Local Commercial Agent (LCA)

Your company or any of your valuable specialists does not have to be in Uzbekistan; all your staff can be based in your company and country.  Instead you rely on Commerce Bay LLC in each business known as “Local Commercial Agent” (LCA) to serve as your eyes and ears on the ground.

The LCA works closely with your team to evaluate and monitor activities before, during and after the implementation of any business projects. Typically, these would include:

• Assessing the capacity of the nominated Business Partner, company or investment project , including
  • Previous track record
  • Effectiveness of internal controls and systems
  • Reviewing proposed investment budget, workplan and related documents
• Reviewing the progress of the project and the appropriate use of funds, including
  • Requests for new investment injections 
  • Visiting sites to verify results and data quality
• Advising your company on activities related to the closing of any business/investment projects and any possible risks 

The exact work to be carried out in each business/investment projects is established in an agreed workplan which is decided between your company and the LCA.

While LCAs are an important part of your fiduciary arrangements, it is important to understand that they do not act on behalf of your company. They do not represent your views and they do not make decisions regarding business/investment projects. There are also a number of activities that Local Commercial Agents cannot undertake with regard to the business/investment projects that they oversee, such as:

• Designing the program to be invested/funded
• Participating in the implementation
• Providing technical cooperation to any implementer
• Auditing the financial statements of any implementing organization
• Verifying, Monitoring, investigating procurements according to developed Procurement and Supply Management (PSM) in compliance with Uzbek and International laws

At your request, the Local Commercial Agent provides independent assessment and verification services through risk-based approaches and methods at various stages of the business/investment projects lifecycle:

• Before business/investment projects signing, the LCA may be required to assess the proposed business/investment projects implementation arrangements, the implementers’ capacity and track record and the effectiveness of internal controls and systems. This assessment may include the review of the implementer’s detailed budget, work plans, and other project related documents.
• During business/investment projects implementation, the LCA reviews the implementers’ progress in achieving the performance targets, reviews appropriate use of funds in accordance with the business/investment projects agreement. This will be achieved through verifying financial information and programmatic data and results via periodic field visits i.e. On Site Data Verifications (OSDV) and review of source documentation.
•  When a business/investment project reaches the end of its life cycle or is terminated, the LCA may be required to review the activities relating to the closing of the project and advise your company on issues and risks related to project closure.