Finance, funds and regulation

Financing, investing and capital markets have one common denominator, and that is cash flow. Whether you are on the side seeking the missing money in your business, or on the contrary investing money already earned, and not only on the domestic market but also abroad, it is good to understand the legal and tax consequences of your decisions.

Investing

Investing is the basis for growing the assets of every mature entrepreneur. Whether it is a simple investment in real estate, where the legal title to the property and/or the contracts tied to it must be verified (legal due diligence), or you are considering the acquisition of some interesting work of art, Steiniger is here for you. We are always ready to advise you so that you are aware of the possible risks and pitfalls and can calmly make an informed decision.

Capital markets

Capital markets are the classic place where virtually every investor has at least a certain part of their portfolio „stored“. Even though the markets have become more transparent over the past two decades, with larger investments it is certainly good to understand in detail all the risks associated with the investment. Steiniger is glad to provide its know-how and analyses to all investors who wish to understand the risks of investing in specific products on the capital markets.

Financing a business is an important aspect of operations for every entrepreneur. Before deciding on the financing structure of your business, however, we recommend using advice and analyses of the legal and tax implications of your decision. Crowdfunding, ICOs or classic venture capital have their pitfalls, which it is good to know about. At Steiniger we are glad to help you choose the most suitable model for your business.

Compliance services are based on adhering to the standards created for individual areas of business or relationships. The essence of this concept in legal terms is that the entrepreneur brings their business into line with statutory regulations in order to avoid possible penalties from the state or reputational risks.

Today it is above all the European Union that seeks to unify the rules across the entire EU and introduce higher standards for quality, whether in the area of services, goods, labour, energy or in the consumer area that concerns each of us. Since these are usually EU regulations, it can no longer be expected that national authorities will be lenient or lack sufficient expertise to address breaches of regulation. On the contrary.

What can you expect?

Special attention must be paid to legal regulations, particularly if you do business in an area subject to them. The state enters your business and monitors how it is conducted. The means of control are inspections, audits, investigations of citizens’ complaints or sanctions. We must not forget, however, that compliance with regulations also becomes the basis for the credibility of your company. This opens up opportunities to expand your business, close deals with „big players“ and abroad, but also to increase the value of your own company and remove risk for business partners.

Sanctions

Sanctions usually take two forms. One is a measure requiring you to bring your business into line with the law, and the other is a financial penalty. If you neglect your legal obligations, a situation may arise where you „pay twice“ for this state of affairs. The first time in the form of a fine, and the second time in the form of legal services you will have to pay to bring your business into compliance with regulation, under the threat of a higher sanction for repeated breaches.

Beware of reputational risk

If you are convinced that the authorities „cannot catch up with you“, there is one more argument for addressing the compliance of your business. Namely reputational risk. A sanction need not necessarily affect you, but information about your failure will. It can fundamentally influence the behaviour and attitude of clients towards your company.

Blockchain, cryptocurrencies, but also artificial intelligence (AI) pose a considerable challenge to existing legal systems. It often happens that local law does not address the issue of new technologies in detail, and so it is good to know the specifics of the existing market. Our clients entrust this work with confidence to Steiniger — whether it is the assessment of regulatory obligations (compliance), risks, or the design of a suitable legal framework for a specific project.

Tokenisation, ICO and mining

Tokenisation of assets, ICOs, cryptocurrency mining, but also the ordinary acceptance of cryptocurrencies in a company’s everyday operations are areas in which we are glad to provide our know-how. Navigating the world of complicated regulations and guidelines is no problem for us. Moreover, thanks to good partners from neighbouring countries, we can also cover international operations.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a relatively new field that has come to the fore over the past decade. Every implementation of artificial intelligence, however, carries diverse and highly individual legal risks. An initial legal analysis, as well as prophylaxis in the form of a well-formulated „End User Agreement“, is certainly the right decision for every company involved in implementing artificial intelligence. Not to mention regulatory questions, data security and personal data protection questions, as well as ethical frameworks.