CRB offers:

• Exchange of market information between competitors through CRB as independent third party (trustee)
• Decades of experience in processing statistics
• Confidentiality required by legal regulations

We compile reliable and confidential market information exchange systems as a trustee. Participants are supplied with information on markets and trends with anonymised company data. Statistics are provided in various forms as national, European and international systems:

• Industry association statistics
• Aggregated market reports
• Industry statistics and surveys
• Intercompany comparison
• Non-identifying market reports

Implementation follows the “black box” idea:

• Strict confidentiality and restricted access to individual companies’ data
• Transformation of gathered data into anonymised aggregated evaluations
• Strict confidentiality according to the professional laws of public accountants
• Compliance with competition laws through consideration of anti-trust regulations
• Non-discriminatory participation
• Exclusive use of data for agreed purposes and no public disclosure through CRB

We advise on existing reporting systems and on the setup of new statistics:

• Design und concept of parameters
• Advice on competition law implications
• Agreements between participating parties
• Assurance of reporting obligations (e.g. through on-site audits)

The information exchange systems can be provided with the support of industry associations or directly with participating companies.

CRB handles inter-company projects as an independent trust company while observing the legal requirements and professional laws for public accountants.

Financial processing of projects includes:

• Setup and maintenance of dedicated escrow bank accounts (trust account)
• Monitoring of cash flows
• Tax assessment
• VAT-optimized processing of non-taxable entities
• Bookkeeping of all activities
• Long-term archiving
• Reduction of economic risks

Examples:

• Collection of membership fees for associations
• Marketing cooperation
• Waste disposal systems
• Joint ventures
• Other projects with shared costs between companies
  
  

National, European and international regulation requires cooperation between market participants resp. between all companies of the value chain. Significant requirements for registration with the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) for example, derive from

• REACH Regulation (EC Regulation 1907/2006)
• Biocides Regulation (Biocidal Product Regulation, BPR, EU 528/2012)
• CLP Regulation (Classification, Labelling and Packaging, EG Nr. 1272/2008)
• PIC Verordnung (Prior Informed Consent Regulation, EU 649/2012)

During a joint registration, costs incur for data collection, compiling of a dossier, studies, providing evidence etc. Affected companies normally need

• Cost sharing
• Centralized Payment Services
• Process reimbursements
• Record all consortium activities

For the required cooperation between companies, CRB offers the financial processing of expenses and revenues in the course of any form of cooperation, as an independent trustee. We provide financial support for

• Technical Consortium Manager
• Lead companies
• Lead registrants
• Steering committees

and support them with our financial services to comply with the requirements of the regulations.
We provide assurance on the processing of joint financial funds resulting from co-ownership of dossiers, studies, partnerships, syndicates etc.

Our Activities:

• Payment transactions (Processing of advance payments, cost sharing payments, compensation payments, revenues from the sale of access rights) through dedicated escrow / trust bank accounts with financial records
• Invoicing between consortium members
• Invoicing of LoAs and split of revenues
• VAT requirements assessment
• Independent and centralized monitoring of accounts receivables
• Customized reporting on activities and status; support of budget planning
• Archiving and documentation according to legal requirements
• Cost audits to confirm expenses and calculation basis for LoA prices
• Consulting on reimbursement or cost compensation systems according to the EU directive and the ECHA guidance on data sharing

Concept of Services:

• Escrow (trust) bank accounts on behalf of the members of a consortium, administered by CRB
• Bookkeeping and reporting of all financial activities of a consortium
• Issuing of invoices and VAT-/sales tax assessments of cash flows

Advantage of CRB services:

• CRB is an independent service provider for all parties, with experience in joint venture accounting and financial processing of joint projects
• All services are provided under professional rules for public accountants (inter alia: professional duties, authorization to act as a trustee)
• CRB provides competent personal assistance on financial and accounting issues without unnecessary bureaucracy
• Data records are archived and available throughout the registration periods and beyond according to legal requirements, available in case of cost sharing disputes
• Financial activities of a consortium are processed through dedicated separate bank accounts; transactions are transparently documented and consider tax and accounting requirements
• Concept of a fair, transparent and non-discriminating cost sharing system as stipulated in the EU directive is supported
• Shared powers between the parties ensure objective and unbiased administration of joint funds and monitoring of financial activities between competitors
• Specific needs of disclosed partnerships (actively acting legal entities with separate VAT registration) or undisclosed partnerships (internal cost sharing system between consortium members, non-trading partnership without VAT registration) are considered