Austria is a sophisticated and prosperous business centre, which serves as a trading bridge between Eastern Europe and Balkans. Austria welcomes foreign investors and rather than combating offshore countries, Austria makes tax treaties with them. In addition, tax-minimizing structures are developed for all types of companies, which allow the effective tax rate to be only 3-5%. These are only few of numerous benefits of company formation in Austria.
Business structure in Austria Choosing the right business structure may have critical consequences therefore it is highly important to explore all the available options before making this decision. Below are four most popular types of companies available for formation in Austria:
Joint stock company (Aktiengesellschaft) is designed for large businesses and its minimum share capital is 70,000 EUR. The capital is divided into shares and can be offered to the public. One shareholder is needed to start joint stock company and his or her liability is limited by the contribution to the capital. Limited liability company GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) is the most popular type of company in Austria. The minimum share capital is 35,000 EUR from which 17,500 EUR or more must be deposited at the moment of registration and each shareholder must contribute with at least 7,000 EUR to the starting capital of the company. Shares of this type of company cannot be traded to the public. General partnership is formed by two or more corporate bodies or individuals with the same economic objective. Important to note, that all individuals participating in formation of general partnership have full liability for the company's debts as well as have equal rights in managing the partnership. No minimum capital contribution is set for general partnerships. Limited liability partnership can be formed if there is at least one partner with full liability on company's debts and can make major business decisions and at least one partner with his or her liabilities limited by the contributed capital and has no decision power. Procedure of company formation in Austria The number one action for all new entities is to receive a confirmation from the Economic Chamber saying that the company is indeed a new enterprise. Then a document called Articles of association is drafted by a lawyer before a notary and a starting capital is deposited in a bank account and a confirmation deed of the funds is received.
After the above things are done, the company formation process can be started at the local court. For this process shareholders need to deposit following documents:
Application of registration; Notarized declaration of establishment; Articles of association; Confirmation deed that the starting capital is deposited in the bank; Specimen signatures of the board of directors. After around seven days, when the business entity is registered at the local court and the information is published at the local newspaper, the company can be registered with the local Tax Office. There you will need to fill an application and declare the Articles of association, certificate of company registration at the local court and specimen signatures of the company representatives. In exchange, Tax Office issues a VAT number and tax identification number.
The last steps include registration in the Trade Register, registration with the municipality and finally – registration of company's employees with the social security authority.
The average time needed to set up a company in Austria is 21 days, from which the most time – 12 days – is spent waiting for a tax identification number (the official deadline to obtain the tax identification number is 1 month).
Confidus Solutions employs a wide range of experts in different fields: lawyers, real estate experts, bank agents, accountants, tax consultants, and other professionals. Our company is capable of providing legal aid, accounting, business support, and corporate services worldwide. We can assist you with services regarding doing business in Cuba.
Cube business consulting & solutions Order one of the offered Cube business services and preparation of possible solutions will be undertaken. Confidus Solutions, in conjugation with a multitude of experts (Cuban local including), develops a strategy and creates a unique tailor-made corporate solution for each customer. Once the communication is established, you will receive a list of documents and information required to proceed.
In terms of political and civil liberties, Ukraine ranks second. Citizens of Ukraine enjoy partial freedom. While the majority of citizens in Ukraine are able to exercise their free will to some degree, some political engagement may be restricted and certain sections of the population may be deprived of certain freedoms or expressions of opinion. In terms of economic freedom, companies in Ukraine rank 5th. Citizens in Ukraine are not considered to be free when it comes to their economic decisions. The government prohibits citizens from all economic activities, and some illegal business activities are punishable by imprisonment or even death. Investors should avoid countries that are not economically free as the risks do not justify any possible gain. In terms of journalistic freedom, the media of Ukraine ranks 4th. In Ukraine, journalists face a very serious situation. Censorship dominates all publications and the government controls most of the media. Journalists who express anti-government opinions can be punished with fines, imprisonment or death.
Cameroon ranks third in terms of political and civil liberties. Citizens of Cameroon enjoy little or no civil liberties and political rights. Citizens are not free to express themselves and enjoy neither political freedom nor representative government. Countries with this political situation are dangerous for investment as an authoritarian government may have excessive control over economic affairs. Cameroonian companies rank fourth in terms of economic freedom. Cameroonian citizens are considered to be largely restricted when it comes to their economic decisions. The government has complete control over the majority of businesses and there is a high level of corruption in the economy. For these reasons, this country is considered unsafe for foreign investment as lenders may not have full control over their own financial decisions. In terms of journalistic freedom, Cameroon's media ranks fourth. In Cameroon, journalists face a difficult situation. Censorship is widespread and media not favored by the ruling authorities can be banned.
