This week, the Serbian Business Registers Agency (SBRA) hosted a five-day meeting of the International Business Registers Survey Working Group established by the four worldwide registry organizations: Association of Registers of Latin America and the Caribbean (ASORLAC), Corporate Registers Forum (CRF), European Commerce Registers’ Forum (ECRF) and International Association of Commercial Administrators (IACA).
The International Business Registers Survey is carried out every year with the purpose of gathering information on a wide spectrum of issues related to business registration systems, practices and performances all over the world, such as: institutional framework, structure and scope of functions of a business registry; types of business entities; registered capital; registration fees; number and types of submissions; processing time; use of information technology; provision of e-services; etc.
Collected information and data are then analyzed and presented in the International Business Registers Report, which has become an important reference tool for business registries. It is intended to provide jurisdictions with consolidated survey findings aimed at facilitating business registration authorities and policy makers to benchmark their performances and identify areas requiring further improvements.
Copies of the reports issued so far are available on the websites of ASORLAC, CRF, ECRF and IACA.
The Working Group comprises the following members:
- Hayley E. Clarke, Canada (Business Programs Service Nova Scotia);
- Kasper Sengeløv, Denmark (Danish Business Authority);
- Celia Johnston, Germany (Local Court Essen, Project Group RegisSTAR);
- Jens Grobelny, Germany (Local Court Münster, Project Group RegisSTAR);
- Snežana Tošić, Serbia (Serbian Business Registers Agency);
- Latha Kunjappa, Singapore (Accounting and Corporate Regulation Authority);
- Annika Bränström, Sweden (Swedish Companies Registration Office);
- Monica Grahn, Sweden (Swedish Companies Registration Office);
- Magdalena Norlin Schönfeldt, Sweden (Swedish Companies Registration Office);
- Stacey-Jo Smith, UK (Companies House); and
- Marissa Soto-Ortiz, USA (Massachusetts Corporations Division).
