Corporate FAQs
Q: When was High Street Partners founded?
A: In 2003 by Larry Harding, former VP of International Finance for Ciena Corporation (Nasdaq: CIEN).
Q: Where is High Street Partners located?
A: We are headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland and we have U.S. offices in Boston, Atlanta, San Diego, San Francisco, and San Jose.
Q: Does High Street Partners have additional international presence?
A: Yes. In addition to our U.S. offices, HSP has offices in London, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong, regional specialists in many markets, and a network of local service providers around the globe.
Q: What does High Street Partners do?
A: HSP provides a range of cross-border finance and administrative services to companies and institutions with new or existing international operations. We offer assistance with the implementation and ongoing management of international subsidiaries and other entities, providing entity set-up, payroll, accounting, tax compliance, consulting and HR services.
HSP’s product portfolio consists of four main service offerings:
HSP Overseas Direct®: This is our signature service for the set-up, ongoing support and monthly reporting of overseas sales and development offices. We offer a fixed price for all accounting, bookkeeping, payroll, and statutory and tax compliance requirements.
HSP Advisory Services: HSP offers per project consulting assistance in these areas: ▪ expatriate tax & HR-related matters ▪ stock options and related incentive compensation for overseas employees ▪ employee benefits advice & provision ▪ international cash & treasury management strategies ▪ audit preparation & support ▪ import / export regulatory advice (including international logistics) ▪ office leasing ▪ FAS 52 consolidation support ▪ employee recruitment. We also offer entity structuring (and restructuring), transfer pricing, IP rights, and country specific VAT (or equivalent) advice. advisory services for establishing international entities and sound organizational structures, international logistics, employee benefits and pension plans, expatriate assignments, stock option plans, tax minimization strategies, VAT/GST, transfer pricing and inter-company agreements (ISAs), international cash management approaches, etc. We also offer HSP Global Assessment™, a “health check” of existing overseas entities for best practices, compliance risk & change implementation as required.
HSP Global Services™: HSP can provide the necessary documents, contracts, agreements and other items related to the smooth running, risk minimization, and regulatory compliance of international entities. They may include the following: ▪ Employment contracts & offer letters in accordance with local guidelines ▪ Localized and translated Non-Compete and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) ▪ Inter-company service agreements (ISAs) in accordance with local transfer pricing requirements ▪ Applications for Work Visas (for expatriate employees) ▪ Employee HR Handbooks ▪ UK Joint Election or EMI registrations ▪ VAT 13th Directive reclaim applications in the EU ▪ Outsourced Nominee or Resident Director services ▪ Whitepapers on specific technical matters ▪ Director Indemnification agreements.
HSP Access America™: This service offers an entry strategy to US markets at predictable costs from a single provider. Focused on making entry quick, simple and headache free, the service provides European, Asian and South American businesses a turnkey method for setting up and managing a US subsidiary. HSP provides initial set-up services, including proper entity structuring, company incorporation and registrations. We then help clients navigate unfamiliar banking, payroll, and tax compliance procedures. As the US operation develops, we take care of all ongoing finance and administrative needs, allowing local employees to focus on market entry activities and driving sales growth.
Q: What are the benefits of working with High Street Partners?
Improved Business Focus - HSP acts as an extension of your finance team and our management of the day-to-day operations of your overseas entities allows you to focus on core competencies.
Personalized Solutions – Together we determine your overseas needs and then create a solution that meets these needs. HSP does not believe in a “one size fits all” approach and we tailor a package of services that meets your specific requirements.
Predictable and Reduced Costs – HSP’s solutions allow you to reduce implementation costs and achieve a savings on your ongoing international support costs - in many instances more than 50%.
Predictable Timing – We manage your monthly tasks to an agreed timeline. Tailored calendars set out process steps, deadlines, and responsibilities and ensure clear expectations management and delivery. Centralized reporting packages eliminate patchwork financial data from numerous sources.
One Neck to Grab – A single source of contact for your HQ team and access to best-of-class local service providers around the globe. HSP’s one-stop-shop approach guarantees accountability.
