COSEC Pain Point #2: Beneficial Ownership. Do You Really Know Who's Behind Your Company?

Knowing who owns a company is one thing. Knowing who ultimately benefits from or controls it is another.

For Governance Professionals and Company Secretaries, beneficial ownership (BO) reporting has become an increasingly demanding compliance responsibility.

In South Africa, the Companies Act and associated regulations require companies to maintain and disclose relevant beneficial ownership information.

But identifying the individuals behind complex shareholding structures is not always straightforward.

And with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) conducting inspections of beneficial ownership records, accuracy, completeness and readiness for inspection matter more than ever.

The challenge: Looking beyond the shareholder register

A shareholder register may tell you which companies or individuals hold shares. But it doesn't always reveal who ultimately benefits from or exercises control over those interests.

Consider a company owned by another company, which is itself owned through several additional entities.

Identifying the relevant individuals can mean tracing multiple ownership relationships, verifying personal details and keeping records updated as structures change.

For many private and unlisted companies, this creates a substantial administrative burden.

The risk isn't simply missing a filing deadline. It's submitting incomplete or inaccurate information without realising it.

Why spreadsheets are no longer enough

Managing beneficial ownership through disconnected records introduces several challenges:

• Complex ownership structures: Tracing beneficial interests through multiple entities can be difficult.
• Outdated information: Changes in ownership or control may not be reflected across all records.
• Missed deadlines: Regulatory filings and annual return requirements need to be tracked.
• Inspection exposure: Incomplete or inconsistent information can create compliance and reputational risks.

The result? Company Secretaries spend valuable time gathering, reconciling and verifying information instead of proactively managing governance obligations.

A single source of truth for beneficial ownership

At UnifyToday, we've built beneficial ownership management into our intelligent Governance and Company Secretarial solution.

Rather than treating beneficial ownership as a standalone compliance exercise, we connect it directly to the organisation's entity management and regulatory reporting processes.

This enables organisations to:

✅ Map ownership relationships: Capture company structures, shareholding and beneficial ownership information in one connected environment.

✅ Stay ahead of deadlines: Plan submissions and use automated notifications to manage regulatory obligations.

✅ Simplify regulatory filings: Generate and manage beneficial ownership registers and associated filing information.

✅ Improve information accuracy: Support verification through CIPC and Home Affairs integrations.

✅ Be inspection-ready: Maintain accessible, up-to-date beneficial ownership records to support CIPC inspections.

From regulatory obligation to proactive governance

Beneficial ownership compliance should not become an annual scramble to reconcile spreadsheets and confirm information.

With connected records, automated workflows and structured verification, Governance Professionals can spend less time chasing information and more time ensuring the organisation meets its obligations.

Because effective governance is not just about knowing who owns your company. It's about understanding who ultimately benefits from and controls it.

How confident are you in your beneficial ownership records?

If CIPC requested an inspection tomorrow, would your organisation be able to provide accurate, complete and current information?