The Registry of Companies recently conducted a two – day workshop (June 5th – 6th, 2014) for a cross section of members of the local Financial Services Industry. The twenty five participants at the end of June 5th and 6th were certified in Anguilla Commercial Online Registration Network (ACORN) Business Process Training Module 1.
During the opening ceremony, Dr. Aidan Harrigan, P.S. Finance, in his remarks reminded the participants that they are the ones interfacing with the clients and so in the best position to promote ACORN and Anguilla as a place of business while doing their utmost to ensure that the clients are satisfied in terms of product and service. Dr. Harrigan went on to say that, “the training is quite timely and the hard work of the registry staff should not go unrecognized and they should be commended. The Commercial Registry management team has been quite creative in trying to source funding and working with the small budget allotted to them to make these upgrades to the fifteen year old system and keeping up with the latest that technology has to offer. From the Ministry standpoint working alongside the Commercial Registry department we have been trying to see how funds can be obtained to invest in the ACORN system in other words we have been advocating with the British Government that everything cannot be just about compliance, compliance, compliance but what are we getting out of it? Anguilla has proven itself to be a “well regulated” international financial services jurisdiction, give us some assistance for example through investment in the ACORN system and other processes where we can really put Anguilla on the map”.
Mr. T. Lanston Connor, the Registrar of Commercial Activities, in his remarks shed light upon the past struggles of the Registry. He spoke of an industry meeting held by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) during which the then Governor said to all present, “ ‘I was sent here to shut Financial services down’. This I [Mr. Connor] believe because Anguilla was seen as sort of a contingent liability to the UK since it did not represent a large portion of our GDP in terms of Financial Services revenue, Anguilla could be seen as one of those jurisdictions that can do away with financial services along with other small island countries like Montserrat and Turks & Caicos islands”. However, the Registry has proven itself to be a vital component of the Financial Services industry.
The Registrar also took the time to educate the participants about some of the penalty fees associated with the Registry Acts and to extend gratitude to the sponsors for what he deemed a successful workshop. Some of the sponsors who assisted with the two day event were: the Anguilla Financial Services Association (AFSA), Webster, Mossack Fonseca & Company, DITES Management and Staff, AXSO Global Staff specifically Sharol Hinds. A special thank you is extended to Carlyle Rogers for his guidance and support of this training and to Ms. Jemmi Graneau Clerical Officer and Mishline Leader ACORN Administrative officer both staff members of the Commercial Registry for facilitating major parts of the system processes.
Mr. Darin Silvera, Managing partner of AXSO Global outlined the challenges and improvements to ACORN over the past few years. The participants were given a demonstration of ACORN Lite which is an initiative of the Registry to bring a new and updated user experience to the most heavily used transactions in ACORN. An analysis of over seventy options available on the ACORN website reveals that the top ten transactions by volume which include; annual returns, name reservations, company searches, and company incorporations, accounts for over ninety percent of the transactions executed. We are of the view that streamlining the experience for these transactions would result in a noticeably improved day-to-day interaction of Agents using ACORN.
Notable improvements in ACORN Lite include: Significantly enhanced features around bulk transactions and the ability to reliably input Chinese character company names which is of particular importance for Agents doing business in the South East Asian market.
Mr. Lonnie L. Hobson, Deputy Registrar of Commercial Activities, and the training coordinator presented on the topic “Company Success Lies in Empowering ACORN Users”. He shared with the participants the goal of most financial services firms which should be to continually enhance the working relationships that they have with their customers.” He focused primarily on the need for financial services personnel to ensure that their agents are both empowered and motivated to meet the challenges associated with the rapidly changing technological environment. In essence Mr. Hobson’s presentation encapsulated the importance of excellent customer service along with proficiency in the use of ACORN.
The ACORN Business Process training Module 1 was designed to show users ways to better understand the needs of the customer and provide solutions that are appropriate. The participants of the training learned how to process filings quicker and get approvals faster. It is hoped that now they will all be able to use this training in their day to day duties, know how to get a higher satisfaction response through cross-channel experiences of the customers. The Registry believes that the results of the training will be improved customer satisfaction, retention and recruitment.
– Contributed
(Published without editing by The Anguillian newspaper.)
