How Hopewell Group Achieved Compliance Confidence with Athennian

Founded in 1981, the Hopewell Group of Companies (the Group) has become a game-changer in Canadian real estate development. Operating in major cities like Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Toronto, along with U.S. locations including Phoenix, Dallas, and Las Vegas, Hopewell has built a robust presence across sectors like homebuilding, community development, property management, logistics, PropTech, and venture capital investment.

The Challenge of Fragmented Entity Data Management

Hopewell Residential, one of the Group's companies, has been recognized for award-winning community developments, such as the Mahogany community in Calgary. The Group’s annual revenue surpasses $500 million, underscoring its strong market position. But with growth came the need for enhanced compliance and entity management.

Hopewell needed a solution to automate tasks like filing annual returns, managing director appointments, and tracking partnership agreements, reducing the risk of missed deadlines and penalties.

"Our previous system only held basic records and limited information. With Athennian, we now have the ability to run org charts and cap tables, essential for efficient data access." — Patty Stinson, Legal Office Administrator at Hopewell Capital.

Streamlining Compliance and Reporting with Athennian

Another major challenge was tracking compliance deadlines and tracking expiry dates of limited partnership. Their previous system lacked the functionality to track ownership structures, generate automated compliance alerts, or produce cap tables and organizational charts. Overtime, tasks like tracking compliance deadlines and verifying director information for financing deals became time-consuming and prone to error because of scattered data.

Data fragmentation led to inefficiencies and slower response times, especially when quick decisions were required, like during investor meetings or financial negotiations. Often, the legal team was generating reports and reminders manually, and sometimes, this added unnecessary pressure during peak filing periods.

Now, with a dedicated automated solution, Hopewell has unified entity data, allowing teams to access, update, and share information without relying on emails or meetings.

"It’s crucial to have all the data in one accessible, accurate location. When I need to move projects forward quickly, I rely on Athennian," notes Manoj Patil, CFO at Hopewell Residential.

"Inputting compliance reminders and receiving automated notifications is so satisfying. Now, we’re on top of our deadlines," Patty adds.

But it's not just the legal and finance team that has gained time savings and process efficiency. Manoj highlights that their tax team is also spending more time inside Athennian. "Our tax team uses Athennian extensively. It's great for compliance and quickly accessing historical transactions to understand share transactions," he says.

"I rely heavily on Athennian's entity view feature. It's crucial for accessing data when I'm seeking new financing, for example. Different entities have different directors and officers, so I often need to refer back to the limited partnership agreement and review the ownership table."

Enhanced Security and User Permissions

By centralizing corporate records in Athennian, Hopewell's legal, tax, and finance teams can quickly access data on corporate records, ownership structures, and compliance statuses. The legal team controls entity management access and edits by controlling user permissions. This ensures data integrity and prevents unauthorized alterations.

The virtual minute book feature has further streamlined document sharing with external counsel and auditors, reducing courier costs and ensuring secure access. Instead of generating PDFs or sending physical binders to external counsel, the Group can now grant secure, time-bound access to specific documents.

"Sharing documents through Athennian’s minute book feature has drastically improved speed and security," says Patty.

Real-Time Reporting with Cap Tables and Org Charts

For Manoj, generating cap tables and org charts with a few clicks has saved hours of administrative time, freeing up valuable time to focus on high-level financial strategy. This ability is invaluable for CFOs navigating complex financing processes or investor relations, where accuracy and speed can influence critical outcomes. "Instant access to cap tables and org charts saves us a lot of time and helps us respond to investor queries efficiently," Manoj notes.

"I rely heavily on Athennian's entity view feature. It's crucial for accessing data when I'm seeking new financing, for example. Different entities have different directors and officers, so I often need to refer back to the limited partnership agreement and review the ownership table," adds Manoj.

Centralized corporate records not only save time but also eliminate silos between legal, finance, and tax teams, creating a unified platform where critical data, such as ownership structures, compliance statuses, and director/officer information, is readily accessible.

With Athennian, the Hopewell Group has transformed entity management, enhancing cross-departmental workflows and securing data access across legal, tax, and finance teams. This centralized approach has streamlined processes, reduced manual work, and empowered Hopewell to scale its operations confidently.

Learn how Athennian’s entity management software can enhance your organization’s compliance and reporting processes.