Representative Matter 001

Transitioning from an EOR Arrangement to a Japanese Subsidiary for a Danish Environmental Consulting Organization

Client Profile

Client: Preferred by Nature (“PbN”)
website: https://www.preferredbynature.org/

  • Parent company: Denmark
  • Industry: Environmental consulting and certification services
  • Organization: International NGO
  • Global presence: Operations in more than 100 countries
  • Employees: More than 300

Background

Before establishing a Japanese subsidiary, PbN had already entered the Japanese market by employing one person through an Employer of Record (EOR). The employee was providing environmental consulting and certification services to customers in Japan.

As its business in Japan expanded, PbN decided to establish its own Japanese subsidiary and transition from the EOR structure to direct local operations.

Client's Objectives

The client wished to:

  • Establish a wholly owned Japanese subsidiary
  • Transfer its employee from the EOR provider to the new Japanese entity
  • Build a long-term business presence in Japan
  • Establish an accounting, payroll, and tax compliance framework for the new subsidiary

Key Challenges

Several practical issues required careful planning.

Transition from EOR to a Japanese Subsidiary

The client needed to transfer its existing employee from the EOR arrangement to the newly established Japanese company while maintaining business continuity.

Opening a Corporate Bank Account

The Japanese subsidiary was wholly owned by a foreign company, and its representative director was a non-resident of Japan.

Opening a corporate bank account under these circumstances required careful planning, document preparation, and an appropriate application strategy.

Integration with the Client's Global Systems

The client operates a Salesforce-based global ERP platform for accounting, expense approvals, and internal workflows.

Supporting the engagement required our team to work within PbN's English-language systems while coordinating with overseas headquarters.

Our Support

We acted as PbN Japan market entry advisor throughout the project.

Our support included:

  • Advising on the overall subsidiary establishment process
  • Supporting PbN use of online incorporation services
  • Assisting with Japanese-English communication and document review
  • Advising on the corporate bank account application strategy
  • Supporting the successful opening of the Japanese corporate bank account
  • Preparing tax registration filings after incorporation
  • Establishing payroll procedures
  • Coordinating social insurance procedures
  • Providing ongoing accounting and corporate tax compliance services

Company registration itself was completed by PbN using an online incorporation platform. Our role was to provide practical consulting, tax, payroll, and compliance support before and after incorporation.

Outcome

The client successfully established its Japanese subsidiary and transferred its employee from the EOR provider to the new company.

The subsidiary successfully opened a Japanese corporate bank account despite the foreign ownership structure and the appointment of a non-resident representative director.

The client now operates its Japanese business through its own subsidiary, and we continue to provide accounting, payroll, and tax compliance services.