Corporate services

Corporate Directors

Corporate directors are an active part of the company and will raise invoices, sign contracts and other business documentation, as and when required by the client. The directors also control the bank account(s) of the company. 

Obviously, the directors will only act in accordance with the wishes of the owners of the company, insofar as they are legitimate and clearly understandable. This relationship is confirmed by a company management agreement and a strictly predetermined system of reporting and communication.

Corporate Trustees

The primary vehicle for offshore tax planning is the discretionary trust.  Without trusts, many offshore companies cannot provide adequate shelter from unnecessary taxation.

Vivat delivers a flexible service that meets the needs of its clients. The types of trust available include discretionary trusts, fixed interest trusts, accumulation and maintenance trusts and revocable trusts.

Company Secretary

Every Jersey company must have a ’Company Secretary’.  It is Vivat’s general practice to appoint Craig Secretaries Limited as Company Secretary of the companies which are being managed.

Craig Secretaries Limited is frequently appointed as Company Secretary for a company it administers but which may be incorporated in another jurisdiction. However, some jurisdictions (e.g. Panama) do not allow companies to be appointed as Company Secretary.

The Company Secretary’s duties are to maintain the statutory books and records of the company, keep minutes of meetings, organise general meetings of shareholders and to keep the ’common seal’ of the company and maintain a record of its use.

Registered Office

The registered office is the official address of a company to which authorities, courts, and suitors can send their notices, letters and reminders. The registered office can be anywhere in the jurisdiction of the incorporation.

Shareholders

As is the case with the company director, being a direct shareholder of the company may adversely affect the desired level of confidentiality for the client. In order to protect this confidentiality, a company owner may utilise the services of a nominee shareholder.  As this is a rather passive position (unlike the directorship discussed above), the nominee shareholder service may be provided in a fairly straightforward manner.