Global Delivery – Our network of local service providers in over 75 countries ensures that HSP provides the highest quality solutions at an affordable price – all in a centralized invoice.
Q: Does High Street Partners provide services to non US-based clients?
A: Yes. As international services providers, we can assist any high-growth company, public company or institution seeking expansion into another country, regardless of base or destination. Our methodology applies equally to US and non US clients. In other words, if you’re expanding from the EU to the US, Japan to the UK, or Latin America to Korea, HSP can help.
Q: Does High Street Partners focus on a specific market segment? Who are some of HSP’s customers?
A: High Street Partners develops and supports international expansion plans for companies, firms and institutions in a range of industries and across a broad size spectrum. While many of our clients are venture capital backed or small cap public technology companies, we also provide services to larger publicly traded organizations, to professional services firms (in venture capital, law, PR and architecture etc.), and to universities and research institutes. Engagements range in size and scale, from helping clients establish a single overseas sales office, to assisting others manage multiple subsidiaries on several continents. Clients include NetSuite, ICT, Acme Packet, Bubble Motion, Qualys, LifeSize Communications, Infinera, Highland Capital Partners, Acronis, SmithMicroSoftware, Embarcadero Technologies, ACCION, BrightCove, and Trustwave.
A: Our use of local service providers, our commitment to market reasonable pricing, our low overhead, our dedication to a personalized approach to client management, our transparency, and our lack of lengthy termination contract clauses, just to name a few. To read more, click here.
Q: What is High Street Partners' relationship with its Local Service Provider partners?
A: Over the years we have identified and aligned ourselves with leading legal and CPA firms and with tax, bookkeeping, and payroll service providers around the world. The resulting network of Local Service Provider (LSP) partners allows us to offer our clients immediate access to expert services, the benefit of local knowledge, and market pricing, on an as-needed basis. We have preferential pricing with many of these providers and pass those savings on to our clients. HSP manages the LSP relationships (including the late night phone calls), gathers and reviews the data, alerts clients to issues and opportunities, ensures compliance with local regulations, and provides clients with monthly reporting packages that have already had a layer of headquarters management review.
Q: Can’t I manage my company’s cross-border operations myself?
A: Maybe, but is it your core competency? You can also probably do your own payroll, but you probably don’t, given the risk and time involved. The compliance, payroll, reporting and taxation issues involved with international expansion make for a steep learning curve. So even if you do find good local providers on your own and manage them across different time and language barriers, you’ll likely wind up wasting time better spent strategically and cause yourself unnecessary frustration. Even worse, you may wind up picking the wrong provider and get poor service, or run the risk of overpaying.
Q: Does High Street Partners do more than outsourced payroll and bookkeeping?
A: Yes. We provide compliance review and change implementation services for existing international entities, and we offer a range of related advisory services.
Q: How does High Street Partners approach Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) compliance?
A: Concern over the implications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and its impact on the internal controls of private companies is well founded. Even if your international operations may not yet be material, your inevitable goal of an IPO or sale to a public company means that SOX compliance is an operating reality you should not ignore. The controls inherent in our approach will be important in any current or future SOX implementation work you may need to carry out. At your request, we can also ensure that the local service provider partner handling your day-to-day accounting and payroll processes has SAS 70 certification.
Q: Is High Street Partners too small to provide the expertise of larger companies providing similar services?
A: Our provider network ensures that HSP’s technical expertise is significantly greater than that of our competitors’, because it includes the world’s leading legal and accounting firms. We’ve identified and optimized a service delivery model that allows us to provide our clients with completely scaleable services, so we can provide as much –or as little – as the client requires. Our permanent staff is focused exclusively on serving the unique needs of every client while our local partners execute specific day-to-day administrative functions, providing these services with maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness. Our leaner operation and smaller overhead means more market reasonable pricing for you, and when your solution requires expertise, you get it from the best in the business - not simply the best on our payroll.
Q: How is High Street Partners funded?
A: High Street Partners is a privately held, profitable business, growing through successful long-term client relationships.
