A company secretary or corporate secretary is an officer of a company with the primary responsibility to look after the administration work of the organization efficiently. They also serve as a mediator between directors and shareholders.
Every company in Singapore must appoint a secretary within six months from the date of incorporation. A person should meet the following conditions to be appointed as a company secretary:
- Should be a natural person,
- Should be a resident of Singapore,
- Should not have been debarred under section 155B from acting as secretary of the company,
- Should not be a sole director of the company,
- Should have the following qualifications:
- The individual need not be a professionally qualified secretary for a private company.
- For a public company, the individual needs to be a professionally qualified secretary like a lawyer, accountant, or chartered secretary, or been a secretary of a public company for at least three years in the preceding five years.
While a private limited company need not appoint a professionally qualified secretary, a public company requires to appoint one. A professionally qualified secretary can be either a lawyer, accountant, or chartered secretary. You may want to find out more how to choose a company secretary in Singapore.
Roles & Responsibilities of a Company Secretary
The company secretary must ensure that a company’s documentation, annual filing, and other statutory needs are in place. Their takes vary from company to company, but some of the basic ones include:
- Maintaining and updating company registers
- Preparing the books of accounts
- Organizing the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and other board meetings
- Making and circulating the minutes of the meetings (MOM)
- Keeping the directors aware of the tasks they need to perform and the deadlines for the same
- Filing the annual returns
- Updating any changes in the company’s particulars on ACRA via BizFile
- Updating company’s officers’ details on ACRA
- Corresponding with the shareholder and addressing their queries.
- Corresponding with ACRA on any compliance-related matters.
Today, the company secretary is supposed to do much more than what is mentioned in their contract. They are expected to act as an advisor to the management. And also, in case of any issues between the shareholders and the directors, resolve them. That’s why appointing an accomplished and qualified company secretary is a must.
An excellent corporate secretary would always be proactive and keep themselves updated with all the new rules and regulations. In addition, they should be able to advise the management on matters related to human resources matters, bank loans, mergers and acquisitions, and if legally trained, on legal issues as well.
It is also the secretary’s responsibility to be trustworthy and act in the company’s best interest. There shouldn’t be any conflict of interest, and they shouldn’t make any illegal profits in the name of the company or by disclosing the company’s confidential details.
If you are looking for a company secretary for your company, look no further. HeySara is a new-age digital corporate services provider who would help you take care of all the statutory duties at a click of a button, Including incorporate a company digitally. So contact us today and let us manage all your company secretary tasks.
