Corporate Secretary: Singapore Style

If you wish to become a corporate secretary, Singapore provides you with a number of chances to execute your desire. People who set up their companies in Singapore are required to hire a secretary within six months after the corporation has been set up. This is in accordance to the Singapore Companies Act. For a person interested in become a corporate secretary, Singapore requires them to either be a Singapore resident or permanent citizen or the possessor of either a ‘Singapore Employment Pass’ or an ‘Entre Pass’ or a ‘Dependent Pass’. 
Once you have become a corporate secretary, Singapore laws require you to carry out several duties that are a part of your job description.  These include coordinating the company’s formal decision making and reporting process, formulating meeting agendas with the chairman or the chief executive, attending meetings and taking minutes. The maintenance of minute books, certificating copies of minutes and the insurance of whether all the procedures are being carried out are also a part of a corporate secretary’s job. All of these duties are in reference to board meetings that may be carried out annually, biannually or simply when the need arises.
For a corporate secretary, Singapore Companies act has stipulated several tasks that the secretaries must accomplish. General meetings have their own set of duties that are entrusted to the corporate secretary. These include attaining internal and external agreements to all documentation for transmission to shareholders, organizing the management and recording the attendance of individuals in the meeting and taking minutes. The corporate secretaries are also responsible for making sure that all the necessary processes are being carried out with consent to all the stipulated rules and regulations. They also need to oversee whether the company is complying with the constitutional laws of the country and also whether the drafting and incorporating amendments are being carried out with respect to the correct procedures.
A corporate secretary – Singapore based – must also keep a check on statutory returns. Shareholder monitoring is also a task that they must oversee. They are expected to keep a check on the movements of stakeholders on the register in order to set apart an obvious attempt of a member to acquire controlling shares. Beneficial ownership of holdings is another noteworthy aspect that is entrusted to a corporate secretary. Other duties include communication with other shareholders or stakeholders of the company, the timely payment of dividends and interest to the shareholders, issuing documentation with regards to the issue of shares and the overall healthy interaction of stakeholders. Also, relations with institutional shareholders and their investment protection committees are also to be monitored.

Other possible duties that a corporate secretary, Singapore based, is expected to perform include the application of alterations in the arrangement and organization of the corporation’s share capital and loan capital in addition to formulating, applying and managing the share participation schemes that are directed at the directors and employees of the corporation. The schedule of a corporate secretary is likely to be occupied with work at an average working day.
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Duties of the Singapore Company Secretary

In Singapore, the law requires the position of the company secretary to be appointed within 6 months of incorporation, and he or she must a resident of Singapore. The services of a company secretary are retained to ensure compliance with the Singapore Companies Act. Complying, Advising, Reporting and Communicating

The duties of the company secretary Singapore include a number of compliance responsibilities. For example, the company secretary records and maintains the minutes of the meetings of the company Board of Directors for the Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). The company secretary may also prepare written resolutions for presentation at the meetings of the Board of Directors. Resolutions cover a wide range of critical business including mergers or changes in corporate governance, requiring formal authorization by the Board of Directors. The company secretary will also advise directors regarding their capacity responsibilities.
Another compliance requirement is to ensure proper reporting and information for annual returns to be submitted to the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). Typical submissions include statutory documents reporting changes in company directors due to new appointment, changes in personal particulars, disqualification, resignation or death. Changes in personal particulars are to be lodged with ACRA include items such as: address changes, name changes or changes in the Foreign Identification Number (FIN) or the National Registration Identify Card (NRIC). The company secretary files annual returns, reports company name changes and reports changes to the company constitution approved by the Board of Directors.
In maintaining information reporting requirements, the Singapore company secretary coordinates publication and distribution of the company’s annual report, accounts and statement, and the preparation of the Directors’ report by the accountant.
Professional Standards
These are not all of the duties of the company secretary, but the duties mentioned indicate some of the most important responsibilities of the company secretary in Singapore. Fulfilling an important role in communication and documentation, the secretary works closely with directors and company senior management to fulfil legal and charter requirements. Whoever fills the position in the organisation must be able to meet the highest ethical and professional standards, be adaptable, have excellent communication skills and be willing to accept a high level of responsibility in an increasingly complex business environment.
A company secretary, who meets professional requirements and can fulfil all duties, may be employed by the corporation or retained through a Singapore professional firm.