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4 Essential Qualities That Make a Good Company Secretary

4 Essential Qualities That Make a Good Company Secretary

A company secretary is among the most essential governance professionals within an organisation. Although the role of a secretary has been evolving over time, one thing remains constant – an organisation cannot function well without company secretary services. Company secretaries essentially provide administrative support to the board of directors and oversee a variety of functions and processes within the business.

Due to the importance of their role, it is necessary to understand the characteristics of an excellent corporate secretary to find the right individual to fill the position. If you are looking to hire an in-house secretary or outsource corporate secretary services in Singapore, here are some essential qualities that make a good company secretary.

1. Keen to details

A company secretary is responsible for ensuring that directors stay within the guidelines established for them by the company and the national legislature, as well as keeping the same standards for themselves. Like a company director, a secretary may also incur liability for breach of duty if they perform actions that are deemed to be in contradiction to the best interests of the company. For this reason, it is vital for a company secretary to understand each and every detail of their role.

2. A multitasker and an allrounder

The nature of a corporate secretarial job is that they have a lot of varying main duties to carry out, which require a well-rounded skill set. They also need to shift smoothly between tasks during the working day, which requires excellent multitasking skills. On any day, a secretary might have things in their inbox related to new compliance risks, organisation problems associated with an upcoming board meeting, and numerous other tasks.

The company secretary must be able to prioritise these responsibilities while ensuring they complete all of them. They also need to keep open communication lines with the company stakeholders to keep the latter updated on the progress.

3. Analyses matters well

Company secretaries serve as the point of contact with senior external shareholders. As such, they need to be analytical in managing and resolving disputes and challenges. A secretary should ideally have the ability to understand the problems at play and utilise their judgement to resolve them or to direct them to the appropriate person in order to fulfil the needs of all parties.

Internal problems are also an avenue in which the secretary’s analytical judgement is called into action. For the board to work effectively together, the company secretary should analyse any issues and use their judgement to look for a solution that helps maintain a constructive work environment.

4. A good planner

Planning is vital to the role of a company secretary. This means that they should have the ability to think strategically. With numerous interlocking pressures on them, a company secretary should have solid planning, as this is the only way for them to make sure that the committees and board are completely prepared for meetings. This also helps them ensure that shareholders complete their action points and that the company is in full compliance with any new legislation in advance.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that a secretary is vital to the development of a business. If your company desires sustainable and long-term corporate success, you need to treat the appointment of a corporate secretary as a matter of top priority. Without corporate secretary services, your business will surely struggle to grow and achieve success. As such, it is necessary that you look for a company secretary who is not only detail-oriented and analytical, but is also a multitasker, an all-rounder, and a good planner.

Should you require efficient company secretary services in Singapore to help your business attain sustainable success, OneStop Professional is here to assist you! We are a reputable audit and accounting firm in Singapore offering effective, extensive, and affordable company secretarial services as well as various other corporate services, such as auditing, accounting, corporate financing, company incorporation, and nominee director search with reasonable nominee director fees. Feel free to reach out to us to learn more.