Automating the statutory compliance checklist helps companies become investment-ready.
The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) compliance requirements can be a nightmare for companies. In a world where most companies are opting to automate their finance functions, it’s a great relief to know that CIPC compliance can also be automated.
During a webinar hosted by CFO SA, cloud-based secretarial software solutions company InfoDocs and financial consulting company Creative CFO told participants that CIPC compliance doesn’t have to be a nightmare.
Creative CFO helps businesses, mainly SMEs, to develop greater financial clarity and operate across many industries. Creative CFO’s Cerize Roets explained that they realised that their clients didn’t have a clear understanding of the admin side of the business and what was required of them as business leaders, to meet compliance standards.
She said the company approached InfoDocs because they were the only cloud-based system in a world where secretarial functions are still manual. It is also the only software solution integrated with CIPC.
In January last year, CIPC surprised everyone when they announced that businesses had to submit a compliance checklist with their annual returns. “All they provided us with was 24 sections out of the Companies Act and expected us to fill it in without giving context,” said Cerize.
Creative CFO started migrating their clients onto the InfoDocs system. During this process, they were able to help companies strengthen their MOIs and become investment-ready.
In the beginning stages, it felt like just another government-required, tedious checklist. But Cerize says she’s since developed a greater understanding of the Companies Act from helping clients complete their compliance checklist. “I believe that CIPC had the vision to teach directors, shareholders, and even management of the company to understand the actual Companies Act,” said Cerize.
InfoDoc’s CEO and founder Joshua Alexandre said it’s the easiest way to manage company records. The cloud-based solutions company reminds you when annual filings are due, guides business owners through the process, and stores all the information in one place.
Joshua explained that working with Creative CFO led to a fruitful business synergy that enabled a small team of developers and designers to put together a program “that could ultimately serve the entire South African market”. InfoDocs now services over 10,000 companies, including some big hitters like King Price Insurance and Allan Gray.
