Some entrepreneurs and business owners make the mistake of handling all the responsibilities by themselves. Although business owners need to have skills, they must delegate some responsibilities to other service providers to ensure efficiency.
Technically, you can’t be a corporate secretary and an executive officer simultaneously. You should at least outsource secretarial services.
However, choosing the right corporate secretary to handle secretarial responsibilities isn’t easy. It will be a gamble to bring someone new onboard to your business. This is why it is important to take your time to research and consider the following tips to help you choose the best company secretarial service provider:
1. Consider Reputation
You will not find it difficult to find a corporate secretarial service provider, especially in Singapore. This is because most companies are capable of helping you grow, handle, and register your business.
Unfortunately, not every service provider can help you meet your business needs. More so, just a few service providers have the experience to establish and maintain a solid reputation.
So, before entrusting your business needs to any service provider, assess their references and talk to several previous clients. Doing so can help you learn many things about the service provider you’re about to hire.
2. Evaluate the Qualifications and Experience
In the corporate world, secretaries play an important role in ensuring the companies they work for run within the country’s legal framework. This doesn’t just entail administrative tasks. It also involves interpreting and understanding the laws applying to your company.
It is important to check the credentials that the business regulatory administrations in the country recognize. For example, members of the SAICSA (Singapore Association of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators) or other institutions have a standard qualification level. In addition, records that show serving businesses of the same industry, stature, or size signify experience.
3. Compare the Price and Quality
The price is an important factor to consider when buying a service or product. The same case applies when hiring corporate secretarial services for your business.
However, it is a common fact that you shouldn’t choose a secretarial service based on the price alone. This is because different corporate secretaries provide clients with various responsibilities, including convening meetings, tracking statutory records, and abiding by legal duties.
Some corporate secretarial service providers offer services at a low price in order to attract clients before they tack on extra costs after sealing the deal. But just because a service provider charges a lot when compared to others doesn’t mean they guarantee quality.
4. Look for a Registered Secretary
When outsourcing secretarial services for your business, ensure you look for a registered company, such as BoardRoom. Ideally, you shouldn’t just ensure that the company secretary is registered with ACRA. They should also be a member of a Chartered Secretary Institute and Corporate Counsel Association.
5. Check the Services Being Offered
Top-notch and qualified service providers provide multiple solutions so as to navigate your company’s needs. For instance, trusted secretarial service providers in Singapore may help you handle secretarial tasks, accounting, financial management, and incorporation.
If you hire such a service provider, you will find it much easier to manage the operations of your business. A company secretary who deals with your accounting may relay those delays quickly to the CS for financial filings.
In addition, you may depend on a corporate secretary for critical solutions and business tasks. Because of that, you will be able to save invaluable money and time.
6. Inquire about their Dedication
The best secretarial company will assign a very dedicated secretary to your business. This is important as you will have someone who understands your business needs.
In addition, having a very dedicated corporate secretary minimizes the risks of not staying compliant. Usually, non-compliance means costly fines for your business. And working with a dedicated secretary means all the compliance obligations will be met.
7. Determine the Team’s Commitment
A good company must be very committed to helping clients like you attain your business goals. So, hold a meeting with a potential company secretarial service provider and inquire about the strategies their team uses to guarantee good results.
For instance, will the team be committed to drawing remedial strategies when your business has compliance associated with payroll management, filing tax returns, or accounting? This is important to ensure that you choose quality secretarial services.
8. Prioritize a Tech-Savvy Service Provider
Ensure the corporate secretarial service provider you hire is tech-savvy because ACRA has already computerized almost all its operations. Most company secretaries still use physical signatures and paper-based registers to carry out business resolutions.
This approach leads to inefficient management of time, more errors, and higher costs. By taking advantage of technological advancement, almost every corporate compliance task will be streamlined through paperless systems.
Archival, creation, distribution, and signature execution of documents must be done electronically as paper systems are now history. Specialized systems automate the life cycles of important workflows involved with compliance, administration, and incorporation of a company.
If your corporate secretary is versed in specialized systems, this will dramatically improve the quality, service time, and cost of your business compliance management.
9. Look at the Understanding of Local Laws
It is very important to hire a corporate secretarial service provider who is familiar with local rules & regulations, including any modifications or extensions.
A good service provider must handle the filing of records, tax filing, and AGM arrangements within the stipulated time. In addition, a good service provider must ensure your company is always organized to save costs.
If your service provider operates internationally, ensure they are also familiar with the laws of various countries, which can affect the local proceedings and domicile region.
Whether or not you live in Singapore, hiring a corporate secretarial service provider is important. When choosing and hiring a secretarial service provider, don’t just consider the reputation, experience, and qualifications. You should also look at their understanding of the local laws, tech-savviness, dedication, services, and team commitment.
