Company secretary
Take the company secretary as a career example. The work is important and includes the direction, governance, administration and management of the company the secretary is providing the services with. The responsibilities are sometimes a lot broader. A company secretary does not only work and engage with the directors, managers and shareholders of the company. The role should work with and communicate with many different Hong Kong government departments and/or regulatory bodies. The main reason is that the regulatory bodies actually would regulate the activities of Hong Kong companies. Such regulatory bodies include the Companies Registry, Inland Revenue Department, the Securities and Futures Commission and the Stock Exchange in HK.
Let’s examine the core duties that may happen on a daily basis. The important daily duties of a typical company secretary are generally wide in scope and may involve administrative duties such as personnel management and maintenance of company accounts. The Hong Kong company secretary role has the duties to make sure the company actually complies with regulation and advises the directors on the best corporate governance practices. Some of the duties include coordinating the production, publication and distribution of company accounts and reports, communicating with shareholders, regulatory bodies and the Stock Exchange on behalf of the company, ensuring the company complies with the mandatory regulations, facilitating regular meetings of directors and/or shareholders of the company, reviewing current development in the best corporate governance practices, and more.
We can draw a full career path for the company secretary role with future prospects. For example, the regulatory framework may be complicated, sometimes too complicated for many business owners, directors, and shareholders to handle. To add to the complexity, there are also the regulations between mainland China and HK for many local business operations. Soon before things go out of hand, it is highly important to have a plan B and start looking into using a service provider or agent who can offer such services. Owners and directors should evaluate such agents whether they are using the latest company secretary software to enhance their productivities.
Office secretary
A company secretary is not to be confused and mixed up with a similar role, office secretary. Office secretaries manage office schedules, coordinate meetings and visits, organize files, answer phones, and more. Office Secretaries usually work directly in an organization or an in-house office management section. A more experienced office secretary in a large corporate may have to supervise other clerical staffs. Basically, office secretaries are employed in all industries, including business, law, medical, education, properties, etc.
