The e-reporting environment developed by the Centre of Registers and Information Systems, allowing companies to submit their annual reports electronically, was chosen as the best solution of its category among more than 460 projects at the global initiative of e-solutions, the World Summit Award 2011.
Mehis Sihvart, the Director of the Centre of Registers and Information Systems which developed the e-reporting environment, said that the awarded environment has simplified the preparing and submitting of annual reports for more than 120 thousand companies.
Mehis Sihvart: "E-reporting reduces errors in reports being submitted to the registry, and at the same time also reduces red tape and the state"s administrative load. There is less duplicated requesting of data, and the submitted data is immediately available to everyone and is also easier to process."
According to Minister of Justice Kristen Michal, the e-reporting environment was created in order to make it easier to do business. The e-reporting environment has enlivened the submitting of the required annual reports of companies and has made it simpler, because annual reports are being submitted earlier and earlier in recent years.
"While in year 2009 nearly a third of all companies submitted their annual reports within the last three days before the submission deadline, in this year the initial estimates are that there should be less a than a quarter of all companies which will do that; this shows that the e-reporting environment helps companies to focus more on business and it"s easier for them to submit their reports," the Minister added.
According to Mehis Sihvart, the user feedback for the e-reporting environment has thus far been positive and the team of the Centre of Registers and Information Systems expresses their thanks to all the companies and accountants for receiving the new solution so well. "It is certainly one of the most successful e-reporting projects in the world and its success is primarily based on the good computer skills of its users, the widespread use of the Internet, and the innovation of the IT experts," Sihvart added.
Sihvart estimates that the attention and recognition awarded to Estonia is also due to the fact that Estonia was able to implement the e-reporting environment quickly and in full extent, without making compromises even in the field of accessibility for disabled persons.
As the Company Registration Portal accepts not only the Estonian ID cards, but also those of Portugal, Belgium and Finland, and also the Mobile ID of Lithuania, the portal is usable for citizens of foreign countries as well.
The electronic reporting project was implemented with the support of the European Union structural funds.
160 countries with a total of more than 460 e-solution projects participated in the WSA initiative. Winners were selected in eight categories.
The purpose of the WSA is to select and introduce the world"s best e-solutions and innovative ICT services. Through its national preliminary rounds, competitions and international jury process, the WSA demonstrates the local specifics of the solutions and their cleverness of using ICT. The WSA is a global hotspot for those who value the importance of local e-solutions in making the information society of today more user-friendly and accessible.