Early in 1995 A.C.T. was founded in a corner of one of Seychelles’ oldest accounting and auditing firms, by one of the firm’s senior partners. Very soon after, we formed the very first Seychelles International Business Company, with  company registration number 000001, on the 21st of March 1995. We quickly went on to form many more. Internet access was still not generally available in Seychelles – orders were received by phone and fax and documents were prepared using a typewriter, and the company only had a desk – but in those early days our founders succeeded in establishing the ground rules that make us the company we are today.

In 2002 the company decided to improve its whole setup, to improve all its systems and procedures to ensure that its already substantial client base would continue to be well-served. In came new computers and software including many created in-house, tailored to the operations of A.C.T. at the time. Also, in came the culture of continuous improvement and close team-working. The work started in 2002 continues today and laid the foundations for how we work now.

To meet international standards for combating anti-money laundering and terrorist financing, in particular to meet the recommendations of the OECD’s Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Seychelles introduced new laws in 2004 to regulate its financial services industry. For us the most important piece of legislation was the International Corporate Service Providers Act, which brought in many new requirements both for us and for our clients. The new requirements were challenging – the first really serious challenges faced by A.C.T. – but the company became much stronger because of them. While dealing with new requirements we even managed to form the very first company with a special licence and the very first Seychelles Limited Partnership.

The global financial crisis of 2008 was only a temporary setback, and having coped well with previous hurdles, we prepared for the next big wave of business as Asian economies began to warm up. We strengthened our team and added people who are now key persons in our team.

In March of this year we celebrated our 20^th anniversary and we are proud to have maintained our great focus on registering and maintaining Seychelles legal entities in a fast, reliable and friendly manner for such a long time. And we aim to carry on, to persist, to improve and to grow without losing sight of our mission. While the company has grown immensely since it was founded, international business is facing its biggest wave of challenges yet in the form of the US’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the follow on effects on the whole international financial services industry. There will be winners and there will be losers in this big shake up, but we are prepared to end up on the winning side and as always we are looking forward to a bright future with you.