Secure and simplified beneficial ownership reporting solution to benefit millions of impacted U.S. businesses and their advisors
Wolters Kluwer, a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services, today announced the launch of an expert solution aimed at helping the nearly 33 million U.S. businesses impacted by the beneficial ownership reporting rule under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). This Wolters Kluwer solution spans its Financial & Corporate Compliance (FCC) and Tax & Accounting (TAA) divisions to serve the reporting and filing needs of small businesses, corporate, financial, legal, tax and accounting professionals across the U.S.
The CTA requires that small businesses and entities subject to the new rule collect, document, and submit previously unreported beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This BOI reporting requirement applies to a wide range of domestic and foreign entities registered in the U.S., as specified by FinCEN. The rule took effect on January 1, 2024.
“Trust is foundational to a vibrant and inclusive economy. Wolters Kluwer is proud to introduce a solution to support industry-wide compliance with this critical new regulation to increase transparency of entities operating in the United States,” said Steven Meirink, CEO, Wolters Kluwer FCC. “Our expert solution uniquely supports businesses of all sizes and their professional advisors with a secure and seamless experience, drawing upon our deep expertise in compliance and technology.”
For small businesses, law firms and corporations with qualifying entities, CT Corporation, a business of FCC, and its partners have introduced the Beneficial Ownership Platform, which contains a secure, streamlined workflow to simplify filing and compliance for both single entity as well as multiple entity filers. The intuitive, five-step workflow dramatically increases efficiency, reduces the risk of incorrect filings, and offers a secure hosting environment for uploading, storing, and updating beneficial ownership information.
“Entities subject to filing must have access to the right infrastructure to store sensitive information, and the expert resources to send an updated report every time that entity or beneficial owner information changes,” said George May, Vice President, Small Business Segment Leader, CT Corporation. “Our Beneficial Ownership Platform offers that foundation, guiding users step-by-step through a transparent workflow that can help simplify a complex process and reduce the confusion and time spent on each report filing.”
For accounting firms and their clients, TAA has launched the CCH Axcess™ Beneficial Ownership solution, which automates the beneficial ownership information filing process for accounting firms that need to file large volumes of reports. By offering BOI compliance as part of a business advisory relationship, accounting firms can enhance their role as trusted advisors.
“CCH Axcess Beneficial Ownership software uses a smart form to walk users through the BOI report step-by-step and validate that required fields are complete,” said Cathy Rowe, Senior Vice President and Segment Leader, U.S. Professional Market, Wolters Kluwer TAA. “The dashboard provides an overview of all the firm’s BOI reports, with the ability to create custom groups to organize data, track status from creation through completion and make edits directly within the platform.”
Wolters Kluwer has been fully engaged and following developments around the new beneficial ownership rule that is now in effect to promote the sharing of best practices amongst all industry participants. It has created a range of helpful resources—such as an easy-to-use self-guided eligibility quiz, webinar presentations, and content—to ensure impacted entities can effectively prepare for and navigate the new requirements within the target timeframe to meet their initial and ongoing compliance obligations. More information is available on the Wolters Kluwer resource page: “Understand beneficial ownership information.”
