Beneficial ownership transparency: A fundamental reform to accelerate sustainable development
Introduction
The disclosure of information on the true owners of companies and other corporate vehicles is an essential part of a well-functioning and fair economy and society. Open Ownership’s vision is that governments, businesses, and citizens can readily access accurate, complete, and high-quality information on the people who own, control, or benefit from companies – the beneficial owners – and use this information to achieve their goals, including reducing corruption and tax evasion, improving procurement, and creating a well-functioning business environment.
Since 2017, Open Ownership has worked with almost 40 countries to advance beneficial ownership transparency (BOT) reforms, and has supported the creation of more than 15 beneficial ownership (BO) registers. [1] We have developed the world’s leading data standard for BO information, [2] and the Open Ownership Principles, a policy framework detailing the elements of reform that enable effective use of BO data. [3]
The Financing for Development process has consistently featured BOT in its discussions, and in its 2023 Annual Report, BOT is recognised as a key mechanism to achieve the objective that the “international tax system and financial integrity policies should serve all countries”. [4] The Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the third Financing for Development Conference (Addis Agenda) recognises the importance of BOT in this regard and encourages states to provide competent authorities with access to BO information to improve international tax collaboration. [5]
BOT is crucial for effective taxation and is an essential reform to increase domestic public resources, prevent the negative economic and social costs of corruption and crime, support a sustainable business environment, and deliver transparency on debt sustainability, among other things.
As countries seek to achieve sustainable growth and navigate the energy transition, the upcoming fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) should recognise the cross-cutting importance of beneficial ownership transparency to fully implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to supporting reform of the international financial architecture.
Footnotes
[1] Open Ownership, “Open Ownership map: Worldwide action on beneficial ownership transparency”, n.d., https://www.openownership.org/en/map/.
[2] Open Ownership, “Beneficial Ownership Data Standard (v0.4)”, n.d., http://standard.openownership.org/.
[3] Open Ownership, Open Ownership Principles for effective beneficial ownership disclosure (s.l.: Open Ownership, updated 2023), https://www.openownership.org/en/principles/.
[4] World Bank, Finance for Development: Annual Report 2023 – A Global Finance For Development Umbrella Partnership: Building deep, inclusive, resilient, and efficient financial systems (English) (Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group, 2024), https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099232401252498754/idu117327cb013d66148361bcfa110a1a52e2cbc.
[5] United Nations, Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (New York: United Nations, 2015), https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2051AAAA_Outcome.pdf.