Twenty years ago Anguilla, in a bid to make offshore financial services the island’s second industry after tourism, placed on the international market a company registry system called ACORN. It is the acronym for Anguilla’s Commercial Online Registration Network.
It soon became a very popular and financially lucrative gateway through which companies everywhere began registering in Anguilla. The Commercial Registry, as the Government Department is called, provides registration for Foundations, Cooperative Societies, Trade Unions, Companies, Intellectual Property, Trademarks, Patents, Copyrights and Industrial Design.
On Friday, November 16, 2018, the Commercial Registry celebrated the 20th Anniversary of ACORN with a party-like event with much support and recognition from the public and private sectors including Anguilla Finance which is engaged in marketing activities.
Mr. Lonnie Hobson, the Deputy Registrar, who chaired the ceremony, told the attendees in the crowded office space: “This is an occasion to look back at 20 years during which you have all been in the front seat of history, and experienced the shift that Anguilla’s financial services had undergone.”
Mr. Hobson continued: “Some of you who are presently involved in ACORN’s history are still here with us, and you participate in the industry in one way or the other. ACORN went live on November 16, 1998, and the landscape continues to change and this has caused much concern around us. Your co-business is facing three major and simultaneous challenges. The first is that there is a huge increase in demand for public registers; the second is a threat to the supply of international business companies from shrinking incorporations that we all are seeing now – and also threats from being black-listed; and the third threat is the pressure on ensuring the attractiveness of Anguilla as an international financial centre of choice, and to maintain the quality of service that we offer.
“But despite this, the future looks bright for ACORN and, as we celebrate 20 years of operations, upgrades to ACORN are in the pipelines. These upgrades will take into account the future needs of Anguilla and ensure that profound benefits are derived from this – so we can rest assured that ACORN will continue to rise.”
Mr. Lanston Connor, the Registrar, who praised the ladies in his department for organizing the celebration, said: “Twenty years ago we started ACORN but I have been here for 18 years since 2000. I have seen the ups and downs of the system. When we started we used to make about a million dollars a year in revenue, and we now do about a million a month so there has been a huge increase in our revenue. But, as all of you are aware, there has been an ongoing battle. The OECD has been there from the time I started and right now we are in another uphill battle but, hopefully, we will be able to survive this one. It seems like it is a lot harder than the past ones we have gone through, but …there are some innovative products and, hopefully, we will be able to diversify and still maintain our revenue.”
Mr. Larry Franklin, Permanent Secretary, Economic Development in the Ministry of Finance, a former IT Manager who was involved in the design of ACORN, said the 20th anniversary of the system showed how robust it was. He was of the view, however, that it was time to move in another direction with a new design incorporating ‘block chain’ and other new ideas in IT systems. He thought that with other persons now involved in ACORN that another robust system could be designed, for a next 20 years, to provide Anguilla with a new competitive advantage.
Mr. Victor Banks, Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, thanked and congratulated the staff of the Commercial Registry for the great job they have been doing with the ACORN system – despite the challenges it had been facing such as the lack of upgrades and various issues involving certain regulators over the years. He described ACORN as being “a very safe, well-managed system which can deliver in keeping with all the needs for proper regulation.”
He stated that ACORN had in fact started with an idea four years earlier than 20 years. He was fortunate to have been around when that idea was conceived – and which involved a number of past Registrars and Directors of Financial Services.
“It was a novel idea because it put Anguilla on the cutting edge of technology with regards the Anguilla Commercial Online Registration Network,” Mr. Banks said. “ACORN took a lot of selling and, as you know, if you can sell something to the British Government involving financial services during those days, when Companies House was supposed to have been the model by which we operated, it was a very huge undertaking.” He also referred to challenges from regulators who wanted the Companies Registry to be a part of the Financial Services Commission; as well as other persons and organizations who spoke about regulatory matters, harmful tax, international terrorism, money laundering and drug trafficking.
The Chief Minister added: “We sell our jurisdiction as a low tax jurisdiction. It is an aspect of our economy that creates an opportunity for businesses in the international community to benefit from – but we are being forced not to be able to exploit these opportunities.
“There is a lot of work to be done. ACORN is now 20 years old and we are talking about fitting it for the new dispensation in financial services, and I think we have the same fervor when we began. I thank members of the industry for their continued support, and I also thank the staff of the Registry for making the task seem easy – but I know it is very difficult indeed. I am also grateful for the creative ways in which the Registry has developed over the years under the leadership of Mr. Connor and his staff because, as I have said, it has not been an easy battle. But at the end of the day I think they have done an excellent job.”
Although Anguilla’s ACORN system is the oldest online company registration system of its kind, it is still the best notwithstanding that there is a need for upgrading.
