Don’t open accounts for companies without updated records — ROC

The Registrar of Companies (ROC), Jemima Mamaa Oware, has called on banks not to open accounts for people and businesses that have not updated their records with her outfit. 

She explained that the move would help to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other financial crimes as well as prevent the misuse of corporate bodies.

“When somebody comes to register with you and opens an account, insist on a Beneficial owner (B.O.) information. Once you request and they give you our document and you don’t see a B.O., don’t open a bank account for any company unless it’s in good standing,” she said at a stakeholder engagement in Accra yesterday. 

Meeting

The stakeholder meeting formed part of efforts to update its stakeholders on the work and regulatory framework governing the ROC.

Some participants in the forum

The stakeholder engagement was on the theme, “Strengthening partnership for effective corporate governance”.

The participants were representatives from the National Insurance Commission, Chartered Institute of Bankers, journalists, among other stakeholders.

They were taken through a comprehensive overview of the ORC’s mandate and responsibilities and new challenges in the Companies Act 2019 (Act 992), compliances processes, and its impact on operations among others.

Changes 

Mrs Oware said with the passage of  Act 992, it was important for all businesses to change the suffixes at the end of their names.

That, he said, was to ensure that the ROC and the public would be able to identify and distinguish the different types of companies that were registered with us.

She expressed concern about companies that had been in the system since 1963 up to 2011, not updating her outfit with who their beneficial owners were.

She announced that the ROC had extended the deadline for the filing of annual returns and renewal of business names and partnerships to December 31, 2024.

In addition to that she said it had sent out bulk SMS notices to some 500,000 companies to file their annual returns and financial statements by the end of December 31 this year.

Failure to do so, she said, would lead to the businesses having their names published in the dailies and the appropriate punishment applied. 

Digital

Again, Mrs Oware announced that from January, next year, the ROC would fully go digital with the introduction of a software solution for filing financial statements and annual returns. 

The solution, she said, would provide an extensive business reporting language for filing the financial statement and annual returns.

That, she said, would help improve efficiency, increase customer satisfaction, improve data quality, ensure compliance and enhance accessibility.