A corporate secretary is usually appointed by a director or director of a corporation. Its main task is to take some of the responsibility of the directors and reduce their workload. They can be useful, for example, for the maintenance and classification of legal registers and business registers. Assisting managers when needed is also the job of the company secretary in Singapore. Apart from the general provisions relating to company secretaries under the part, the exact responsibilities of the company secretary depend on the size and type of company, and there is no legal definition of what they are, but this generally includes some or all of the following:[7] Some people in Singapore are also prohibited from becoming corporate secretaries of Singapore-based companies. These individuals include those who have contravened any of the provisions of the Companies Act. These persons are subject to an exclusion order by the authorities. Any company in Singapore cannot choose a General Secretary if, on the date of appointment, the person to be selected has an exclusion order. No, a company secretary handles all the administrative tasks of a company, while a company secretary acts as legal counsel to a company. In China, every publicly traded company must have a secretary on the board of directors. According to section 124 of the Companies Act 2005, every listed company is required to have a secretary of the board of directors.
The functions of the secretary of the board of directors include the preparation of shareholders` and boards of directors` meetings, keeping company records and shareholder information, handling the disclosure of information, etc. The relevant registration rules in China further specify that the secretary of the board of directors holds a management position. These registration rules deal in detail with the duties of the secretary of the board. According to the “Special Provisions of the State Council on IPO and Listing of Shares Abroad by Limited Liability Joint Stock Companies”, “Guidelines for the Articles of Association of Listed Companies”, “Shanghai Stock Exchange Listing Rules” and “Shenzhen Stock Exchange Listing Rules”, the Secretary of the Board of Directors is classified as a management team. These registration rules show that the Executive Secretary or Secretary of the Board of Directors in China is comparable to the Secretary General in many other countries. Despite the name, the role is not clerical or secretarial. The company secretary ensures that an organization complies with relevant laws and regulations and keeps board members informed of their legal responsibilities. Company secretaries are the designated representatives of the company in legal documents, and it is their responsibility to ensure that the company and its directors operate in compliance with the law.
It is also their responsibility to register and communicate with shareholders, ensure that dividends are paid, and maintain company records such as lists of directors and shareholders, as well as financial statements. This is a requirement set out in the German Joint Stock Company Act. The provisions of the Companies Act stipulate not only that every company in Singapore must appoint a corporate secretary; They also mention the details of who is allowed to take on this important role. In Malaysia, the Companies Act 2016 [3] requires each company to appoint at least one licensed general secretary. The secretary of the corporation must be appointed within the first 30 days of incorporation, otherwise a penalty will be imposed on the directors, which may be blacklisted. The responsibilities of the company secretary are as follows: Regardless of the reason for hiring multiple company secretaries, these business owners will be happy to note that there is no law in Singapore that prohibits a company from hiring more than one company secretary. Although the Companies Act requires the hiring of at least one works secretary, it does not mention the maximum number of works secretaries. This omission therefore allows a company in Singapore to hire any number of company secretaries. Many corporate secretaries of publicly traded North American companies are lawyers and some serve as general counsel for their firms. While this can be useful in the performance of their duties, it can also lead to confusion as to which legal advice is protected by privileges and what business advice is. [2] Certified secretaries are appointed presidents, directors and non-executive directors, as well as officers and corporate secretaries.
