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Lack of subsidiary oversight can have distressing consequences

Companies that don’t pay attention to corporate governance of subsidiaries do so at their own peril. Just imagine somebody hijacking part of your company.

Indeed, there have been horror stories of rogue directors selling subsidiaries in Asia, says Seth McNary, CEO of consulting company Verbatim Global Compliance. That’s why he strongly recommends tracking powers of attorney in international subsidiaries. He also suggests periodic audits to confirm the status of entities and that all the legal requirements are current.

Joshua M. Koenig, VP and associate general counsel, international, for SBA Communications, says it can be disconcerting when some countries require a local director to have unlimited authority. One way to address this is to involve an attorney in the market who has a higher fiduciary duty under local law. While SBA likes to empower local managers for day-to-day business, Koenig says it sets parameters beyond which board action is required.

McNary and Koenig gave ideas on proper subsidiary governance, especially in foreign countries, at a meeting of the Society of Corporate Secretaries & Governance Professionals, which was held at the Fort Lauderdale offices of the Gunster law firm in Fort Lauderdale.

One challenge, they say, is simply tracking what’s happening and what needs to happen when companies may have dozens of subsidiaries.

McNary says many clients are avoiding decentralized oversight, where subsidiaries manage statutory requirements, such as filing paperwork, in favor of centralized oversight or a hybrid of local and centralized oversight. The concern is that just relying on oversight by a subsidiary in a foreign market doesn’t provide enough checks to make sure paperwork is filed properly.

One of the most standard contract provisions is that the entity signing it is valid and in good standing, Koenig says. If a company wants to wiggle out of a contract, it could cite a failure of the other party for lacking paperwork that complies with those standards. “If you are using debt financing or revolving credit, a condition for funding or closing a transaction is always that entities are in good standing,” Koenig says. Previously an outside counsel, he has spent all-nighters trying to cope with problems in that area.

Something as simple as failing to file change of control paperwork could lead to a $100,000 fine in China, McNary says.

With all that in mind, it’s not surprising that companies like SBA tend to favor centralization. 

For example, if a country requires that the original version of corporate books be kept in a subsidiary’s market, SBA will maintain oversight by keeping a clone of the books at the overall headquarters in Boca Raton, Koenig says. SBA will utilize local counsel to do day-to-day filings, but corporate resolutions are always done in Boca Raton.

SBA also keeps a calendar of when filings are supposed to be done for all its subsidiaries.

To minimize the risk of piercing the corporate veil in litigation, SBA keeps separate stationery and bank accounts to show a subsidiary’s corporate independence – even if marketing is done under a common corporate logo or trade name.

Another major topic was the amount of paperwork and the speed of doing business in some countries. If you are doing a merger, some nations require a 90-day comment period, which can be frustrating when there is a push to close a deal on the last day of a month. Even something like a capital contribution to a subsidiary may take a filing with a central bank if there are exchange controls. “The general rule is it always take longer,” McNary says. He helps legal departments set expectations with corporate executives. For example, he says, “They want to go to Brazil and be in business next week. Anyone who has done business in Brazil knows it may take three months.”

Businesses expanding internationally need to realize that some countries require intrusive disclosures on local directors. France requires an extensive background check, including police reports from local municipalities, McNary says. India may want to know a director’s family background and see bank statements and proof of home address.

Then there’s the issue that business in some countries is just at a different pace, so a time cushion can be essential. Koenig has seen examples where a government agency says it is supposed to be open at the end of a holiday week, but it never reopens.

McNary says he was working on doing an incorporation in Brazil during the World Cup. The government shut down on the day of the game featuring Brazil and was supposed to reopen the next day, he says. “Brazil lost and the government never reopened. We missed the client’s deadline, but there was nothing we could do about that.” ?

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Drew Limsky

Drew Limsky

Editor-in-Chief

BIOGRAPHY

Drew Limsky joined Lifestyle Media Group in August 2020 as Editor-in-Chief of South Florida Business & Wealth. His first issue of SFBW, October 2020, heralded a reimagined structure, with new content categories and a slew of fresh visual themes. “As sort of a cross between Forbes and Robb Report, with a dash of GQ and Vogue,” Limsky says, “SFBW reflects South Florida’s increasingly sophisticated and dynamic business and cultural landscape.”

Limsky, an avid traveler, swimmer and film buff who holds a law degree and Ph.D. from New York University, likes to say, “I’m a doctor, but I can’t operate—except on your brand.” He wrote his dissertation on the nonfiction work of Joan Didion. Prior to that, Limsky received his B.A. in English, summa cum laude, from Emory University and earned his M.A. in literature at American University in connection with a Masters Scholar Award fellowship.

Limsky came to SFBW at the apex of a storied career in journalism and publishing that includes six previous lead editorial roles, including for some of the world’s best-known brands. He served as global editor-in-chief of Lexus magazine, founding editor-in-chief of custom lifestyle magazines for Cadillac and Holland America Line, and was the founding editor-in-chief of Modern Luxury Interiors South Florida. He also was the executive editor for B2B magazines for Acura and Honda Financial Services, and he served as travel editor for Conde Nast. Magazines under Limsky’s editorship have garnered more than 75 industry awards.

He has also written for many of the country’s top newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, Boston Globe, USA Today, Worth, Robb Report, Afar, Time Out New York, National Geographic Traveler, Men’s Journal, Ritz-Carlton, Elite Traveler, Florida Design, Metropolis and Architectural Digest Mexico. His other clients have included Four Seasons, Acqualina Resort & Residences, Yahoo!, American Airlines, Wynn, Douglas Elliman and Corcoran. As an adjunct assistant professor, Limsky has taught journalism, film and creative writing at the City University of New York, Pace University, American University and other colleges.