Singapore Corporate Secretary

By Cindy Young


Running a company isn't a one-person work. One person can run a small business, but it is an entirely different story if it is a company. There are people involved in making a company thrive. As mandated by Singapore law, a company needs to have no less than one resident director and one shareholder. One person may take on the duties of both roles, but there are still others involved to make the company work. The law also demands that corporations assign a company secretary within six months of their registration. The assigned person's scope of responsibilities is all-encompassing.

The company secretary, unlike other officers of a company, should be a natural person and ordinarily a resident of the country. If the resident director is the only director of the company, he or she may not be assigned the job of a company secretary. Someone with reasonable skills and knowledge, as well as sufficient experience, may carry out the job instead.

Although they are referred to as as such, company secretaries perform more than merely clerical duties. They have essential roles in the company as a senior officer. To put it simply, they ensure that the company abides by all legalities, and essentially keep everyone involved duly up to date. As an officer, they are expected to work according to the benefit of the company. They shouldn't make improper use of any company information they have acquired for personal gratification.

The corporate secretary must also ensure that the corporation is compliant with the legal requirements under the Singapore Companies Act. Some of their tasks also include arranging the publication and distribution of the annual report and accounts of the company, communicating with the shareholders, coordinating meetings of the corporate officers, preparing the directors' reports, and informing the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority on their yearly profits, issues of shares, and any adjustments that requires informing with ACRA.

The given tasks are simply a handful of of the many duties of a corporate secretary. And as they're saddled with huge responsibilities that can very much affect the company, it's important that people with sufficient skills and experience are appointed for the job. This is why a lot of corporations prefer to rely upon professional secretarial services Singapore firms rather than appoint a person themselves. This makes sure that the appointed corporate secretary has the knowledge and skills to do their work. A lot of audit firm Singapore services also offer secretarial services and incorporation assistance.




About the Author: