Providing a local Director

Some of our clients ask us if we can also provide a local director for their German entity to act on a ‘nominee’ basis for the proposed company. They want to steer the company from abroad but for some reasons prefer a local legal representative in Germany to facilitate certain things. 

You are looking for a director for your business in Gemany?

Reasons for installing a local director

  • The foreign entity wants to save the money for a full-time managing director to be employed with the German entity. They employ sales or admin staff in Germany only.
  • The majority of banks meanwhile refuses to open a bank account or make significant changes to the account if the managing director of a corporate client is not located in Germany and does not speak German.
  • When applying for fiscal registration some tax authorities demand to talk to the managing director. They ask them to explain the business model to them in the office of the company before they issue a tax number. This serves in order to avoid pure letter box companies, which are disregarded by German tax law.
  • Some other authorities insist on dealing with the managing director only.
  • Steering a company from abroad bears the risk that the managing directors do not notice when the law in Germany changes and therefore cannot act in time.

Can we act as your managing director?

As chartered accountants we ourselves are not allowed to offer that service due to our professional law. However, we will be happy to connect you with a trustworthy person that can act as your local director. We work with several persons who we know since many years. They all have a previous background as managing director or board member of a German corporation. According to German law, a managing director is liable for many things in a company. So it is understandable that they also want to make sure that the company they represent is always in good standing and complies with the law.

Finding the right person

Before we can identify who will be the best person for you and in order to proceed you with an individual fee proposal such a person needs information from you. So they would like to know more about your company and about the future tasks to be performed for your German entity. Therefore it is necessary that you allow us to forward information on your company to that person. Based on the results of their review and their availability they will then decide if they are ready to accept the job.

Costs

The remuneration is usually twofold. One part is usually a fixed fee p.a. for accepting the liability and carrying out some mandatory tasks. The fee will depend on the qualification and experience of the person and the size and requirements of your company. Costs for a D&O insurance for such a person will be on top. The second part is a hourly fee. This will be applicable e.g. if you ask the managing director to carry out certain tasks that are not included in the basic fee on behalf of the company. The hourly rate also depends on certain factors. VAT and expenses will be on top. They need to charge your company directly and not via us.

You are looking for a local director for your business in Germany?
Call us: +4969-25622760
Send us an e-mail: info@benefitax.de