From the first of January 2007 onwards data which have to be published by companies can be retrieved over the Internet. This is the plan of a draft which has just been agreed by the federal government. This development will render obsolete the conventional disclosure of these data in the daily press. This new electronic company register will channel into one pool register entries, publications at the end of a financial year as well as the list of associates. more…

Companies and loans belong to each other just like banks and Basel II. But in order for the rating to be in line with Basel II, a dynamic analysis and evaluation of business figures is necessary. The more work processes and operational data are seized and processed electronically, the more easy will be this analysis. more…

Employees surfing on the Internet in an uncontrolled way without limits not only are less productive, but they also expose their company to incalculable legal risks. If files with extremist or pornographic contents or contents which is protected by copy right are downloaded or even circulated, the company will be made liable. As is revealed in the October 2005 edition of the Linux Professionell magazine, the additional traffic also unnecessarily impairs the computer network´s capacity. more…

The abbreviation HBCI stands for Home Banking Computer Interface which is a national standard developed by the Central Credit Committee. Using this method it is impossible for bank customers to be redirected by, for instance, so-called Phishing-Mails to faked Internet sites, since the online connection to the sites on which customers leave their sensible data is secure and encoded. When using HBCI a special software provided by the customer’s bank will be used. The confidential numbers will be stored on a chip card, which has to be wiped through a special card reader each time a transaction is carried out. The required hardware and the chip card are made available at the purchase price by many banks. more…

For manufacturers of customized software and their clients it is recommended to expressively lay down in writing for what period the technical support has to be ensured. The entrepreneur should not blindly accept any support agreement which does not contain any clause on a minimum agreement term. This minimum term usually corresponds to the depreciation period (three to five years) or to how long it takes for the software to amortize itself, says lawyer Dr. Gero Himmelsbach in the October 2005 edition of the VNU magazine Computer im Mittelstand. Only then costly complications as occurred in the Fischer case can be avoided.

Whether and when a software manufacturer is authorized to terminate his support for customized company software, as happened in the Fischer case, has to be put down in writing in a support agreement. The agreement should be form-like or in a pre-formulated standard version.
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For customized company software it is indispensable to have support agreements. The lawer Dr. Gero Himmelsbach in the VNU magazine Computer im Mittelstand (CiM) cautions against the risks involved. more…

The rating of the creditworthiness of companies on the basis of the Basel-II-criteria continues to divide small and medium-sized companies. The reason for this disagreement seems to be the sober subject of costs, but what the disagreement really reflects is the antagonism of the two business decision making philosophies – guts vs. head. Especially among SME many entrepreneurs trust their feeling from the guts when making a decision. Rating, however, requires an unemotional, matter-of-fact analysis, something which up to know has been the approach chosen exclusively by major enterprises only. more…

An image often associated with the provisions of the Basel II agreement is the three pillar model. This model describes the requirements put on commercial banks by the Basel agreement. The three pillars refer to the minimum equity capital requirement, the requirement on checking procedures as well as to the duties of disclosure and market discipline. more…

In the middle of February the Federal Cabinet decided upon a draft to cast into binding law the provisions of the Basel II agreement regarding a bank´s equity capital. According to this agreement a company´s IT security forms part of the operational borrower risks to be taken into account when determining his creditworthiness. more…