Eligibility to Become Company Secretary

by Shames P. Global Business advisory

Once upon a time, company secretaries were just seen as company administrators [1]. The profession of company secretaries have come back to a protracted method since then. Today, the role of company secretaries has dilated within the leaps and bounds to incorporate company governance, company designing and strategy development for the businesses that have interaction their services.

Before we tend to dive into the roles and responsibilities of a company secretary, allow us to 1st concisely discuss the necessities of qualifying as a company secretary.

The Companies act 2016 (“the Act”) makes it obligatory for corporations to appoint a company secretary [2]. To be eligible as a corporation secretary, a person must:

Be a natural person of eighteen years and on top of, and could be a subject or permanent resident of Malaysia [3];
Have a minimum of a Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) certificate or equivalent with credit in either Bahasa Malay or English;
Have a minimum of one – five years’ operating expertise in fields about company law or company help follow, counting on the tutorial qualification held [4];
Must be a member of a body [5] recognized or commissioned by the businesses Commission of Asian country (CCM)/Syarikat Suruhanjaya Asian country (SSM)[6];
Not be associate undischarged bankrupt, condemned in or outside Asian country of offenses mentioned in Section 198 the Act, or have ceased to carry an active certificate below Section 241 of the Act.

Roles & Responsibilities

On the foremost basic front, a company secretary holds high-level responsibilities to make sure that the corporate operates in compliance with the relevant laws and laws with respect to, amongst others:

The proper management of help and company records;
Compliance with legal, restrictive and listing requirements;
The administration of property administration and worker benefits;
Corporate conduct and governance mechanisms.

Not solely that, a corporation secretary conjointly has to actively participate in developing and implementing internal laws for {the company the company} to make sure the corporate adhere to sensible corporate governance.

A corporate secretary owes an obligation not solely towards the corporate, however conjointly its board of administrators in addition to its shareholders.

Towards the Board of administrators, a corporation secretary acts because the directors’ assistant in most areas of the running of the corporate. During this regard, a corporation secretary:

Has a duty to grant impartial recommendation within the best interest of the corporate, notably in state of affairs wherever there's a conflict of interest between the corporate interest and also the director’s interest;
provides supplying support to any or all the administrators which fits on the far side planning meeting, like providing the foremost relevant and up-to-date info to the administrators to make sure the choices area unit for the betterment of the company; and
Has a duty to make sure that new administrators receive correct induction and coaching to change them to perform their duties properly.

Inbound cases, a company secretary is additionally expected to advise the administrators on legal matters touching on corporate and company governance. This sometimes applies once a company secretary is antecedently a legal practicing UN agency has expertise in company governance and also the relevant governing laws thence.

As for the Shareholders, a corporation secretary has the responsibility to:

Ensure that the dividends, transfer, and allotment of shares of the shareholder's area unit drained a timely manner and complies with the Act;
Prepare a correct company annual report for the shareholders to build sure to confirm} that they're ready to make enlightened selections throughout shareholders’ meetings; and
Ensure that potential investors/ shareholders area unit given the correct and relevant info of the corporate, as this might draw them certain the company’s profit.

CONCLUSION

In view of the necessary roles, the company secretary plays in business, several massive companies and public listed companies need the company secretary to be appropriately trained, fully-fledged and professionally qualified to require on these responsibilities.

As such, continually certify that the company secretary engaged for your business is professionally qualified and punctually registered with one among the prescribed bodies, particularly the Malaysian Institute of leased Secretaries and directors (MAICSA), Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), the Bar Council of Malaysia, district Law Association, Advocates Association of dominion and also the Malaysian Association of Company Secretaries.