The monthly minimum wage in Iraq is USD 214. Iraq has a public debt equivalent to 23.3% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), estimated in 2012. In terms of consumer prices, Iraq's inflation rate is 2%. The currency of Iraq is the Iraqi Dinar. The plural form of the word Iraqi dinar is dinar. The symbol used for this currency is ع.د and is abbreviated as IQD. The Iraqi dinar is divided into fils; There are 1000 in a dinar. Every year, consumers spend around $14,003 million. The ratio of consumer spending to GDP in Iraq is 0.01% and the ratio of consumer spending to world consumer market is 4.04%. Corporate tax in Iraq is 15%. Personal income tax ranges from 3% to 15% depending on your specific situation and income level. VAT in Iraq is 10%. In 2013, Iraq received $1,300.7 million in foreign aid. In 2014, foreign aid amounted to $1908.
Gross domestic product Total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) valued at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in Iraq is US$526,090 billion. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita calculated as Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in Iraq was last seen at $13,372,987. PPP in Iraq is considered very good compared to other countries. A very good PPP shows that citizens in this country find it easy to buy local goods. Local goods can include food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, personal hygiene, essential furnishings, transportation and communications, laundry, and various types of insurance. Countries with very good PPP are safe investment locations. The total gross domestic product (GDP) in Iraq is 195.517 billion. Based on this statistic, Iraq is considered to be medium strong. Middle economy countries support an average number of industries and investment opportunities. It shouldn't be too difficult to find worthwhile investment opportunities in mid-sized economies. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Iraq was last seen at $4,969,960. The average citizen in Iraq is very wealthy. Countries with very high per capita wealth have a longer life expectancy and a very high standard of living. Highly skilled labor can be found in many industries and labor is very expensive in these countries. Very wealthy countries offer safe investment opportunities as they are often backed by a diverse and thriving financial sector. The annual growth rate of GDP in Iraq averaged -0.5% in 2014. According to this percentage, Iraq is currently experiencing a slight decline. Countries with a slight decline may see a slight decline in personal consumption, employment rate, or personal income. A slight drop in GDP may indicate a risky location for investment; However, some strong economies occasionally experience a slight decline and are still safe investment locations.
Audit is a legal examination of an authority, company or official, carried out by a designated educated and independent person (auditor), which includes gathering information about each company. It also implies evaluating this information by verifying the accuracy of the calculations according to certain criteria that allow them to be certified.
Aim of the audit
The most obvious objective of any audit is to provide an independent and fair opinion of the company's financial condition. The auditor's objective is to examine and report whether the data in the annual financial report reflects the true state of the company. During the audit, the auditor is required to follow all auditing standards set by government agencies.
Besides providing confirmation of the annual financial report, other tasks of the audit include:
Independent expertise of the financial creditability of the company;
Practical recommendations to the company to improve in the next financial period.
The above-mentioned tasks shall be portrayed in the final report as the auditor accomplishes his/her examination. Auditors’ qualification and expertise level often refers to International Standards of Auditing (IFAC).
Audit risk
Audit risk happens when an auditor draws unqualified report or expresses false opinion. The reasons for such function may be prescribed to human factors (detection risk), willingful fraud, material misstatement or internal misinterpretations (inherent and control risk).
Types of audits
Most common types of audit services include:
External audit (statutory audit)
These are the most widely used audit services. Examination of the accuracy of the financial statements is entrusted to external and independent auditor, who cannot be connected to the company or have any interest in the outcome of audit (no conflict of interests). The annual financial statement is certainly the main resource of accountability of the company. Since the financial statement is prepared and approved by the board of the directors, the shareholders of the company would rely on the external way to verify the report. Therefore, they invite external auditors. Moreover, regulations of many countries prescribe to run statutory audit on annual basis;
Internal audit (operational audit)
This is a voluntary pocedure of the organisation, willing to examine the effectiveness of inner control, verify and monitor possible fraud, check financial data, examine operational process and other activities. Basically, any company may conduct it for its own sake;
Tax audit
Tax audits are performed by tax authorities within regular intervals in some jurisdictions or in other randomly chosen countries. The purpose of the tax audit is to check company’s tax liabilities and to analyse accuracy of the filed tax returns;
Forensic audit
This is a special investigational audit conducted by legal officers and is often used in courts and investigation processes in order to determine frauds, tax evasion cases, money laundering and other illiegal actions within the framework of the company or its responsible officers.
