Corporate secretaries
The foundation of every strong company is its secretarial team. Secretaries ensure that all administrative tasks in the company are handled in a structured and efficient manner. Since all companies in Singapore are required by law to have a secretary, it is essential that you get a reliable secretary to help your company run smoothly.
This article will go through everything that corporate secretaries do and give you an idea of how to spot a good secretary for your company.
What does a corporate secretary do?
The Companies Act in Singapore requires every company to appoint a company secretary within 6 months of incorporation. Secretaries should meet the criteria of being a natural person and have their principal or only place of residence in Singapore. Most secretaries take up multiple roles, mainly but not limited to administration, advisory and fiduciary.
Administration
Administrative tasks are given to secretaries to ensure that your business runs smoothly. This includes maintaining Minutes and Registers Books, submitting your company’s Annual Return to ACRA, monitoring your company’s compliance with relevant regulations and more.
Your secretary needs to ensure that all these tasks are done accurately and submitted before deadlines. This ensures that the company is protected from unnecessary liabilities by regulatory bodies, which translates into a better focus on the business on the director’s part.
Secretaries also help to facilitate communication throughout the company, across management levels. They also give prompt reports to directed parties to ensure cohesion within the company.
Advisory role
All secretaries should be well-versed with the legal and compliance framework of businesses, such as the Company Act and Income Tax Act, on top of internal governance within the company itself.
Though they are not directly involved in decision-making within the company, they still help to facilitate this process by providing key information about the company. They also add value with their knowledge of regulation compliance, which directors can take into account while formulating their strategies.
Fiduciary role
Secretaries are liable to act in the best interest of the company in good faith. They should avoid disclosing potential conflicts of issues that may arise.
Given the wide range of duties that your company secretary is responsible for, it is important that you hire someone meticulous, dedicated and competent. Else, your company’s operations may be jeopardized.
Not only should your secretary embody these characteristics, they should also be trustworthy. This way, you can leave these administrative duties to your secretary to do while you focus on other important tasks in the company.
Swiftly’s corporate secretarial team
Many companies outsource their corporate secretaries as it can be more cost-efficient and convenient. Swiftly is a professional accounting company that provides such services. Our team of experts provide extensive secretarial services at an affordable price, with no hidden costs or backhanded tactics.
