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Business Encyclopedia

A

Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA)
Audited Financial Statement
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Annual Report (AR)
Articles of Association
Apostille

B

BizFile
Business Grants Portal
Business Visa For Singapore
Business Profile

C

Central Provident Fund (CPF)
Certificate Of Residence (COR)
Common Reporting Standard
Common Seal
Companies Act (Cap. 50)
Company Constitution
Company Secretary
Company Stamp
CorpPass

D

Declaration of Solvency
Dependant’s Pass
Directors’ Resolution in Writing (DRIW)
Dividend
Dormant Company
Double Taxation Agreement (DTA)
Due Diligence

E

Electronic Register of Members (eROM)
Employment Pass (EP)
EntrePass
Enterprise Development Grant (EDG)
Estimated Chargeable Income (ECI)
Exempt Private Company (EPC)

F

Financial Year End (FYE)
Form 45
Form C-S/ C
Form C-S (Lite)
Fund Accounting

G

General Partnership
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
GovTech

H

Hedge Fund

I

Import/Export License
Income Tax
Initial Public Offering (IPO)
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS)
Interim Dividend
IR21 Form
IR8A Form

J

K

Know Your Customer (KYC)
Knowledge Capital

L

Letter of Consent (LOC)
Limited Liability Company (LLC)
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
Limited Partnership (LP)
Liquidation (Court Order/Compulsory)
Liquidation (Voluntary)
Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP)

M

Ministry of Manpower (MOM)
MTI

N

Nominee Director
Nominee Shareholder
National Registration Identity Card (NIRC)
Notice of Assessment (NOA)

O

P

Partnership
Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA)
Personalised Employment Pass (PEP)
Private limited company
Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG)
Permanent Resident (PR)

Q

Quickbook Accounting

R

Register of Charges
Register of Nominee Director
Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC)
Registered Office Address

S

S Pass
Share
SingPass
Small Company
Sole Proprietor
Special Employment Credit
Sponsored Employment Pass
Striking Off

T

Trademark
Temporary Bridging Loan
Temporary Employment Credit (TEC)

U

UEN
Unaudited financial statement
Undischarged Bankrupt

V

Variable Capital Company (VCC)
Venture Capitalist (VC)

W

Wage Credit Scheme
Withholding Tax (Section 45)

X

XBRL
Xero

Y

Year of Assessment (YA)

Z

Zero Rated Supplies
Zero-rised Financial Statement

Company Secretary

Company Secretary is an officer of the Company that is responsible for maintaining all legally required documentation, including the preparation of the Annual Return (AR) and the holding of the Annual General Meeting (AGM). Their other job responsibilities include issuing company resolutions, maintaining company books, managing regulatory filings, as well as ensuring that the company complies with the requirement as prescribed under the Companies Act, Cap 50. It is mandatory for every business in Singapore to have a company secretary. As it is a position of immense responsibility, becoming a qualified company secretary often involves various certifications.

Job Responsibilities of a Company Secretary

Responsibilities of a company secretary include:
  • Organize AGM and Board Meetings

This includes arranging schedules, devising the agenda, notifying all participants, sharing resolutions, and conducting follow-up on decisions.
  • Handle statutory registers

These include registers of directors, secretaries, transfers, charges, etc.
  • Submit annual filings to ACRA

Failure to submit these on time may result in heavy fines and penalties.
  • Confirm legal compliance

It is essential to keep track of changes in requirements and prompt directors to take necessary actions.
  • Update paperwork whenever required

Corporate secretaries are expected to draft resolutions, update the Company Constitution, and also inform ACRA regarding any changes.
  • Maintain a registered office

Hiring a Company Secretary

When hiring a corporate secretary, the private company must make sure that the prospective secretary is a resident of Singapore. On the other hand, a public company must hire a filing agent who meets at least one of the following criteria:
  • Has extensive experience as a public company secretary, or
  • Has membership in a listed association
After registration, Singapore businesses have up to 6 months to hire a company secretary. The officer must be either a Singapore citizen, or holds a Permanent Residence (PR) status, Employment Pass (EP), EntrePass, or Dependant’s Pass. Note that an individual cannot be both the director and a corporate secretary at the same time. However, if a company has more than one director, one of them may assume the role of a company secretary. A good company secretary can help a private limited company on multiple fronts. They can act as a good corporate advisor and depending on their years of experience, they may even share certain pitfalls in doing business in Singapore.