What is an Entity-Owned Firm?Entity-Owned is defined as Entity-Owned firms (EO) is defined as a business structure in which a person, group of people, or “parent” business entity owns a separate business organization. Such legal entities come in various forms to suit the financial and business needs of their owners. Entity structures vary based on liability, transferability, cost, taxation, and simplicity, and they can be arranged as sole proprietor, limited liability company (LLC), partnership, or corporation. Entity-Owned Businesses are applicant businesses that are owned by a Controlling Entity (the corporation at the top of the business structure) from one of the five (5) approved organization types:

• Alaska Native Corporations (ANC)

• Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHO)

• Community Development Corporations (CDC)

• American Indian Tribes (AIT)

• Agricultural Cooperatives (AGCO)

When a an applicant business wants to claim an EO certification it will have to , the businesses must prove that its controlling entity (the corporation at the top of its business structure) ' Controlling Entity holds at least 51% ownership of the subsidiary business applying for SBA certification. This means the subsidiary business will need to prove (through EO documentation and verification) that its controlling entity ' Controlling Entity holds 51% ownership all the way down through each level of the layered organizational structure.For EO certification applicants, this means MySBA Certifications will require you to delineate the connection to your parent company, provide all necessary parent company documentation, and even provide child company documentation if any child businesses separate your business from the top-level, controlling entity. Since this , and each layer and its' contributors meets the necessary requirements for certification.

Since defining ownership and requirements can be a complex chain of documentation for applicants businesses to navigate, MySBA Certifications offers EO business applicants a consolidated controlling entity profile launched the Controlling Entity Dashboard - a digital profile meant to store all holding company data that traces your business back to its controlling entity, no matter how many layers of separation exist in the organizational structure. This controlling entity profile will allow the applicant business to identify its controlling entity within the MySBA Certifications system (or establish the entity in the system, if needed), and then assign a POC from that controlling entity to provide documentation and verification of the entity's majority ownership of the business applying for certification. The profile will also allow the POC to manage both internal and external communications related to the EO application within the platform.

Users

• Entity-Owned Applicant Firms

  • Roles in the unified certification application process

• Controlling Entities

  • Roles in the unified certification application process

What’s to come in the handbooknotifications from all EO applicant businesses, update their subsidiary matrix, and keep contributor information up-to-date.

Users

In the MySBA Certifications application process, the EO process will be initiated by the applicant business. From there, Controlling Entities can establish themselves as an approved Controlling Entity, manage subsidiaries and contributors, and view their application progress. Below is a high-level view of the roles in the MySBA Certifications EO application process:

• Entity-Owned Applicant Businesses:

  • Request EO connection with an existing Controlling Entity

    • Note: Applicant businesses can complete and submit an application before their connection request is approved. Applications with rejected EO connection requests will be pushed back to the applicant business and the applicant business will have to request connection with another Controlling Entity or restart their application as a non-EO applicant business.

  • Initiate a New Controlling Entity Request form

    • Note: This is the only way a new Controlling Entity can be established in MySBA Certifications. EO applicant businesses may proceed with the application process but will not be able to submit their application until the Controlling Entity has been approved. If their Controlling Entity Request form has been denied, the EO applicant business must request connection with another Controlling Entity or restart their application as a non-EO applicant business.

• Controlling Entities:

  • Complete the Controlling Entity Onboarding Application

  • Create and manage the subsidiary structure of the Controlling Entity

  • Create and manage Controlling Entity contributors

  • View and oversee all applicant business notifications in the MySBA Certifications process

  • Manage connection requests from applicant businesses

What’s to come in the handbook

In this handbook, you can expect in-depth guides on how to:

1. Complete the onboarding process

2. Review the firm notifications dashboard

3. Accept or reject connection requests from applicant businesses

4. Adding, editing, or deleting subsidiaries

5. Adding, editing, or deleting contributors

For more information on the Entity-Owned process for applicant businesses in the MySBA Certifications applications process, please visit the Initiating Processes guide in Business Guides section of the Knowledge Base.