This year, a number of large-scale purchase and sale transactions have provided much fodder for discussion in the media – Nelja Energia, Luminor and Utilitas are three examples. The large transactions always stand out, but this year has seen many mid-sized and small company acquisitions as well.
According to Michael Porter, whose book Competitive Strategy is one of the most highly regarded works on management, a company develops a competitive advantage over its rivals when it purposefully differentiates activities from others in order to create unique value.
Food synthesizers, halo environments and a number of other exciting gadgets seen on TV seem like an unattainable dream a Star Trek fan might have come up with. But for how long?
Next year, amendments to the Taxation Act are expected to enter into force. One of the amendments calls for more data to be added to the employment register, which will however increase the workload for accountants.
International commerce is increasingly digital. But the global taxation system is still aimed at traditional “brick and mortar” needs. The action plan of the OECD’s package of measures to combat base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) acknowledges the need for modernisation. This has been partly achieved after the BEPS Action Plan was released in October 2015.
25 October will mark five months since the entry into force of the General Data Protection Regulation . There was much confusion before that. Companies wondered whether employees’ birthdays could be printed out and tacked to the wall in the break room. Maybe Christmas presents could no longer be given to employees’ children because that, too, would require the children’s personal data to be “processed”.
Grant Thornton has released a new guide to help international entrepreneurs navigate transfer pricing regulations in different countries.
This year is the point where the economy peaked – it can’t get any better. We already see economic growth tapering off in Estonia, the EU and elsewhere. But will we lose our footing as we slide downhill or will we be able to softly glissade down the easy slopes?
From the 1st of September 2018, all Estonian companies will be required to submit data on their beneficial owners to the Commercial Register of Estonia.
The date when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entered into force, May 25th, came and went with many companies still unsure about what needs to be done to be compliant with the GDPR.
In September, a new amendment to the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prevention Act will enter into force, requiring companies to disclose data on their beneficial owners.
According to the GDPR people have right to query data processors about the data they hold about them. People have right to ask what data a processor holds about them, for what purpose and what is done to the data. They also have a right to rectify and erase data. Data processor is obliged to reply within 30 days of the request being made to comply with the regulation.
In the last few decades, the topic of female executives has received consistent attention in the industrialised West.
Starting 15 January 2018, Estonian companies managed from abroad will have the obligation to designate a contact person. That means all Estonian companies whose management board is located abroad must appoint an Estonian-based contact person.
By the end of the first quarter – 31 March – all companies must draw up and communicate to employees a holiday schedule for the current year.
Businesses both in and outside Estonia are very optimistic about this year’s outlook. But I recommend taking the rose-coloured glasses off and committing to making investments this year in order to improve effectiveness.