It is a mandate by the Singapore Government to appoint a Company Secretary in any corporation. By Singapore’s Companies Act, all companies are needed to have a company secretary within 6 months of incorporation. Failures to follow this compliance may cause you penalties.
Fortunately, a Company Secretary is there to guide startups especially foreign entrepreneurs with all the country’s laws and regulations. So that they can run a healthy business in Singapore. Most of the startups, especially those who are with linked capital do think twice before hiring a company secretary. But the truth is, the company secretary is one of the most crucial aspects of an establishment.
These are the four most important reasons that you should hire a company secretary for your establishment –
- To comply with the legal requirements of Singapore
It is one of the most important roles of a company secretary to keep compliance with the laws of the Government. For all public corporations, these services can be performed by a resident of Singapore but the said individual cannot comply with the sole director of the company. Before he is appointed, he must meet a specific set of criteria. For being appointed in a public firm, a company secretary needs to have experience of 3 to 5 years but in private corporations; they are not needed to abide by such strict requirements. The professionals need to be of legal age and have a country’s residency and PR or an employee pass.
Corporate secretaries also perform a fiduciary role on businesses serving as the main person to execute specific needs with ACRA’s need for annual general meetings and annual filings.
- Help the company to manage the most operational and business duties
The company secretary serves as a bridge that connects the workers to the directors of the company. They are given charge of preparing the meeting agenda and all the non-official gatherings as well. They are the go-to person, whenever there’s a need to circulate knowledge about the company.
They can help to maintain and note down every change in the company
For example, failure to submit the change in the address to the ACRA can cause ACRA to render the resolution of the company invalid. Moreover, all the transactions are also taken care of by the company secretary, which can put an impact on the company’s distribution of shares. He aids in documenting all the share transactions of the company.
- Carry out necessary legal and financial responsibilities
In the aspect of financial and legal obligations, the company secretary is responsible for handling the company’s insurance covers and submitting all account statements as guided by the Companies Act.
There’s no right time to start hiring for your Company Secretary if you look at the restricted guideline of the Companies Act to locate a CS within 6 months of your company incorporation. As ultimately you will have to do to maintain compliance with the government. Then why compromise in professionalism and run your company for six months after its birth? Gain an online helping hand with Timcole’s give it great and expert nurturing so that it never staggers in the future.
