A company secretary is important administrative personnel in a limited company. With the recent changes made in the Companies Act, their role and responsibilities have been redefined. They are now considered at par with the top management of the company. However, with the changes in the Companies Act coming into effect, it is no longer mandatory for limited concerns to appoint a full-time company secretary, except for those companies that have an annual turnover of more than Rs10 crores. Companies with a turnover of fewer than Rs10 crores are free to hire outside company secretarial services.
The role of a company secretary is very crucial in a company. Apart from ensuring the compliance issues, they have a vital role in coordinating between the directors, shareholders, regulatory authorities, and various other government agencies. They are the first point of reference for all stakeholders. Though in house company secretary can be an asset to the company, outsourcing secretarial services have its own benefits. As mentioned above, companies with a turnover of fewer than Rs10 crores have the option to appoint a full-time company secretary or outsource the services, and many such companies choose to hire outside secretarial services because of its inherent advantages. Some benefits of hiring secretarial services have been discussed below.
Expertise
The first and foremost benefit of hiring secretarial service is that you get an expert solution to all your secretarial needs. Secretarial services firms work with various companies from diverse sectors and industries. They have the expertise and experience to handle the secretarial jobs for every kind of company. Working in different sectors, they have gained a high level of knowledge and experience. All the knowledge and expertise acquired through their work over the years will stand you in good stead. You can completely rely on them to perform their duties to perfection. You need not worry about compliance and other issues and focus on the business aspect of your company.
Convenience
Hiring company secretarial services is much more convenient than hiring your own full-time secretary. You don’t have to worry about the interviews and the tedious hiring process, employee contracts and benefits, etc. When you hire your own secretary, you might have to provide the training which could take some time and involve additional expenses, before they understand your business and are ready to perform their duties. Whereas in case of outside secretarial services they are already trained and experienced to get on with their job right away. They are competent enough to handle the entire company secretarial functions with ease and efficiency. As they have experience of working in different industries, they easily adapt to your company culture and perform their duties to your complete satisfaction.
Less Costly
Controlling costs is a top priority for small and newly established companies. As mentioned above, it is the smaller companies with a turnover of fewer than Rs10 crores which have the option to hire secretarial services or to appoint a full-time company secretary. The remuneration of company secretaries is very high and many small companies just can’t afford to pay such high compensation. Corporate secretarial services offer the same, or even better level services at a much lesser cost. As such, outsourcing secretarial services have become quite popular among smaller and newly established companies. Besides being less costly, outsourcing secretarial services save you a lot of time and effort from the hiring process. You also save money from not having to go through the hiring process.
Company Gets to Learn
A company secretary has to perform all the administrative work in a company. Besides ensuring efficient administration in the office they also have to ensure that all regulatory and statutory compliance are met. As the secretarial services firms have the experience of working in different companies across varied sectors, they have a lot to offer to you and your employees in terms of learning. They are experienced professionals who can help you understand the best practices followed across industry and provide expert advice on matters of corporate governance, and also help in improving the efficiency and productivity within the organization. They bring with them a complete package that would benefit you in the long run.
Comprehensive Service
Professional secretarial service providers offer a complete suite of secretarial services. Besides the routine administrative and compliance work, they provide a host of other services as well. These include company incorporation, employee contracts, and benefits, vendor and supplier contracts, accounting services, etc. As they have the experience of working with companies across industries, they are well versed with different aspects of corporate and business laws and, therefore also offer the services that a corporate lawyer has to offer.
To conclude, hiring company secretarial services has a lot of benefits attached to it. They are highly experienced and knowledgeable professionals who provides comprehensive service to your organization at a very reasonable fee.
