As the world gets smaller, and new markets get closer, the lure of globalising your business gets ever-harder to ignore. Opening a new office might become essential to your growth plans, but, of course, things aren't as easy as just pointing at a map and saying "that place looks good". There are myriad local rules and regulations to be mindful of if you want to make sure you can set up and stay for as long as it makes business sense.

When your new offices are in new countries, expanding your reach and potential revenue, it can pose some risks that, if not dealt with correctly, could lead to fines, reputation damage or, worse, being locked out of new business opportunities. It can be complex and time-consuming to navigate different regulatory requirements, local employment law and complicated taxation rules. How can your in-house counsel be expected to keep on top of constantly changing employment regulation in France, Argentina and Australia when based in Barcelona?

The burden of the back office - that time spent on "non-core" tasks such as local HR admin, accounting and tax filings, and legal secretarial work - means your staff are not concentrating on growing your business. It also means you are putting your global business at risk of non-compliance and the resulting fines, reputation damage and even being locked out of government contracts - or, worse still, jail time for your directors.

One of the key issues in expansion is the gathering, processing and reconciliation of operational, financial and legal data across multiple territories. Using a single strategic supplier to handle these as outsourced functions could help provide consistency across processes and standards, as well as bring benefits such as decreased cost and increased efficiencies.

So what happens next?

Many companies that operate across borders choose to turn to a third party supplier to help. They outsource that back office function to allow them to concentrate on core business.

TMF Group is one such third party

A global outsourcing provider of high value business services to clients operating and investing globally, TMF Group focuses on providing highly specialised and business-critical accounting, financial, tax compliance, corporate secretarial and human resource administrative services to enable clients to concentrate on their business and operate their corporate structures and investments in different geographic locations. TMF Group operates from more than 120 offices in 85 countries across the Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The company has three core objectives when helping companies do business internationally:

  • Reduce risks. TMF Group provides local expertise for the administration and compliance support of foreign entities, along with central supervision to ensure clients are fully compliant in any jurisdiction. TMF Group's global office platform gives clients the leverage to expand, or contract, their operations with limited investment risk.
  • Control costs. TMF Group works with clients to develop a clear plan to streamline their compliance processes in single or multiple countries, helping to reduce costs. Our global reach means clients can also consolidate their entire operation with us, achieving a better return on external spend.
  • Simplify operations. TMF Group's wholly-owned global network means clients need only to deal with one partner, and TMF Group can provide a single point of contact from anywhere in the world. Clients gain from consistency and transparency across their business.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.