Corporate compliance with various Phillippine regulatory requirements is very challenging. Its scope depends on the corporation's nature of business.
Registration of a corporation with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may require an application for a secondary license for certain types of business. For instance, a financing company after registering its name with the SEC is not allowed to operate as such without securing a secondary license for it to conduct financing activities. Having a secondary license would mean additional regulatory compliance requirements under the said license.
Registration with the SEC may also require endorsement from other government offices. For instance, to register an insurance company with the SEC, submission of endorsement from the Insurance Commission shall be required. As such, aside from SEC regulations, an insurance company will also have to comply with the rules imposed by the Insurance Commission as the government agency regulating the conduct of insurance business in the Philippines. Moreover, for publicly listed corporations, different sets of SEC compliance rules which are far more complex than that for a non-publicly listed likewise apply. The applicable rules on corporate governance are also different. Sometimes, regulatory compliance rules of various government agencies do intertwine. For instance, a financing company is not a BSP regulated entity. But if it will borrow funds from foreign sources, aside from applying some rules under the Securities and Regulations Code, compliance with BSP foreign loan registration shall also be required.
There are also special compliance matters. For instance, the National Privacy Commission provides for mandatory registration of certain types of entities. Another example is the mandatory registration with the Anti-Money Laundering Council of those who are considered as Covered Persons under the Anti-Money Laundering Law.
There are also general compliance matters involving rules mandated by the Bureau of Internal Revenue, Department of Labor, Social Security System, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG.
In sum, corporate compliance is a complex business matter that requires evaluation and assessment by those experienced in the field. It is advisable to seek assistance from experienced professionals to conduct a compliance checking of your business to avoid the costly consequences of non-compliance.