8 Essential Skills A Company Secretary Should Have
The company secretary plays an important role in companies operating in Singapore. Every business in Singapore must hire a company secretary as required by law.
A company secretary is responsible for managing tasks such as organizing meeting agendas and board evaluations, communicating with shareholders, and working with the business partners of their customers, such as the outsourced accounting firm in Singapore.
For companies looking to hire a qualified, competent, and suitable company secretary, it’s wise to evaluate the choices based on the following skills:
1. Organizational Skills
The company secretary must be aware of your business goals and overall working procedures to ensure your business requirements are fulfilled. It is also the responsibility of the company secretary to make sure your business is complying with the company law in Singapore. By implementing suitable policies and frameworks at your company, the company secretary will be ensuring a smooth and efficient operation.
2. Comprehensive Understanding
It is extremely important that the company secretary of your choice has comprehensive knowledge about various departments of your company. This way they will be able to properly plan and implement the necessary policies and procedures needed for the success of your company.
3. Ensure Compliance
The company secretary should be an expert in planning because it is a crucial part of ensuring internal and external compliance and scheduling of various board meetings. A reliable company secretary is the one who will keep a close eye on every important affair of the business and carefully plan the business functions.
4. Multitasking Skills
A company secretary has a lot of different responsibilities towards an organization. Along with preparing for meetings, he or she also has to ensure governance compliance and maintain smooth communication between the directors, management, and shareholders. The company secretary also bridges the gap between businesses and their outsourcing partners like accounting firms in Singapore.
Therefore, when hiring a company secretary, ensure that he or she will be able to handle various tasks and responsibilities. Juggling different priorities and collaborating with different people at the same time is one of the most important skills that a company secretary should have. Thus you should not compromise on this essential skill.
5. Effective Communication Skills
Since company secretaries have to deal with different people like company directors, shareholders, and outsourcing partners like a chartered accounting firm in Singapore, it’s important that your company secretary has effective communication and negotiation skills.
Since they will be dealing with important people on a regular basis, it would not be wrong to say that the reputation of your company is in the hands of your company secretary.
It should be noted that communication skills include both oral and written communication. Thus it is highly recommended that you hire a company secretary that is also well versed with formal writing so that an effective working relationship can flourish.
6. Judgment Skills
Other than the experience and business skills, a company secretary should possess good judgment skills so that he can make good decisions during a crisis or situation of conflict. Moreover, he should be able to identify the right opportunity for the business and communicate effectively with the seniors of the company.
7. Planning Skills
A good and reliable company secretary is the one that is able to efficiently plan in advance. This skill is essential because it is the responsibility of the company secretary to plan board and committee meetings and ensure both internal and external compliance with the rules and regulations. Moreover, they have to prepare the agenda of business meetings and distribute them to all the participants in a timely manner.
8. Legal Knowledge
Possessing legal knowledge does not mean that a company secretary should be a full-fledged lawyer or legal scholar, but instead, he or she must understand the basic legal responsibilities and make sure the company is in compliance with all legal obligations.
It is important for a company secretary to be aware of the regulatory requirements set by ACRA, especially when it comes to filing annual financial reports and maintaining company registers.
In a Nutshell
The eight skills discussed above are some of the essential skills that should be possessed by a company secretary.
Although the company secretary is also considered an outsourcing partner of a business, it plays an important role in safeguarding and protecting the interest of the business in various matters including legal, statutory, administrative and policy.
We hope this post provides you with useful tips in choosing the right company secretary. For more information, feel free to get in touch with us.
