Responsibilities Of A Company Secretary
The responsibilities of a company secretary include:
Assist senior management.
Making sure a board of directors has the right guidance and tools to execute its legal obligations to shareholders is an essential responsibility of a company secretary. The board of directors cannot function without the secretary, who also has a big impact on corporate governance. A competent corporate secretary makes sure the board is conducting processes that adhere to prevailing legal compliances. To effectively convey and interpret laws and legal judgements to chief executive officers (CEOs), board members and stakeholders, corporate secretaries are often skilled communicators. It is important to maintain confidentiality when handling sensitive information.
Keep company records:
Maintaining records is a crucial duty for almost all company secretaries. They are in charge of the content of the minutes and make sure that they accurately reflect the decisions of the board. Maintaining significant business records and papers, including disclosure information and compliance with Company s Act and compliance, is also the responsibility of the company secretary. They are also often in charge of managing stockholder relations and keeping records of communications with stockholders, stock issuances and transfers or proxy statements.
Manage board activities:
The corporate secretary organises and coordinates board meetings to ensure their effectiveness successfully. Corporate secretaries oversee several aspects of the board of directors and committee meetings, from creating the agenda to setting up the logistics. Company secretaries may also oversee yearly shareholder meetings. They make sure that there is adequate time for these meetings and can prepare meeting calendars up to two years in advance.
Provide guidance to board members:
A corporate secretarys secondary tasks can include suggesting advice on matters like subsidiary management and governance and the boards roles and obligations. Corporate secretaries may also assist with board reviews, assure succession planning and give orientation, education and training to incoming directors. Conducting an annual strategic planning meeting and creating informational meeting packets for the directors at least one week before a meeting can be additional responsibilities necessary for a corporate secretary.
Essential Skills For A Company Secretary
The following skills are necessary to become a company secretary:
Attention to detail
Keen attention to detail is an essential ability for a corporate secretary to better assess the requirements of a company. In addition, their position calls for them to have a thorough awareness of every project on which the company is working. This makes it easier for them to identify issues, resolving which may help the company in optimising its processes. An excellent corporate secretary can often easily answer questions regarding the organisations operations and finances with pertinent and helpful information.
Organisational skills
Company secretaries frequently make schedules while taking the organisations board of directors requirements into consideration. They also make it easier to organise the logistics of meetings. It is important that these meetings, whether they take place online, in person or elsewhere, proceed with requisite logistic, travel and lodging arrangements. In addition, company secretaries can also arrange meeting notes, facts and specifics so that they are available to interested parties upon request. This skill also helps them to govern and communicate relevant information to the intended personnel successfully.
Consultative abilities
A company secretarys responsibilities are typically similar to those of senior corporate officers. The person in charge of informing the board of directors of a corporation about corporate governance issues is usually a senior corporate officer. This requires them to be well-versed in and proficient in executive management and stakeholders in a corporation. They use this data to convey it to the directors and maintain a robust governance structure.
Typing and taking notes
Company secretaries are administrative experts who frequently assist in recording significant meetings to use the information in the future. As a result, being efficient at typing and taking notes is also important to take notes during a crucial meeting on the most relevant facts and takeaways. Shorthand proficiency can be a great technique for a company secretary to follow the conversation and avoid losing crucial details.
