Company Secretarial
Private limited companies, according to the Companies Act, have various duties and statutory requirements to fulfill.
With the new rules in place, PLCs are no longer obligated to hire a Company Secretary for these duties. Instead, they can appoint a director or another authorised individual within or closely associated with the business. However, a public limited company (plc) is still required to have a company secretary.
If you are a private limited company and we are not your auditors, Martin Aitken & Co can serve as your Company Secretary and Registered Office, handling all your company administration matters on your behalf.
Don’t get caught out
If you have any doubts or uncertainties about your compliance with the Companies Act, we can conduct a compliance health check audit on your company.
Following the audit, we will provide you with a report in a traffic light format, highlighting each aspect covered.
- GREEN – you are fully complying with the requirements.
- AMBER – you are partially complying and some improvements should be considered.
- RED – you are at risk of breaching the Companies Act and corrective actions are urgently required.
What duties does a Company Secretary usually perform?
A company secretary is a senior administrator who takes responsibility for ensuring that the company is presented in good order at Companies House – maintaining statutory registers and records e.g. articles of association, shareholdings, accounting dates, and tax compliance.
These include but are not limited to:
- Preparation and filing of statutory returns to Companies House e.g. annual accounts, and tax returns for display on public record, including issuing reminders when annual returns are due.
- to the relevant individuals in the business and liaising with your auditors and legal advisors as appropriate.
- Dealing with all formal company correspondence.
- Company formations, company searches and advising directors on their responsibilities.
- Drafting relevant sections of the company’s annual report, if appropriate.
- Attending AGMs, and board meetings, providing advice (accounting, governance and legal) and taking minutes (or reviewing your draft).
- Providing company law advice and how it applies to your business in terms of corporate governance, boards and sub-committees, company secretarial best practice and general private limited companies processes and procedures.
- Conducting business performance reviews, departmental reviews and internal audits.
- Setting up new shareholding plans and preparing documentation to effect share transfers e.g. increasing, converting, sub-dividing or consolidating share capital.
- Directors’ responsibilities: training and refresher guidance sessions.
- Assisting with any re-organisation or company restructuring.
- Changing company name(s).
- Performing a compliance health-check audit.
What additional duties are required from time to time?
- Providing company law advice and how it applies to your business in terms of corporate governance, boards and sub-committees, company secretarial best practice and general private limited companies processes and procedures.
- Conducting business performance reviews, departmental reviews and internal audits.
- Setting up new shareholding plans and preparing documentation to effect share transfers e.g. increasing, converting, sub-dividing or consolidating share capital.
- Directors’ responsibilities: training and refresher guidance sessions.
- Assisting with any re-organisation or company restructuring.
- Changing company name(s).
- Performing a compliance health-check audit.
We provide a fully integrated Company Secretarial service using a bespoke software tool which will enable you to ensure that all statutory duties, responsibilities and processes are fully compliant.
For more information, get in touch.
