Year End Considerations And New Year Resolutions For Cayman Domiciled Entities

With the year-end fast approaching, now is the time to consider steps that can be taken to address those entities and parts of the group that can be rationalized. If you act now in respect of your Cayman domiciled entities, there's still time to realize efficiencies and savings with regard to filing and other fees.

With very little time left in the year, we are here to help you efficiently and effectively realize these savings and provide assistance with the winding-up and closing of your exempted Cayman domiciled partnerships, companies or foreign entities registered in the Cayman Islands.

You have two primary options to close these entities:

• Voluntary Liquidation
• Strike Off

Voluntary Liquidation

Laid down in the Companies Law, voluntary liquidation is a formal process that involves the appointment of liquidators as well as the calling for claims and holding of Final Meetings, amongst other things. This is a slightly more expensive route than Strike Offs, but it does have finality to it and it does transfer the mind and management of the entity to a third party to deal with as part of the closure.

Strike Off

The difference between a Strike Off and a Voluntary Liquidation is, in essence, twofold:

• The Strike Off process is simple compared to the voluntary liquidation process and follows an application (usually by the Company's Directors) to the Registrar for Strike Off and is thus efficient from a cost and time perspective.
• The process does not have the finality of a Voluntary Liquidation as the company can still be brought back to life via a court application, unlike in a Voluntary Liquidation.

If the focus of your attention is a CIMA regulated entity, then there will be extra nuances involved, including a changing of status and audit waivers.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.