Wolters Kluwer launched an expert solution aimed at helping the nearly 33 million U.S. businesses impacted by the beneficial ownership reporting rule under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). This Wolters Kluwer solution spans its financial and corporate compliance and tax and accounting divisions to serve the reporting and filing needs of small businesses and corporate, financial, legal, tax and accounting professionals across the U.S.

The CTA requires that small businesses and entities subject to the new rule collect, document and submit previously unreported beneficial ownership information (BOI) to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This BOI reporting requirement applies to a range of domestic and foreign entities registered in the U.S., as specified by FinCEN. The rule took effect on Jan. 1.

“Trust is foundational to a vibrant and inclusive economy. Wolters Kluwer is proud to introduce a solution to support industry-wide compliance with this critical new regulation to increase transparency of entities operating in the United States,” Steven Meirink, CEO of Wolters Kluwer’s financial and corporate compliance division. said. “Our expert solution uniquely supports businesses of all sizes and their professional advisors with a secure and seamless experience, drawing upon our deep expertise in compliance and technology.”

For small businesses, law firms and corporations with qualifying entities, CT Corporation, a business of Wolters Kluwer’s financial and corporate compliance division, and its partners have introduced the Beneficial Ownership Platform, which contains a secure, streamlined workflow to simplify filing and compliance for both single entity and multiple entity filers. The five-step workflow was designed to increase efficiency, reduce the risk of incorrect filings and offer a secure hosting environment for uploading, storing and updating beneficial ownership information.

“Entities subject to filing must have access to the right infrastructure to store sensitive information and the expert resources to send an updated report every time that entity or beneficial owner information changes,” George May, vice president and small business segment leader for CT Corporation, said. “Our Beneficial Ownership Platform offers that foundation, guiding users step-by-step through a transparent workflow that can help simplify a complex process and reduce the confusion and time spent on each report filing.”

For accounting firms and their clients, Wolters Kluwer’s tax and accounting division launched the CCH Axcess Beneficial Ownership solution, which automates the beneficial ownership information filing process for accounting firms that need to file large volumes of reports. By offering BOI compliance as part of a business advisory relationship, accounting firms can enhance their role as trusted advisors.

“CCH Axcess Beneficial Ownership software uses a smart form to walk users through the BOI report step-by-step and validate that required fields are complete,” Cathy Rowe, senior vice president and segment leader for the U.S. professional market for Wolters Kluwer’s tax and accounting division, said. “The dashboard provides an overview of all the firm’s BOI reports, with the ability to create custom groups to organize data, track status from creation through completion and make edits directly within the platform.”