Innovation to accelerate business success

For regulated markets

Regulation is constantly and rapidly changing. Our aim is to support you in taking all the necessary steps to ensure that your business is compliant with all the relevant regulatory requirements.

Our team is experienced to provide operational compliance consulting to your compliance officers and to the management of the regulated companies.

The team will form compliance procedures and review the existing compliance controls of the company and suggest alternatives where necessary to apply the legislation into your company procedures.

For service companies assisting regulated entities

Regulation is constantly and rapidly changing. Our aim is to support you in taking all the necessary steps to ensure that your business is compliant with all the relevant regulatory requirements as well as that your operations are efficient and effective. We provide operations compliance, legal and general compliance consulting to international regulated entities tailored made to the business model and needs of each client. Our range of services also cover trainings on regulatory and market practice updates, regulatory reporting requirements, as well as health check reviews. Finopus’ experts accumulated experience from jurisdictions such as Cyprus, EU, United Kingdom, and worldwide.

We understand that internal audit is vital to maintaining effective risk management, internal controls, and robust corporate governance. In challenging times, internal audit can serve as a foundation in protecting shareholder value, instilling confidence in shareholders that the entity is well governed. When internal audit is positioned as a management activity, it can help support the board of directors in achieving corporate goals and assist in more innovative thinking for future objectives and lower the probability of shareholder value loss.

We also note that regulated entities are obliged by law to conduct audit of their internal controls to ensure compliance with the local laws and regulations. This is where we come into the picture. We specialise on auditing internal controls of regulated entities, such as investment firms, electronic money institutions, payment service providers, crypto asset service providers and investment funds. The range of internal audit services include the outsourcing of the internal audit function to us, provision of independent review of the controls and procedures followed, health-check reviews, development and/ or enhancement of policies and procedures manuals to improve the internal control environment and trainings.

Our professionals serve international regulated entities operating in the financial services industry over the last 20 years. We have well-established relationships of trust with a number of international competent authorities such as European Union, Lithuania, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Seychelles, Belize, South Africa, Mauritius, Labuan.

Our range of services include among other the following:

• Advise on the current regulatory framework, the required steps and procedures required based on the business model of each client and required permissions/ license
• Advise and support on the application as well as the post license requirements, ensuring compliance with the regulatory requirements
• Advise relating to the regulatory and financial aspect for the acquisition of a target entity

Finopus’ professionals are engaged in the legal representation and counselling of a number of Cyprus Investment Firms and Alternative Investment Funds with the regulator. Our accumulated expertise in the conflict or dispute resolution and complaint handling on behalf of the regulated entities, financial ombudsman, positions us as market leaders in this field.

We have a team of specialists to get your business up and running, taking care of dealing from complete structure setup, to license acquisition, complaint resolution and all the operational and compliance matters. Your board and management body will have a complete solution to launch your project by providing ongoing advice and guidance to avoid disruptions of any nature in your business. By undertaking the complete setup of your project, you can focus on your business. We follow a hands-on approach from planning, coordinating, executing to completing the various “tasks” of your projects to ensure that everything involved is being managed and completed effectively and successfully.

At Finopus, we know that the relationship between the regulators and the advisory industry is a vital one both for our reputation as well as for our clients’ quality of service. For clients to meet the ongoing developments and emerging challenges, they must adapt and tailor their strategies and compliance procedures. It is not enough to react to investigations or loosely adhere to regulatory guidelines.

Our experienced team with long-term interaction with regulators and service of a number clients with different business models, accumulated the necessary understanding and comprehension of the regulators’ requirements, likes and dislikes and is ready to guide and support you to identify any potential risks which will be evaluated from the regulatory point of view and must be improved.

Our team assist you with setting up the procedures for the following:

• Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and Directive (CRDIV)
• European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR)
• Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR)
• Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP) and Supervisory Review (SREP) assistance

Our team specialises non-statutory assurance services as due diligence assignments, such as on merger and/or acquisition transactions of legal entities operating in the financial services industry. We undertake the following:

• Identification of business targets
• Negotiation and/ or intermediation between the parties
• Legal support and due diligence
• Operational due diligence
• Compliance and regulatory
• Financial due diligence
• Transaction supervision and reporting

Our business network offers assurance services such as statutory and regulatory audit and issuance of audit opinion on the financial statements of a company in accordance with the International Standards of Auditing. We also assist in the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and advise on the application of those and other generally accepted accounting practices.

Our team specialises non-statutory assurance services as due diligence assignments, such as on merger and/or acquisition transactions of legal entities, business segments, domains and business activities. We undertake the following:

• Legal support and due diligence
• Operational due diligence
• Compliance and regulatory
• Financial due diligence
• Assurance

Our associates offer a broad range of accounting services to assist clients in the effect operation of their businesses. A team of experienced accountants will supply you with the necessary financial tools ensuring that your business accounting requirements will function properly at all times. The range of services includes:

• Bookkeeping
• Preparation of management reports
• Preparation of financial statements
• Payroll
• VAT return preparation and submission

Our external associates can provide legal advice tailored made to our clients’ needs. We can also provide legal opinions with analysis and conclusions on specific matter or transaction and effects of the same.

Our network of real estate experts has comprehensive knowledge of the Cyprus immovable property market. Our close legal consultants, can provide you with solid, cost effective and practical consultation and support pertaining to all immovable property related matters.

• Due diligence search on the status of the immovable property in Cyprus
• Obtaining permit to own immovable property for non-EU nationals
• Advice on sale, purchase and lease agreements
• Property consultation of residential/commercial property for local, EU and Non-EU nationals
• Representation of clients before the Inland Revenue and Land Registry

Our specialised associates undertake the drafting of any kind of agreement based on your needs and business, such as Contractual agreements, Lease agreements, Operational agreements (T&Cs), Employee agreements, Agency agreements, License agreements, Sale Purchase agreements, Shareholder agreements and other.

Moreover, we provide assistance in the reviewing of agreements from commercial and tax perspective in order to be in compliance with the regulatory framework and the transaction at the best interest of the client, while we may renegotiate contracts’ terms upon clients’ request and as the case may be.

We assist with the formation of international companies always in compliance with the applicable regulated and best corporate practice in the target jurisdiction.

We understand that nowadays there is a heavy reporting need imposed by regulators that makes challenging your daily tasks and responsibilities challenging. We are here to support you through our close associates, providers of of automated reporting platforms for your fulfilment of regulatory reporting such as EMIR, FATCA, MiFID II, REMIT, FATCA, CRS and other transactional reporting regulatory requirements.