What Are Statutory Filings and Compliances For the Company Secretary?

Companies often have over a hundred employees who help run the entire business. All of them will belong to one department that falls under the company. There are teams, team leaders, heads of different departments, and several more. We also have the position of a company secretary. This position is usually closer to the heads of the company.

A company secretary takes care of organizing various events, and they also help run the company on behalf of the heads of the company. For example, they take care of the schedules for the CEO or president or head of the company, so they must know all the events and activities of the company as a whole. Besides this, a company secretary also has several legal duties to the company and the government.

What are statutory filings?

Firstly, understanding statutory filings are important. Statutory filings, or statutory reports, are reports the company secretary must submit to the government or other government agencies. These reports include financial reports and non-financial reports of the company.

These reports are important for ensuring that the company is not breaking any law covering businesses and employment. Without these reports, a company can be considered suspicious. The government will not be able to keep it in check. Therefore, statutory filings can be a company secretary’s most important duty.

Compliances of a Secretary 

The compliances of a company secretary can be considered their duties towards the company and the government agency under which they fall. It also means the secretary’s obligation to follow the company’s rules and regulations and the government’s law. It is not a simple position and has duties and laws that apply to it.

Some laws have been implemented to ensure that company secretary is compliant and performs their obligations. Without these laws, the company would have no valid records of its activities. And the government would have no documents or records to observe the company. A company secretary is well trained and knows their duties well. If they do not complete these duties, they alone are not the only ones to suffer – their company will be under fire too.

Statutory filings of a Company Secretary

Companies are bound by the laws of the government in their country. All of them are responsible to the Registrar of Companies (ROC). The ROC receives reports from company secretaries. These reports decide the ruling that the ROC gives out to the company. Each company has a list of documents to submit. The list includes documents, financial documents, forms that need to be filled out, etc. once the ROC receives these documents, they can keep track of the company and its performance.

There is a long list of situations and documents in which the company secretary has to comply with the ROC. If they fail, the company will also have to pay the penalty. They cannot blame the company secretary alone if the company does not have certain documents.

• Change of shareholders: If a company is changing shareholders, there needs to be proper documentation. For example, some shareholders may be allotted new shares, the company may invite new ones, and some may want to transfer their shares to another person.

The entire process will need proper documents to record the date and time of events, the names and signatures of all those who participated in the process, and the amount transferred. The shares must also be calculated and documented before the statutory reports are sent to the ROC.

• Change in the Board of Directors: The Board of Directors is central to every company. Even the slightest change will need to be reported to the ROC. If any member is removed or added, if they elect new members to the board, or if there is any change of the position of members on the board, the ROC needs to be notified.

This process will require more documentation, but the ROC will require all documents used throughout the process to be compiled, organised and submitted. Otherwise, they will penalise the company for failing to report the changes. Any changes in the Board of Directors are important, and the company secretary must keep track of all documents used.

• Change of partners: Many businesses and companies will have several partners that help one another. Choosing a new partner or removing an old company from a partnership position could change a company. Company secretaries will need to keep documents and reports of the entire process.

The process of change often takes months. The company secretary must keep a record of all events and documents throughout the entire time. If anything goes missing, the ROC may penalise the company. Therefore, an event as big as this will often require more than one secretary to take care of the work.

• Company documentation: The ROC can ask for the company documents at any time. For this purpose, the company secretary must always keep themselves fully informed of all company documents. They will need to keep them organised and compiled. They are also responsible for ensuring these documents are readily available whenever needed.

They also need to take care of issuing, storing, organising or sending any of the company documents. The company employees may also need access to these documents, and the company secretary must see that the documents are returned and stored in good condition.

• Minutes of meetings: A company secretary will need experience taking notes for general company meetings and important meetings. The ROC may not always require meeting notes for every meeting, but the company and its departments require them.

Meetings will have various documents and reports concerning it. But meeting notes are always needed. They will help the company and the employees keep track of what they will be doing and what they have done. For this same purpose, the ROC also asks company secretaries to keep a record of meeting notes and keep the documents organised.

Conclusion

A company secretary has several more duties. But these are the main areas of which they have to take care. They may have their assistants, but company secretaries cannot delegate some duties to other people. For example, in handling confidential company documents, a company secretary is responsible for ensuring they stay confidential.

If you are interested in finding out more about this position and all its compliances and duties, you can visit TaxClue.