What is a Company Secretarial Service, and How Can They Benefit Your Business?
Hiring the right people in your company is key to establishing a profitable business that is compliant with the law. One of the most sensitive roles in a company is the position of a company secretary, and it needs a qualified candidate.
Managing a company, whether a startup or an established company, involves a lot of work and commitment. With the right staff in place, you can be sure your business delivers services or products with excellence. Besides service delivery, offering customer support, managing a team and finances, and filing statutory documents are other aspects that need careful attention.
So, how do you ensure your business is running smoothly? A company secretarial service will assist you with administrative roles and ensure that you hire the right people for the job.
In this article, Incorpuk explores what a company secretarial service is and how it can benefit your business.
What is the Company Secretarial Service?
Company secretarial services focus on running administrative duties and complying with the law in a company. A company can hire its secretary (an individual) or outsource a professional company secretarial service to help accomplish these tasks. Company secretaries are also in charge of informing directors and shareholders of what’s happening within the company.
Companies registered in the UK must comply with the rules and regulations provided by the Companies Act. They include submitting many documents before setting deadlines accurately, a role that can be time-consuming and overwhelming.
The registrar (Companies House and HMRC) must have current and accurate information about a company. Therefore, a company secretary must be on top of things to ensure the information on the public register is up to date.
Some companies have a company secretary who manages all company secretarial duties. However, for businesses that can’t sustain a company secretary, outsourcing company secretarial service can be beneficial to your business.
With so many tasks to accomplish and deadlines to beat, it’s easy to overlook crucial operations. However, with a sharp, dedicated team, proper corporate governance will help enforce laws and regulations transparently.
Benefits of Hiring Company Secretarial Service
Administrative tasks may seem menial, and you may think of doing them alone until you have so much to do. Hence, it’s important to outsource a company secretary if your company is to run in order, accomplish daily tasks, and beat all deadlines.
An outsourced team will help your business meet deadlines and file legal documents accurately and promptly. So, let’s discuss in depth how company secretarial service can benefit your business.
1. Compliance with Regulations
Any business operating in the UK must comply with the rules and regulations provided by the Companies Act. Outsourcing a professional corporate secretarial service will provide administrative assistance and record maintenance.
With a dedicated professional team of secretaries, your company will be compliant. The service mainly benefits any company that wants to branch abroad since learning the laws and regulations can take time.
Additionally, corporate laws in a country can change at any time, and keeping up may be troublesome if the business owner is not local. However, hiring a secretarial service will get the job done and help you comply with local rules and regulations.
2. Save Time
Company secretarial services take charge of administrative duties, freeing up time for business owners to concentrate on other aspects of business. They also lift the burden of keeping up with the law and rushing through legal documents because there’s so much to be done.
3. Expertise
Company secretarial services deeply understand the best practices for maintaining corporate records. Hiring them helps companies prevent costly mistakes and missing deadlines. These agencies are knowledgeable about preparing and filing necessary documents to ensure all paperwork is in order and no deadlines are missed.
Besides, they also offer professional advice on managing and updating records. Leveraging their knowledge and expertise helps a company avoid consequences like costly penalties and maintain a good reputation.
4. Cost-effective
Hiring a company secretarial service is usually more cost-effective than hiring a full-time employee. Dedicating an entire department to administrative tasks may also be too expensive for small and midsize businesses.
Instead of spending so much on hiring a secretary, the business can use company secretarial services when needed and dedicate the money to other areas like marketing. Outsourcing company secretarial services reduces the cost of recruitment, training, salaries, office space and team member benefits.
5. Improved Efficiency and Productivity
Delegating administrative duties to external experts frees up valuable time for the team to focus on other business operations. They assist with responsibilities that are time-consuming like:
- Preparing and submitting annual reports
- Maintaining statutory registers
- Managing share transactions
- Ensuring proper corporate record-keeping
Outsourcing these duties to experts ensures they’re completed efficiently and promptly while your team concentrates on other matters. As a result, your in-house team dedicates more time to strategic decision-making, boosting productivity and performance.
6. Flexibility and Scalability
Outsourcing company secretarial services offers your business flexibility and scalability to address the company's changing needs. As your organisation advances, the service vendor can adapt to accommodate the increased workload. Whatever assistance you need, an outsourced secretarial service vendor is flexible to help without the need for you to hire additional staff.
