How Athennian Can Be Your Lifeline in the CTA Compliance Race 

On January 1, 2024, the U.S. Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) goes into effect. Corporations and businesses will be required to file a Beneficial Ownership Information report (BOI) to the U.S. Treasury Department on that date. Any business with less than $5 million in gross annual receipts is required to make these reports.

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is responsible for collecting this data. The CTA is intended to protect the U.S. financial network against money laundering, fraud, and use by hostile agents. By collecting this data, CTA creates increased transparency in a financial sector that previously lacked it.

Regulatory Compliance and Small Business

To comply with CTA, businesses must submit BOI reports on all “beneficial owners.” A beneficial owner is defined as anyone exercising “substantial control” over the company, or possessing 25% or more of an ownership interest. Personal information and a copy of the individual’s identification is required.

Gathering and submitting all this information is difficult even for a large company. For smaller companies, it can be a daunting task. Companies who do not have large IT departments, or who outsource their information technology may find that collecting the personal information of their corporate officers takes more time than they realized.

The other issue is information security. Data breaches are an issue in today’s online world, and never more than when transmitting personal data. Ensuring your corporate officers’ information is properly encrypted when sending it to the government agency is a headache small businesses should not have to deal with alone.

FinCEN Reporting Requirements

FinCEN announced its Second Final Rule with additional guidance on reporting and filing would be issued in September 2023. As of this date (September 11, 2023) it has not been released. The FinCEN website reports delays in the rollout of the Beneficial Owner Secure System (BOSS) link, but assures users that issues will be resolved by the January deadline.

Additional concerns involving how businesses should submit reports if they cannot access BOSS have been brought up, and are under consideration. For example, other data transfer systems which comply with stringent Federal encryption and security requirements exist, but are not yet in use with FinCEN and the CTA systems yet. 

How Athennian Can Help

The time for compliance is almost here. Businesses have just over 90 days to gather their information and prepare reports for submission. Businesses that plan to open or expand with the new year are under a special time crunch. Existing businesses have a year to submit their initial reports, but businesses opening after January 1, 2024, must submit their first report within 30 days.

This is when a company needs entity management software. Not only does Athennian have the expertise you need to streamline your business operations and centralize data management, our software is already designed to prepare you for regulatory compliance, no matter what the regulation may be.

A good management software suite like Athennian’s gathers data from every department and collects it in one location. More than that, it ensures that updates from any source are the most current. This is essential for CTA reports. FinCEN demands that all changes be reported within 30 days, so your reporting person will not have time to scour databases to be sure they have the most recent documents. With Athennian they won’t have to. They can be sure that the report they submit will be the most current.

FinCEN continues to update its requirements and businesses can expect additional rules and bulletins as the deadline approaches. Athennian’s management software can automatically monitor regulatory websites and update calendars and notifications as needed so your reporting person will have the most current deadlines and requirements at their fingertips.

Of course, learning a good software system takes time. You’ll need to get started right away on installing and migrating your data into a new entity management system. Athennian can help you with that too, with the training and tech support you need to help your IT staff and compliance personnel be ready for whatever new information drops from FinCEN and other regulatory agencies wherever they may be.

Athennian knows that businesses have enough on their plates at the end of the year without worrying about unresolved issues and reports from FinCEN and new laws coming with the New Year. Contact us today to speak with a member of our team for a customized demo.