1. 5 reasons why you should engage a Company secretary in Singapore

2. Whether you are in process of incorporating company in Singapore or you have registered a Singapore company, one of the key requirements for all companies incorporated in Singapore is to have a company secretary who must be a resident of Singapore. Company secretary in Singapore is the primary person or officer responsible for administrative and reporting functions mandated by law. It is therefore the job of company secretary to ensure that the Singapore company he is responsible for meets all the regulatory obligations.

4. 1. MANDATORY AS PER LAW The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), which is the national regulator of business entities and public accountants, mandates that every company must appoint a company secretary within six months of the date of its incorporation.

5. 2. A COMPANY SECRETARY IS RESPONSIBLE  IF COMPANY FAILS TO COMPLY WITH LAWS According to ACRA website, “The Secretary may also be held liable for the company’s failure to comply with the law in certain situations.” In this very case, the secretary holds the highest standard of responsibility and care towards its directors. He or she has a fiduciary duty to keep the directors updated of changes on Singapore’s Companies Act, all the statutory requirements and compliance requirements of the company as well as the deadlines associating with them.

6. 3. A COMPANY SECRETARY PLAY KEY ROLES TO STAKEHOLDERS IN THE COMPANY Company secretary of a Singapore company plays extremely vital and key role, not only in the context of being responsible for regulatory compliance but in terms of being answerable to the company, directors as well as shareholders.

7. 4. A COMPANY SECRETARY’S DUTIES AS PER LAW There are several duties of company secretary in Singapore which are obligatory to be complied and a Singapore company secretary is therefore necessarily required to exercise them: • Statutory compliance with ACRA – filing of the company’s annual accounts on time and maintaining the necessary registers; notice of share transfers, amendments to MAA, notice of removal or resignation of auditors, change of registered office address and any other regulatory requirement by ACRA • Board meetings – organize these meetings and facilitate the company’s formal decision making process

8. 5. A COMPANY SECRETARY HAS THE POWER TO APPROVE COMPANY RESOLUTIONS A company secretary in Singapore, apart from all the various roles and responsibilities has the power to authenticate documents or formal proceedings of the company. He or she may be required to execute official documents with a company director under the common seal. Generally, a company secretary can issue certified copies of company resolutions along with any one of directors, which is considered proof of passing of the resolution. In most cases, authentication of resolutions by company secretary is the necessary requirement for the respective resolution to be considered valid.