Engaging a Corporate Secretarial Service
When you are starting up your company in Singapore, other than engaging a Accounting Service to handle the day-to-day bookkeeping, the other top priorities would be to engage a Corporate Secretarial Service.
Why? Who would be qualified to be a Company Secretary and what are some of the functions a Company Secretary serves?
Our Corporate Secretarial Service Fees:
1 year service fee – $500
2 years service fee – $960 (save $40)
3 years service fee – $1400 (save $100)
Hence, enjoy great savings by signing up for our Corporate Secretarial Service for 2 years or more!
Why does an organisation need to hire a Company Secretary or engage a Corporate Secretarial Service?
Singapore Companies Act states that every company must appoint a Company Secretary within 6 months from the date of a company’s incorporation.
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Who would be qualified to be a Corporate Secretary?
The person who is assigned to carry out the duty of a Company Secretary for Singapore registered companies must be an ordinary Singapore resident. In addition, this appointed person cannot be the sole director of the company.
On top of that, this appointed person is required to fulfil at least one of the qualifications as listed in ACRA – Company Directors, Secretary, Chief Executive Officer and Auditors.
However, most small businesses find it more cost-effective and hassle-free to outsource this function to a company that provides professional Corporate Secretarial Services.
At Margin Wheeler, we have an experienced team of professionals to ensure that all the legal requirements and help you perform the duty of a Company Secretary.
Legal Requirements that a Company Secretary or our Corporate Secretarial Service will fulfil:
- Keep the statutory register books, and ensure they are updated
- File ACRA related changes in the statutory records
- Prepare documents and paperwork for Board of Director meetings
- Prepare and take minutes for the annual general meetings
- Keeping of the corporate seal and other confidential documents you may need to delegate
- Reminders to staff about compliance matters before the date is due
Statutory Registers
Appointments of the management in the company need to be recorded and updates; this also includes matters pertaining to their resignations as well. Transactions of company shares (i.e. transfers, buying/selling), charges and debenture movements of the company, as well as filing signed copies of board resolutions and key agreements such as Annual General Meeting (AGM), Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) minutes.
ACRA Filing
All changes in the Statutory Board will need to be updated in ACRA within a prescribed time. These include changes such as (but not limited to):
- Appointments/resignations of officers
- Annual returns before due date
- Change Company name approval
- Changes of Memorandum & Articles of Associations
- Share Allotments and Share Transfers
- Charges changes to update
Preparing and Attending Directors’ Board Meetings
The company secretary will also be responsible for preparing the Directors’ Circular Resolutions, the agenda with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and maintaining minute books, attend meetings and record minutes, getting certification for the minutes and ensuring its circulation to the relevant parties, as well as provide professional legal advisory regarding the Companies Act.
Preparing and Taking Minutes of Annual General Meetings
These tasks require efficiency and quick turnaround in order to circulate information within the company. The corporate secretary will have to collect audited and non-audited financial reports for circulation to shareholders. He/she will also be in charge of preparing the agenda set by the management, attend meetings and prepare the minutes for circulation. They will also safeguard the interests of the company to ensure that the correct procedures are followed. Last but not least, they will also help the company to file the annual returns to ACRA.
Safe keeping of Corporate Seal
The corporate secretary will also have to ensure that the company seal is kept safely and used appropriately as stated in the company Memorandum & Articles of Associations.
Compliance
ACRA will inform the organisation 2 months before the due date, to file your Annual Returns. The company secretary will be able to help you to keep track of the timeline to ensure that staff adhere to the prescribed dates.
The duty of a Company Secretary is complex and requires a professional who is well-versed in all the legal requirements to perform this function to fully comply with the Company Act.
Engage our Corporate Secretarial Service or other Accounting Services today and we will fulfill these requirements on your behalf, saving you precious time and hassle so you can focus on running your business.