An investment account is maintained with such financial institutions as banks, brokerage houses, or even insurance companies. The main purpose of this account is capital preservation and growth, as well as fixed-interest profit through long-term deposits in the asset portfolio.
In general, "investing" means a proactive use of assets in a very broad definition - such as patents, trademarks, rare wines or gold coins, but also small businesses, real estate and antiques. In this regard, the investment account contains fewer physical assets: cash, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The basic investment objective remains the same – to buy the asset and hold it for the long term, and to sell it at some point in the future when the asset's value is cheaper. Depending on the asset you have decided to invest in, you need to evaluate your investment as a long-term process as you will have to wait for the particular asset to appreciate in value.
Investment Account Features Before opening an investment account, you should consider whether or not this type of financial service is best for your risk/return. Furthermore, liquidity preferences embody your goal. Investment accounts are usually maintained with long-term goals. Traditionally, the long term is considered to be 7 years or more, but this number should not be the primary determinant when deciding whether or not to open an investment account. This banking service is often used when there is a specific event in your life that requires a higher income, such as a wedding. For example, if you are sending your child to college, buying a house, or approaching retirement.
Since one of the main determinants of the investment account is its long-term nature, you should be ready to face another attribute of it - liquidity. Any financial instrument has less liquidity compared to cash in your checking or savings account. Additionally, this type of deposit usually comes with higher transaction costs in case you want to access the cash sooner than a specific time specified in the agreement between you and the financial institution.
Types of investment accounts If you have decided to open an investment account, the next step is to find a bank or other financial institution that can offer you the most suitable type of investment account regarding the costs, risk level and other components. There are various kinds of accounts designed for different needs and wishes of investor, but not all banks offer such services.
Brokerage account This account is managed by the investor himself. Usually, after depositing cash on this account, you can use the funds to purchase different financial instruments or other types of investments. This account involves a commission paid to your broker for executing your purchase and sell orders. If you feel uncertainty regarding your investing skills, you may use full service brokerage account, which would also include investment advices.
Retirement account This account is designed for long term continuous deposits over the years of employment, which results in higher income during retirement in addition to the state pension (if applicable in your country – ask us). In several countries, deposits in the retirement account are not tax applicable.
Custodial / guardian account These accounts are designed for investors, who want to save funds for their children or other person. This includes savings made for a child’s education.
Specialty account This type of account usually includes testamentary or non-testamentary trust accounts. In case of a non-testamentary trust account financial instruments are registered on behalf of the trust, while managed by a trustee. Meanwhile, a testamentary trust is opened through the testimony of a deceased person.
Business account Business account works similarly as brokerage account, while the client is a business instead of a private person.
A trust account is a temporary deposit held by a third party on behalf of two other parties, usually referred to as a trustee agent. The temporary account works until the process of a transaction is completed and all terms are settled between both parties. The funds or other assets are debited from this account when the pre-determined legal obligations are fulfilled or the trustee receives the order to release the assets.
Escrow accounts are designed differently than regular accounts. The main difference between a trust account and other types of deposit accounts is its temporary nature as it was opened to support a specific transaction. In addition, its administration by a third party is not common in other types of deposit accounts.
Escrow Account Features While an escrow account can hold securities, funds, money, and other assets, this temporary escrow is more commonly used in real estate transactions. It is used when a buyer wishes to conduct an inspection or other due diligence on the property while ensuring that he or she has sufficient funds to actually purchase the property. In this way, the seller can be sure that if the property is as described, the buyer can buy it and the seller has not wasted his time and money. On the other hand, the buyer can rest assured that their money is safe in escrow and will only be delivered to the seller when they are happy with the conditions of the home and ready to buy it.
Use of an escrow account An escrow account is also used in mortgage transactions between lenders and borrowers. Typically, the lenders are the ones who require the borrower to make regular deposits into an escrow account. Deposits are used to pay property taxes as well as insurance. Another reason to use an escrow account in real estate transactions is when a property is under construction but a buyer already wants to reserve it for themselves. It is possible to deposit a certain amount of money into the escrow account to ensure that at the time a building is completed, he or she will be first in line to obtain the coveted property.
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