Wellness in Business Update: Online process for registering corporations in the next five years

BusinessWorld Online Edition |SEC to implement online business registration: "THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking to implement an online process for registering corporations in the next five years alongside plans to revive express lane counters and beef up internal data sharing, its new chairman said late last week.
“We really would like to focus on adoption of technological changes to speed up things and make us effective as a regulatory agency,” SEC Chairman Teresita J. Herbosa said in a press briefing.

“The registration should be fully online,” Ms. Herbosa said.

So far, transactions that can be done online only include the verification of the availability of a desired business name, the reservation of such a name and the downloading of SEC forms.

But all applications still have to be submitted at SEC offices.

Audited financial statements and special audit reports that must be certified by an independent certified public accountant, also have to be handed in via hard copies.

Registering a business is one of the indicators the World Bank and the International Finance Corp. monitor for their annual ranking of countries based on the ease of government processes. The Philippines ranked 148th out of 183 economies in the “2011 Doing Business Report,” two places down from its earlier standing."