically, ASIC software costs an ASIC Agent between $24 and $36 per company per year or even more. On top of this, staff require training and time to complete the annual review tasks.
The 40% of companies that are self managed by directors have a seperate portal to manage changes. There is no ASIC support for solvency resolutions and change forms. Many of these companies have poor ASIC compliance and often get late fees. If selling a company in the future they often must get an ASIC Agent to clean up the company records, often at significant cost. Using an ASIC Agent who charges a reasonable fee will usually work out cheaper in the long run.
So, why would an ASIC Agent consider outsourcing their ASIC work?
There are a number of reasons an ASIC Agent would consider outsourcing their ASIC work.
Reduce costs such as: training of admin staff, expensive software, errors or omissions
Allow internal staff to focus on higher profit work
Ensure nothing is missed when admin staff are away or on leave
Reduced late fees for clients leads to happier clients.
Lower overall cost
If you would like any additional information about the process, features and benefits of outsourcing ASIC Company Annual Reviews please feel free to reach out to me. I work with a significant number of accounting firms to streamline their processes and reduce their costs. I can help you too.
