STEP Advanced Certificate in Company Law and Practice

Course purpose

The course is designed to develop and enhance your understanding of how companies are used as offshore asset-holding vehicles. It ensures that practitioners understand how to run a company, including the terminology used, and practices and procedures involved, and are familiar with the relevant company law rules that regulate a company and its affairs.

You will be able to

• Advise on the classification, types and uses of trusts, the factors affecting their validity and the circumstances under which they can and cannot be altered.
• Explain the roles, responsibilities, limitations and liabilities of trustees, protectors and enforcers under local and international law.
• Understand money, bond and equity markets, financial appraisal and ratio analysis and options, derivatives and futures markets.
• Explain the duties and responsibilities of trustees in relation to investment matters under local and international legislation.
• Advise on the use of trusts in modern tax planning.
• Advise on the issues surrounding modern reserved powers legislation.
• Identify and advise on the factors affecting a client’s residence and domicile and outline the impact of these on a client’s estate planning needs.
• Analyse the conflict of laws rules (doctrine of renvoi) applicable to multi-jurisdictional trusts and advise clients when these rules may apply.
• Explain the regulatory frameworks that have developed globally to counteract fraud and money laundering.
• Carry out the ‘know your client’ checks that are required for compliance with anti-money.
• Laundering regulations in your local jurisdiction.
• Construct and interpret a set of trust accounts.
• Understand the day-to-day affairs of an offshore company including the processes of incorporation and dissolution.

Course audience

The course is designed for all professionals moving into or working in financial services (specifically trusts and corporate services), who wish to develop their understanding and knowledge of this area.

Students of this course typically include:

• Trust Assistants/Officers/Administrators
• Trust Managers (Senior)
• Trustees/Fiduciaries
• Corporate Administrators
• Lawyers/Solicitors/Attorneys
• Wealth Managers
• Accountants
• Tax Advisors
• Compliance Officers/Managers
• Bankers
• Secretarial/Administration
• Client Relations/Marketing/Sales
• Financial/Estate Planners

Features

• Ideal for practitioners looking for professional accreditation.
• A recognised ‘gold-standard’ professional qualification for those working in the industry, globally recognised by employers, regulators, clients and professionals.
• Can be taken as a standalone qualification or as part of the STEP Diploma in International Trust Management.
• Blended delivery, written and taught by practitioners, focusing on everyday matters encountered in international trust management from creation, modern usage and administration of trusts and the provision of corporate services.
• Access to specimen examination papers and solutions to support you in your assessment preparation.
• Ability to grow your own professional network, meeting students from a range of professions providing an opportunity for networking, building relationships and sharing study tips/support as a cohort.
• Students have the opportunity to submit academic queries to a dedicated programme content team.
• Successful completion of the course will award students with 30 Diploma-Level credits towards STEP membership.

Format, Delivery and Assessment

This Advanced Certificate forms part of the STEP Diploma in International Trust Management, combined with three additional STEP Advanced Certificates.

• Advanced Certificate in Trust Creation: Law and Practice
• Advanced Certificate in Company Law and Practice
• Advanced Certificate in Trust Administration and Accounts
• Advanced Certificate in Trustee Investment and Financial Appraisal

Each of these Advanced Certificates can be taken as a standalone qualification or as part of the Diploma programme.

This course is available for study all year round, with intakes at different points throughout the year (depending on your location). The core programme is delivered through a blend of distance-learning and four face-to-face workshops as part of a revision-week series delivered by experts in the field who possess vast amounts of professional experience and practical knowledge.

The face-to-face workshops are delivered each year across the world in some of the key financial centres, including the UK (London), Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey and Isle of Man), Europe (Geneva and Zurich), Asia (Singapore and Hong Kong) and the Caribbean (Bermuda, Bahamas and Cayman). There can be up to two intakes beginning each year (with assessments taking place approximately six months later). We recommend that you spend four to six hours per week on private study for a minimum of four months prior to the examination.

Enrolment onto this course will include the following:

• access to an online learning platform that contains:  
  • bespoke soft copy course manual
  • self-assessment material
  • distance learning support
• attendance at four days of face-to-face tuition
• examination fees.

Additional charges will apply for re-sit attempts and deferrals.

The course is assessed by way of a three-hour closed-book written examination which comprises 25 compulsory multiple-choice questions (each worth 1 mark), followed by three 25-mark essay/problem style questions chosen from a selection of five questions. The questions will be drawn from across the syllabus and candidates must achieve 50% in order to pass the Advanced Certificate.

Once you have successfully completed this course, you will gain 30 Diploma-Level credits towards STEP membership and be awarded the STEP Advanced Certificate in Company Law and Practice.

Online Learning (DL+)

If you are not based in one of the above locations, and travel to and from one of the face-to-face centres is not an option, you can enrol for the online course STEP Advanced Certificate in Company Law and Practice - DL+.

Exemptions

There are no formal exemptions available for this course.

Fees

Singapore Funding:

Eligible Singapore-based students can now receive funding of 50% of the course fees. Visit Funding and Support for further details.

To enrol for this course, you must select your preferred course start date, and the corresponding events and location.