The crucial roles played by a company secretary cannot be overstated here. According to the Singapore Companies Act, every single company must be able to appoint a secretary. That is of course within the first 6 months of incorporation both as a public or a private company.
With a professional and experienced company secretary, your will be in a position to greatly focus on the productive operations of the company.The secretary will be able to handle the often tedious paperwork that is time-consuming. In case you do not have a secretary, you will realize how making errors in your administration or compliance can be both costly and unproductive.
It is important to note that you can always outsource your secretarial needs and there are a number of company secretary services in Singapore. You can always research online through various online review platforms and enquire about those that are top rated. Of course the other option is through the company overseeing the hiring through its staffing organ.
The ACRA provides the necessary legal requirements for a company secretary.
Things to look out for in a company secretary
- Experienced in working at the high level of an organization, handling many tasks at ease and with few problems if any.
- Good communication skills. Communication is one thing a company secretary cannot avoid either with internal or external stakeholders. He/she must be diplomatic, knowledgeable and a competent negotiator.
- Corporate Governance prowess. The secretary must be knowledgeable or a quick learner in regards to the running and organization of the company.
- Qualified as per the various legal provisions provide by the ACRA.
Duties of a company secretary
- To keep and update statutory register books
- Proper maintenance and safe keeping of the statutory registers is important for any company to avoid possible operational problems. These may include;
- The resignation of officers such as the Director, Secretaries, Auditors and CEO.
- Appointment of company’s officers such as the CEO, Director, Secretaries and auditors.
- The transfer and issue of shares among shareholders.
- Filing to ACRA (Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority)
- There are prescribed times allowed within which your company should be able to file to ACRA all possible changes in legal records. These changes may include:
- Change in charges
- Yearly returns
- Change of the name of the company
- Changes in articles of associations and memorandum
- Resignations/appointments of company’s officers
- Prepare and attend meetings of board of directors
- Attend meetings and take notes
- Prepare agenda with Head of the company and record and maintain minute books
- Certify copies of minutes
- Safe keeping and proper use of the corporate seal as dictated under the company memorandum and Articles of Associations.
- Acquisitions and disposal. The secretary must implement and protect the interest of the company.
- Prepare and take minutes of the AGM(Annual General Meeting)
- Preparing the agenda for the meeting, attending and taking minutes
- Enforce necessary procedures
- Collection of financial reports, both audited and unaudited, for investors
In conclusion, it is important to note that the companies that offer secretarial services do so at various packages. Of course you can only get a particular package if you can afford it. Additionally, it is important for you to choose a company that is very experienced and is licensed in offering secretarial services and therefore trusted and reliable.
The post The Importance of Company Secretarial Services appeared first on Istevision.