There is an increase in numbers of businesses getting registered in Singapore every day as Singapore actively encourages foreign investments and the process of registering your company can be simple with the right assistance. The process can be so efficient that you might even get your company registered in less than an hour or so after the approval of the company name.

The real challenge for companies begins after the registration process because there are certain rules and regulations which the companies have to follow. One of the requirements would be to hire a qualified company secretary in Singapore, who also has to be hired within six months from the company’s registration.

How to hire a company secretary:

In this article, we will be able to advice you some of the things to look out for, in order to effectively find the best company secretarial service in Singapore.

We will also expand on some other important details to consider during your search for a company secretary as qualifications, roles, other requirements should be carefully considered.

Qualification:

The Singapore Companies Act has clearly stated out some specialized qualifications that a person must be appointed as a company secretary. The criteria are given below and the candidate can only qualify if he is one of the following:

A qualified person under Cap. 161 of Legal Profession Act
Membership holder of Institute of Certified Public Accountants Singapore
Membership holder of Institute of Company Accountants Singapore
Membership holder of Singapore Association of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
Membership holder of Association of International Accountants of Singapore Branch
A registered Public Accountant under Cap. 2 of Accountants Act
Served as a secretary for a company before being appointed as the secretary of a public company for at least three of the five years

Now that you know the qualifications required, you can understand why it can be a tedious process to find a qualified company secretary in Singapore for newly registered companies.

Roles:

The government of Singapore does not require companies to hire a secretary just for the sake of it. The secretary has a crucial role to serve within the company.

That is why it is recommended to use only the best company secretarial service in Singapore and these are the following duties covered by the corporate secretary:

1. Role in company:

The company secretary is responsible in making sure that the company complies with all legal obligations. He also ensures that the company sticks to the best practices and maintains business ethics.

Moreover, looking after and protecting the company’s interest and ensuring good governance in the company is also under the scope of work.

2. The role for the board of directors:

For the board of directors, the company secretary performs the duties of appointing new directors ensuring that they are qualified and best suited for the role.

Moreover, the secretary communicates with the directors to keep them in the loop of company affairs, enabling them to be actively involved in effective decision-making.

3. Role towards shareholders:

The secretary also plays the role of a bridge between the shareholders and the company. He remains in touch with the shareholders and protects their interests and shareholders communicate their concerns, reservations, and suggestions to the company secretary.

The secretary is also responsible for sharing financial statements with the shareholders to keep them informed regarding company affairs and prepare them to make effective decisions in the annual general meetings.

4. Official dealings:

The secretary is also responsible to ensure that all deals that the company makes are fair for both the company and also for the market or the other party.

5. Legal affairs:

The secretary is also responsible to stay up-to-date with the changes in the laws and keep its company compliant with the law at all times.

6. Decision making:

Besides facilitating the board of directors and shareholders, the company secretary has a crucial role to play in decision making especially in matters regarding changes in the business environment.

Now that you understand the roles of a company secretary, you can now understand how it is a deal maker or deal breaker to have the best company secretarial service in Singapore and how it critical it is towards the success of the company.

With all this information provided, we are ready to move towards the ultimate solution for all these problems.

Best company secretarial service Singapore:

Hiring a qualified company secretary Singapore can be a real challenge for most of the newly registered companies due to all the technicalities that are involved. Yet, it is such a crucial decision that has to be made carefully.

You can consider outsourcing this to a trusted company that offers corporate services and provides the full duties of a company secretary. There are various reasons why it might be more effective to outsource your company secretarial services:

1 .Legal compliance:

As you know, the majority of the secretarial roles involve compliance with the law and you need someone that have experience dealing with necessary legal requirements.

Corporate service providers do not face this problem as they are frequently involved in handling legal matters due to their past experiences working with various companies on their corporate services requirements. Chances are high that the company secretarial services by these providers will not go wrong in terms of legal compliance.

2. Efficiency:

If you outsource to a corporate services provider, you can just focus on your work with ease while the providers will manage all the necessary duties for you. You will not have to worry about qualifications and competency of the service provider as quality is ensured with their past credentials and experience.

3. Discount:

As foreign companies usually hire a firm for business registration, they might get a discount when they coupled it with the firm’s secretarial services as well. This might allow you to enjoy some cost savings when you decide to engage one provider for services related to company incorporation.

Hiring a Qualified Company Secretarial Services in Singapore