Company secretarial

Annual Calendar

 The annual cycle of tasks of a Company Secretary is defined before the year starts,  

(even before extraordinary business activities start to appear on the agenda).

Calendar entries need to managed and controlled, alerted and escalated when necessary.  It is essential that an audit trail is created, detailing changes and information captured.  Reminders need to go to staff designated for specific tasks but the Company Secretary needs to have the ability to view the progress and completion of all date-related issues.

Genius Methods provide a ‘tool box’ for the company secretarial tasks crammed full of the frameworks, techniques and methodologies that will expedite every duty falling within this pivotal role.

Amongst the tasks for which we provide facilitating frameworks are:

• • Various internal checks, monitoring programmes and internal audit processes need to be followed that need to be defined, allocated to a role, performed and monitored for satisfactory completion.

• • The content of the annual report is defined by regulation, guidelines, best practice and fashion – all these issues, as well as the management of third parties, need to be taken into account to ensure delivery on time.

• • Board Meeting Planning is now almost a ‘science’, focussing on minimising the risk of breach and ensuring that all information is produced on time to directors.  There are good programmes to achieve these requirements, but often for smaller businesses a more flexible system can equally well perform the task.

• • This encompasses many responsibilities ranging from company formation, company closure, signatories, bank accounts, registers, Companies House returns, HMRC returns, minutes and compliance, to the multitude of regulations that impact the organisation.  Workflows and checklists are needed to ensure knowledge is owned by the organisation and that evidence and proof of conformance and control are in place.

• • There are specific requirements for communication with the various internal and external stakeholders to the business.  These need to be defined and processes put in place to ensure that they are carried out in terms of the diary or the need.

• • A complex area from issuing, registration, transfers, allotments, rights, notices, voting etc.  These functions all need to be controlled, and the knowledge of what is done and needs to be done should be embedded in the organisation, not only the individual.  Checklists and workflows as required will control these processes and act as evidence of due process.

• • This will involve adhering to various other regulations that will include, for example: the retention of documentation, display of notices, advice to staff members, protection of information, intellectual property, contractual obligations, insolvency procedures and customer relationships.
  • By using the workflows, the policy and procedure ‘manual’ is an organic and working document that is always up to date and known to the staff who engage with the areas applicable to them, all the time.

• • Directors’ duties need to be defined.
  • Often directors do not understand their duties and responsibilities.
  • It is imperative that these are well documented and presented to them in a timely, organised way when the issues need to be addressed.
  • The various routines, controls and documenting of information then provide the necessary record of good governance.

• • Global businesses need to deal with international regulations and the related trade activities.
  • Regulations between countries occasionally conflict and this requires careful management.
  • Checklists to handle standardised routines in overseas countries allow for UK control and management, as well as reduced cost and risk.