New Zealand is a popular country to do business in among entrepreneurs looking for international trading opportunities. The country offers ideal conditions for incorporating a company. Its geographic location and strategic positioning offers companies access into neighboring South Pacific and Asian markets.
Before incorporating your company, be sure to undertake an entity health check in New Zealand through a trusted local provider. An entity health check is a vital tool for understanding a company’s status in the eyes of the government.
Mitigate risk and ensure full corporate compliance for your company through an entity health check in New Zealand.
What is an entity health check in New Zealand?
An entity health check is a review of a company’s overall fiscal and legal condition. Usually, an independent auditor will carry out an entity health check on a company. These can also often be referred to as ‘corporate health checks.’
The auditor’s goal is to get an overall picture of the company’s corporate compliance status in New Zealand. This means examining legal documents and financial transactions, plus payroll and other employment records, and any applicable licensing documents the company uses to operate. These records are checked against New Zealand corporate regulations and the requirements of the individual agencies responsible for administering them.
The purpose of checking the legal and fiscal conditions of a company is to understand whether there are any non-compliance issues that prospective investors should be aware of before incorporating that company.
Why is it important?
It’s important to get an entity health check in New Zealand, as it means giving yourself peace of mind before investing in a company. Get a picture of the company’s ‘health’ in the eyes of the government, so you know if you need to take action to ensure it meets all local corporate compliance requirements. Once you’ve achieved this, you can operate commercially in New Zealand with confidence and certainty that everything is above board.
If you incorporate a company before undertaking an entity health check in New Zealand, you put yourself at risk of financial penalty and reputational fallout. You won’t necessarily know about the company’s status according to agencies like the Inland Revenue Department, New Zealand’s local tax authorities. Running a company that is not compliant with corporate legal and tax requirements could result in costly fines, and loss of credibility to your consumers.
Save yourself from any future mishaps or penalties by knowing the exact status or ‘health’ of a company, and work with a professional to ensure you meet all corporate compliance requirements in New Zealand before operating.
When should I get an entity health check?
Ideally, you’ll want to get an entity health check in New Zealand before you begin the process of incorporating the company. You shouldn’t wait until you are already operational and carrying out commercial activities to do this step; you don’t want to risk finding out about a potential entity health issue too late.
Knowing status of a company after an entity health check in New Zealand empowers you to make the right decisions for your company, and start off on the right foot in the country’s thriving business climate.
How does this check fit in with corporate compliance in New Zealand?
New Zealand’s government sets a number of legislative requirements to do business in the country. Though getting an entity health check in New Zealand is highly recommended, it’s not compulsory.
However, there are several specific corporate legal and accounting compliance requisites in New Zealand that you must ensure your company adheres to. You can use the entity health check as a tool to protect your company from any gaps in your overall compliance with local law.
This includes:
- having a registered office in the country
- a minimum of one shareholder with a share capital of NZ$1, and one director residing in either Australia or New Zealand
- holding annual meetings for shareholders
- public disclosure of financial statements if income exceeds NZ$60 million, or NZ$30 million over two consecutive accounting periods
- paying corporate, payroll, goods and services, and other taxes.
Be confident doing business in New Zealand
New Zealand is renowned for its status as the easiest place to do business in the world, besting 189 other countries on the World Bank Group’s Doing Business Rankings.
New Zealand offers short wait times to start your business, straightforward company formation and corporate compliance requirements and ample institutional support to ensure your business has what it needs to succeed locally.
Start off on the right foot, and protect yourself financially by first investing in an entity health check in New Zealand for your company. This will bring you certainty and crucial information on how to proceed with your business expansion into the country.
Get an entity health check with Biz Latin Hub
Getting an entity health check in New Zealand means protecting yourself and mitigating risk when incorporating a business. Take the time to start your expansion the right way. Engage with trusted local professionals who will ensure you can make informed decisions about your new company and your corporate compliance obligations.
At Biz Latin Hub, our team of local and expatriate professionals offers a range of legal, accounting and human resource services. We are a single point of contact for ensuring your successful company incorporation and market entry in New Zealand.
Reach out to us today for personalized support and information about entity health checks in New Zealand.
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