Why the Companies Office is not your Company’s Share Registry – and why you need both

In New Zealand, we are lucky to have a transparent and easily accessible Companies Office Share Registry. It contains a tonne of useful information and is an excellent snapshot of some of the information and records a Company must maintain.

But in itself, the Companies Office platform is not a fully compliant share register and is missing a lot of additional information all New Zealand companies need to maintain. For example, within the Share Registry space every company in New Zealand must record;

• The number and type of shares every shareholder owns - the Companies Office only requires holdings for the 20 largest shareholders and does not record share classes/types
• Any restrictions or limitations on the transfer of shares, and where to find the details
• Details and dates of any repurchase or redemption of shares for each shareholder for up to 10 years
• Details and dates of any transfer of shares to and from each shareholder for up to 10 years
• These requirements apply to all NZ companies regardless of size – it is not just a requirement for big companies with a large shareholder base.

Companies must also keep a range of other important information documented for at least seven years including;

• Written communications with shareholders, including emails
• Resolutions from shareholders
• A copy of your Company Constitution that must be kept at your Company’s Registered Office

While the NZ Companies Office will always work with companies to ensure that they are meeting their legal obligations, action can be taken against a company and its directors who continue to breach minimum standards. Punishments can include fines, and in limited cases, prosecution.

The good news is that meeting company compliance minimum requirements doesn’t need to be a concern or a tedious job. Instead, it is a case of developing sound systems and ensuring you keep on top of this stuff as it happens.

Orchestra.co.nz offers an easy way to ensure you meet your Company and Share Registry requirements, whilst also creating a single source of truth with the NZ Companies Office. Any update to your Share Registry on Orchestra will also update the NZ Companies Office, plus you can save the documents you need to keep for your company in your Orchestra Document Vault.

If you have any questions about your own compliance needs, feel free to reach out to the Orchestra team, or sign up for a free demo of the site.