Why is a company secretary essential to any Singapore-registered business?
Corporate secretarial services play an important role in businesses. They are responsible for supporting the company’s structures from administration to assisting legal matters. In Singapore, it is mandatory to have a corporate secretary for a company incorporated as a Private Limited, in accordance with the Singapore Company Act. However, most businesses often overlook the importance of a corporate secretary because they do not fully understand the role played by the company secretary.
According to Accounting and Corporate Regulatory (ACRA), many mistakes can happen if a company doesn’t have a reliable corporate secretary, such as failing to inform changes in the company to ACRA, setting up and maintaining Register of Registrable Controllers (RORC) or filing annual return or making mistake in an increase of share capital. Hiring a professional for this role can serve many benefits.
Here are 3 reasons why you should hire a corporate secretary.
Legal Compliance
Companies might be reluctant to hire a corporate secretary. Aside from its functions to the company, again, this is mandatory in Singapore. ACRA also states that a company must appoint a secretary within 6 months after the date of incorporation and they must be a local resident in Singapore.
The position of company secretary also must not be vacant for more than 6 months. Therefore, if the existing company secretary has been removed or left, the business must find another replacement to take their place.
Repertoire of skills
A corporate secretary is responsible for many tasks, such as organizing meetings, managing board evaluations, conducting effective communications with shareholders, and many more. Due to the number of tasks they must undertake, it is important to hire a qualified, competent, and suitable corporate secretary for your business. A Corporate Secretary needs to be equipped with a solid understanding of Singapore companies’ regulations and in-depth financial knowledge.
This way, you will be able to properly plan and implement the necessary policies that align with your company’s goals.
Aside from administrative tasks, a corporate secretary will also be managing legal compliance, such as submitting necessary resolutions when there are changes in the company structure, keeping statutory registers, and many more. With that being said, a corporate secretary must be completely aware of the company’s regulations.
Advantages of a company secretary
A company secretary is seen as an authority figure who oversees legal compliance and various business activities. They are responsible for the authentication of papers, formal processes of your business and signing formal papers under the common seal with the company director when necessary.
With all this information, you’re now able to see the importance of engaging a company secretary. Companies may choose to hire a company secretary through conventional means such as recruiting on their own or looking for an accounting firm to fulfil this position as they will assure you that they hire a qualified professional secretary.
At DNA Accounting, we offer professional company secretarial services for your business. We provide professionals with years of experience in accounting and finance to attend to your business-related queries and always keep an eye out for changes that might potentially affect the company.
With DNA Accounting secretarial services, you can focus on growing your business without having to worry about a single thing.
Do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to find out more about our Secretarial Services, or any other accounting services by dropping us an email at info@accountingdna.com.sg
