Companies Office most helpful government agency

From: Ministry of Economic Development
Mediapak: NATIONALPAK

Companies Office most helpful government agency fifth year running

The Companies Office has again been voted the most helpful government agency in the 2007 Business New Zealand KPMG Compliance Cost Survey.

The Office, which is part of the Ministry Economic Development, has been the most helpful agency every year since the survey began in 2003. It remains the only government agency to be categorised as excellent.

The survey also found that Companies Office website was one of the most helpful government websites.

Ministry of Economic Development Chief Executive Geoff Dangerfield says he is pleased that the Companies Office has been recognised again.

“The Companies Office works hard to make life easy for New Zealand businesses,” says Mr Dangerfield.

“We know that businesses want services that are simple and easy to use, and available 24/7.”

“In other countries, registering a company can take months and require piles of paperwork. But on the Companies Office website, New Zealanders can register a company online, literally in a matter of minutes.”

“We are always looking for new ways to make things easier for New Zealand businesses,” says Mr Dangerfield.

“For example, people can now get an IRD number and register for GST when forming a company – it can all be done in one easy step.”

“A key focus for the Ministry of Economic Development is ensuring New Zealand is a great place to do business, and these consistent results show that the Companies Office is delivering on that vision,” says Mr Dangerfield.

Mr Dangerfield noted that a number of the Ministry’s other work streams contribute to reducing the cost of compliance for New Zealand businesses, including the recently completed Quality Regulation Review.

From the survey report

“Many respondents commented on how user friendly and informative the website was. Others made comments that the call centre staff were friendly, informative, and eager to help customers.

One respondent commented on the “excellent online resources and services” and “good quality phone support” provided by the Companies Office. Another respondent commented that the Companies Office “have good information and are willing to help with getting to the solutions needed”.

Companies Office facts and figures

• A record number of companies were formed in 2006/07: 74,000 up from previous high of 60,000 in 2005/06
• On average the Companies Office incorporates 35 new companies every hour
• There are 474,000 companies on the companies register
• Every 30 seconds someone updates the details of their company
• Every month 100,000 people visit the Companies Office website, and they conduct one search every 31 seconds; that's 14 million searches each year
• In the last two years, 48 company directors have been banned and nine are currently under consideration
• Over the same period, 673 charges have been laid against Directors under companies-related legislation.
Ends…

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