Wolters Kluwer offers beneficial ownership reporting solutions

Wolters Kluwer has introduced two options to help companies comply with the new beneficial ownership information reporting requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act, which took effect with the new year.

On Monday, the Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network started accepting beneficial ownership information reports at a new online registry requiring companies to disclose who truly owns or controls them. The goal of the 2021 law is to deter anonymous shell companies from engaging in money laundering, drug trafficking, corruption and other illicit activities by identifying who owns them. However, the new rules are expected to affect millions of innocent companies and impose additional reporting requirements on businesses and their accountants.

The CTA requires small businesses and entities subject to the new rule to collect, document and submit previously unreported beneficial ownership information to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, also known as FinCEN. The BOI reporting requirement applies to a wide range of domestic and foreign entities registered in the U.S., as specified by FinCEN. The rule took effect on Jan. 1, 2024. 

Wolters Kluwer has been providing information on the new requirements and Mark Friedlich, vice president of U.S. government affairs at Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting, explained some of the recent guidance issued by FinCEN in an article last month for Accounting Today.

This week, Wolters Kluwer introduced two solutions to help companies comply with the new requirements. 

For accounting firms and their clients, Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting has unveiled the CCH Axcess Beneficial Ownership solution, which automates the beneficial ownership information filing process for accounting firms that need to file large volumes of reports. 

"CCH Axcess Beneficial Ownership software uses a smart form to walk users through the BOI report step-by-step and validate that required fields are complete," said Cathy Rowe, senior vice president and segment leader for the U.S. professional market at Wolters Kluwer TAA, in a statement Tuesday. "The dashboard provides an overview of all the firm's BOI reports, with the ability to create custom groups to organize data, track status from creation through completion and make edits directly within the platform."

For small businesses, law firms and corporations with qualifying entities, CT Corporation, a business of Wolters Kluwer FCC, and its partners have introduced the Beneficial Ownership Platform, which includes a workflow system to aid with filing and compliance for both single-entity as well as multiple-entity filers. The five-step workflow aims to reduce the risk of incorrect filings, and offer a secure hosting environment for uploading, storing and updating beneficial ownership information.

Wolters Kluwer is also offering other online resources, including a self-guided eligibility quiz, webinar presentations and content. More information is available on the Wolters Kluwer resource page, "Understand beneficial ownership information."