Offshore Financial Centers Accounting Services And The Global Economy

This work investigates the role of accounting firms in offshore financial centres, aiming to provide insight into the effects of major accounting firms on the global economy.

The new global climate of free enterprise has brought with it a proliferation of offshore financial centers that presumably have important roles to play in the emergent global economy. The air of secrecy that appears to pervade the activities of offshore financial centers may well slant or obscure any real understanding of the functions of such centers. The authors investigate the role of major international accounting firms and their services in the processes of business facilitation in the locations that host these centers. By focusing the investigation upon the role of the accounting firms in offshore financial centers, the authors gain a better grasp of the real or potential impacts of the firms in the global economy and in the jurisdictions that host them. Not only do the authors provide a detailed assessment of what the major accounting firms are actually doing in the centers, but they point out what attributes are needed by jurisdictions hoping to succeed as offshore financial centers. The centers included are Antigua, Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, the Seychelles, Singapore, and Vanuatu. The authors describe the legal and institutional environments facing business operations in general and the accounting firms in particular in offshore financial centers. By studying these operations, it should show what they are doing in terms of facilitating the international activities that flow through such centers. It should also add to the understanding of the potential that offshore activities have as vehicles for development in small emerging economies. This study should be of interest to a wide range of business disciplines, as well as governmental agencies in advanced and emerging nations, international agencies such as regional development banks, and accountants and the international financial community.

Offshore finance has transformed many small jurisdictions into high income economies and has facilitated the growth of global financial markets, deregulation and the convergence of economic policies worldwide.

The Caribbean basin region has experienced many economic changes in the new global environment. The islands' business enterprises must function effectively if they are to improve the commercial position of the region's individual economies. This book examines the role producer services, specifically the major accounting firms, play in the sustainability and expansion of the Caribbean basin economies. The first part establishes the frame of reference for the book. A specific and detailed review of accounting services provided throughout the region follows. The third chapter describes the legal and institutional parameters facing accounting practice in the basin. The last section summarizes the general roles of services as they grow and change as well as the economic impact of accounting services.

Offshore finance has transformed many small jurisdictions into high income economies and has facilitated the growth of global financial markets, deregulation and the convergence of economic policies worldwide. However, the volatility and fickle nature of global capital has also become apparent. This major new multi-disciplinary and international collection explores the development of offshore finance and is an extremely valuable resource for all those considering the issues involved in this important area.

Evidence continues to accumulate indicating that tax havens (as they are familiarly called) account for a staggering multi-trillion-dollar loss of tax revenues worldwide. Yet, as this crucially important book shows, such offshore financial centres (OFCs) represent merely the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of a massive malaise reaching into every corner of today’s global financial services landscape with the so-called New York-London axis at its root. In a biting critique and analysis of the tax and regulatory environments from which OFCs operate, the author demonstrates that OFC-like features exist in almost every jurisdiction as a virtually inevitable outcome of the transformation of economies worldwide over the past three decades, as nations and economic blocs compete for foreign investments, and as nations seek expansion of markets to accelerate growth. Covered aspects of this phenomenon include the following: the financialization process in global transactions; erosion of credibility in political establishments with regard to their ability to govern from the centre; ultralight regulatory enclaves found in parts of developed countries; public pressure demanding enhanced international cooperation and global tax reforms, now increasingly led by the US Biden administration, and increasingly likely to reach consensus among G7 economies; and momentum generated for reform of financial reporting systems by the leaked Panama and Paradise Papers, as well as the gathering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic that led to growing government involvements in national and regional economies to protect the health and economic welfares of their respective populations. With its insights into why OFCs persist despite tightening of the rules regarding tax and financial transparency, and its insistence that the blameworthiness of large-scale tax avoidance should be assessed as a global tax problem requiring coordinated and collaborative response from both developing and advanced economies, this book takes a giant step towards genuine international tax reform. It will prove of enormous value to financial institutions, multinational corporations, tax experts, and lawmakers seeking to mend a world increasingly troubled by illicit financial flows, and problems posed by large individual and corporate tax escape artists. Disclaimer: This title is in pre-production and any names, credits or associations are subject to change. The current table of contents and subject matter is for pre-release sample purposes only.

This book opens up the secret world of tax havens and offshore finance centres (OFCs), a vast offshore business valued at over one trillion US dollars. It is a timely and original analysis of the role of OFCs in the emerging global economy. The book discusses who uses OFCs, how OFCs work and what drives their development. Extensive use of case study material from Jersey illustrates the growth of a successful OFC and its impact upon a small island.

A revealing-and chilling-exposé on the hidden side of global wealth and power A revealing-and chilling-exposé on the hidden side of global wealth and power Offshore is an unprecedented exploration of perhaps the most mysterious aspect of global society today-and one of the most provocative books about money and business to appear in the decade since the age of globalization began. The world of offshore finance is one of dummy companies, shadow bank accounts, post office boxes, foreign registries, and the like, which allow giant corporations--such as Wal-Mart, British Petroleum, and Citigroup--to keep huge profits out of sight of investors, regulators, and the public. Whether in the Cayman Islands or the shadowy redoubts of the Islamic financial center of Labuan, Malaysia, "offshore" is where the game of profit and loss is played. A third of the world's wealth is held offshore. Eighty percent of international banking transactions take place there. Half the capital in the world's stock exchanges is "parked" offshore at some point. Trained as a reporter and a private investigator, William Brittain-Catlin brings both skills to this gripping book. He tells the story of how tax havens have become central to global finance today; in so doing, he takes us into the secret networks of Enron and Parmalat, behind international trade disputes, and into organized crime and terror networks, giving disquieting evidence that, through offshore practices, the key value of capitalism and civilization alike-freedom-is being put in grave danger.