How to change your Isle of Man Corporate Service Provider.
Sometimes things just don’t work out with your corporate service provider. It’s not the end of the world – don’t continue banging your head against a brick wall – switch to a new one.
Finding a good one can be challenging – we are Isle of Man accountants and tax advisors rather than CSPs so we cannot help you directly but thankfully we work closely with some good Isle of Man CSPs so we can introduce you; just contact Martin Katz to assist you – WhatsApp+44 1624 777900. We know most of the CSPs here personally and will make an introduction.
The key is to find a CSP that will appreciate your business and look after you and your Isle of Man company properly.
You can find a list of licenced Isle of Man Corporate Service providers on the Isle of Man FSA website.
Planning the change.
Once you have decided to change your Isle of Man Corporate Service Provider, we strongly recommend that you take a carefully phased approach. This is because the existing provider can quite easily make life difficult for you by being slow to provide information, ignoring you altogether and potentially ramping up fees.
Of course this doesn’t happen all the time but when it does it can be very upsetting as well as being potentially expensive.
Step 1. – Gathering information.
If you are a meticulous type (most of us aren’t !) – then you may not need to do this – but it’s vital that you have a comprehensive file of information relating to your Isle of Man company. The necessary information will vary from company to company depending on its activity but you will most likely have a pretty good idea of what’s important and what isn’t yourself.
My strong suggestion is that you make sure you have this information BEFORE you inform your CSP you are leaving them.
Here is a minimum list…
- Full register of members
- Full register of directors
- Register of charges (if relevant)
- Financial statements and tax returns for each financial year.
- Share nominee agreement / bare trust declaration (if relevant – this is vital)
- Accounting records (if practical)
- Any irreplaceable agreements (eg security agreements, option agreements)
As you can see – I am not including things that are on a public record or with a 3rd party so can be replaced – such as the M&A, copies of annual returns or bank statements.
Step 2 – Identify a new Isle of Man Corporate Service Provider.
Once you have all the information. You are in a very good position to identify a new corporate service provider – you can find some advice in this article about finding an Isle of Man Corporate Service Provider that you will love – or contact me directly for an introduction to a firm that will look after your interests while charging a fee that is fair and equitable.
Having all the company information to hand will make you a much more attractive client to the CSP as this will enable them to fully understand your requirements and circumstances. Generally speaking, the easier you make life for the CSP the lower their fees will be.
Step 3. Inform the new corporate service provider.
Once you have selected and reached agreement with your new CSP – all you should need to do is – email the old CSP with the new one in .cc informing them that you would like to replace them with the new CSP. As CSP standing fees are usually charged annually in advance, the best time to do this is a month or two before the end of the current billing cycle. You will also need to negotiate / agree a transfer out fee with the old CSP.
The new CSP and the old one should be able to deal with the required actions between them – without your further involvement.
This includes:-
- Appointing the new registered agent, professional directors, and nominated officer.
- Changing the registered office address
- Updating the bank mandates and
- transferring books and records to the new CSP.
- Informing the Isle of Man tax / VAT offices of the changes.
Step 4. Monitor the transfer.
Once the new and the old CSP are in contact with each other then its important to keep in touch with them both to ensure that progress is being made. Generally the transfer should be done within a month – sometimes it can be completed much more quickly than that.
Ideally don’t pay either of the new or old CSPs until the transfer has been completed.
Conclusion.
Following these steps should help you transfer your Isle of Man company into the hands of a CSP that will provide you with a better service at a lower cost. If you have any problems with the transfer, feel free to drop me a line – [email protected] – or WhatsApp +44 1624 777900 of course we will be pleased to assist you.