7. Confidentiality and Data Security
Company secretarial duties involve handling sensitive data and information about employees and the business. Therefore, for this information to remain secure, it must be dealt with utmost confidentiality, which you get from a reliable outsourcing firm.
They understand the importance of keeping company data private, and in most cases, these experts are bound by stringent security measures. An outsourced team must adhere to industry standards and implement privacy policy protocols to protect their client and your business. Hence, they know how to mitigate the risks of data breaches or illegal access to your company data.
8. Access to Advanced Technology
Leveraging company secretarial services exposes your business to advanced technologies and innovative tools your business might need to afford or be conversant with. These tools can streamline operation processes and automate repetitive tasks, boosting accuracy and efficiency.
Harnessing the power of technology from a company secretarial vendor can deliver transparency, enhanced accuracy and higher efficiency for your business.
Challenges of a Company Secretarial Service
A company secretary is prominent on the board to ensure integrity and ethical practices are practised. Hence, they must be keen to overcome these challenges to fulfil their role and ensure smooth running.
- Understanding a business - different businesses function differently, and a company secretary needs to know where they work. If they don’t understand a company fully, it may lead to unacceptable or costly errors.
- Reporting obligations to the registrar - under the Companies Act, a company secretary must be aware of all obligations they should report to Companies House without fail or confusion.
- Knowing where they belong on the board - The boards of each company are different, and roles may vary. Hence, a company secretary must know what role to fulfil to avoid overstepping.
- Undivided support to the chairperson - A company secretary must support the chairman fully to ensure the board runs smoothly and efficiently. They can accomplish this by arranging board meetings regularly, recording board minutes accurately, and circulating the meetings promptly.
- Blurred lines in their responsibility - It’s not uncommon for a company secretary to have conflicting roles. Thus, they may have to juggle multiple roles, leading to errors or overlooking important matters like updating company changes for the registrar.
- Build a rapport with the board - A board comprises people with varying needs and personalities. The secretary needs to understand the different personalities and ways to bring out the value of each member. Board members have a lot on their plate, and every successful board has a robust rapport between its members, and they understand what’s required of them.
Form Your Company with Incorpuk Today
At Incorpuk, we will help you through the company formation process and file your confirmation statements to help your business stay compliant. Whether you're a UK resident or a non-UK resident, our team is ready to provide guidance and help you establish your company in the UK. Contact us here today.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the principal roles of a company secretary?
The principal roles of a company secretary include administrative roles, such as keeping the statutory records and the company's legal documents. They also convene meetings for directors and shareholders and submit legal documents to the registrar.
Is there a difference between a secretary and a company secretary?
A personal secretary is responsible for organising meetings, booking appointments, taking calls, and other daily administrative tasks. A company secretary is responsible for the entire company’s secretarial duties, filing statutory documents and annual returns to Companies House.
Is there another name for the company secretary?
Another name for a company secretary is a ‘Chief Administrative Officer’—the person who oversees all administrative operations and protects all corporate legal documents and sensitive data.
What are the qualifications of a company secretary?
The qualifications of a company secretary include a degree in accounting, business or public administration, and law. To become a company secretary as an individual or agency, appropriate experience in accounting, credit management, or insurance will favour you.
Does a company secretary have power?
A company secretary is powerful because they must notify Companies House of a company's changes, such as the appointment of new directors or a change of registered office address. Plus, a company secretary records board meetings, maintains the company's statutory books and files the Annual Return promptly.
In Summary
Outsourcing a company secretarial service means working with professionals to complete complex and time-consuming tasks. With a secretary, keeping and updating statutory records will stay on your already busy team members. However, working with a professional secretarial service eases the pressure of handling these responsibilities for your business.
When considering outsourcing company secretarial services, select a reliable and trustworthy service vendor with a proven record. Conduct thorough research before hiring, assess their expertise, and review past client reviews to make an informed decision. Partnering with the right company secretarial service will unlock many benefits that contribute to your business's long-term growth and success. Do you have any questions about company secretarial service? Kindly contact one of Incorpuk's experts here for help today.