Realm Business and Tax Advisory, a Hermosa Beach-based accounting, tax and bookkeeping firm, will launch a new service next month to assist its customers in complying with the beneficial ownership information requirements under the Corporate Transparency Act.

In an effort “to tackle the scourge of illicit finance enabled by opaque corporate structures,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network now requires private companies to report information about their owners.

The deadline for existing companies to submit their reports is Jan. 1. Companies created in 2024 have 90 days after their company is officially registered to comply.

Realm owner Roger DaSilva stressed the importance of meeting this deadline as well as completing the requirements accurately.

“Number one, (business owners) may not know where to go, what data to input, and then they could have either stale or inaccurate data. So those are the kinds of things that we could help with,” DaSilva said.

Non-compliance can result in a $500 fine per day with a maximum fine of $10,000 and/or up to two years in prison.

In addition to offering filing services, DaSilva said he is educating his clients on why this requirement exists.

“The government wants to know who owns these businesses for potential tax revenue. It’s a know-your-customer kind of thing. So it’s a twofold effect. Maybe there are owners outside of the country, or it could be that people are receiving income from owning these businesses or having ownership stakes in these businesses that aren’t paying taxes on that,” DaSilva said.

Starting at $300, Realm’s filing service is geared toward small to medium sized businesses with “fairly simple ownership structures,” DaSilva said.

This service will be offered to existing Realm clients and while DaSilva said Realm is willing to take on new clients interested in this service, they would also need to enroll in Realm’s tax, accounting and bookkeeping package.