A company register is a register of business organizations such as companies in the jurisdiction they operate under.[1] Registration is normally mandated by the government of that jurisdiction.
A company register serves a purpose of protection, accountability and control. In contrast many countries also operate a statistical business register which has a different purpose and plays a central part in a system of official economic statistics at a national statistics office.[2]
Company registers by country
Each country's company register has different registrar types, contents, purpose, and public availability. They typically contain the name, the owners and key personal of an organisation as well as regular updates as mandated by the government of that jurisdiction, to provide information to stakeholders and the general public. Information has to be maintained by the organization that is registered through regular filings which are typically done when changes occur and at least annually.
Openness
According to ratings published in 2016 by the website OpenCorporates, Denmark and United Kingdom are the leaders with regard to openness of information available in a company's register.[3] Registries/registrars in these countries are named, correspondingly, Central Business Register and Companies House.
See also
- List of official business registers
- Corporate Registers Forum
References
- World Bank. Doing Business 2015: Going Beyond Efficiency World Bank Publications, 24 October 2014^
- Jean Ritzen. Statistical Business Register: Content, place and role in Economic Statistics. Statistics Netherlands^
- Open Company Data Index registries.opencorporates.com, retrieved 2016-08-28