Services · Corporate Secretarial
Every Singapore company must appoint a corporate secretary within six months of incorporation and keep meeting Companies Act obligations for as long as it exists. As your named secretary, Ian & Son files what must be filed, keeps the registers in order and reminds you well before anything falls due. You sign. We handle the rest.
1
Your FYE triggers the compliance clock. We confirm the reporting timeline with you and your accountant, whether that is us or someone else.
2
Statements must be laid before members. Most private companies pass written resolutions instead of holding a physical AGM. We prepare the papers either way.
3
A private company generally holds its AGM, or dispenses with it, within six months of FYE. We circulate documents for signature well ahead of the date.
4
The annual return goes to ACRA within seven months of FYE for a non-listed company. We file it, confirm acceptance and diarise next year.
Companies that want their statutory record clean without thinking about it. New founders who have just incorporated and need a secretary appointed within the six-month window. Established companies switching from a secretary who has become slow or unresponsive. And directors who have received an ACRA reminder or late-filing notice and want the record put right before penalties compound.
We also act for holding structures with several entities, where resolutions, registers and filings multiply and consistency across the group is what keeps directors out of trouble.
Beyond the annual return, a company must maintain statutory registers, including the register of registrable controllers, which most companies must also lodge with ACRA. Changes of directors, company secretary, registered address, share allotments and transfers must each be filed within their prescribed windows, some as short as 14 days. Directors remain personally responsible for compliance: ACRA late-filing penalties attach to the company, and persistent default can lead to court summonses for directors or the company being struck off.
None of this is difficult when someone is watching the calendar. All of it becomes expensive when nobody is. Our job is to be the someone.
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Tell us where your books stand. An expert accountant replies within one working day.
Yes. Every Singapore company must appoint one within six months of incorporation regardless of size, and the position cannot be left vacant for more than six months. The secretary must be a Singapore resident.
No. A sole director cannot also act as the company secretary. This is one of the most common reasons single-founder companies engage an external secretary like us.
ACRA imposes late-filing penalties that increase with delay, and persistent default can lead to prosecution of directors or strike-off of the company. If you are already late, we compute what is owed, file the outstanding returns and bring the record clean.
A statutory register of the individuals or entities that ultimately own or control the company, typically those holding more than 25 percent of shares or voting rights. Companies must keep it current and lodge it with ACRA. We maintain it as part of the engagement.
Usually not. Private companies can dispense with AGMs by passing written resolutions, provided financial statements are circulated within the required timeline. We prepare the resolutions so the formality is handled without a meeting.
Yes. The change is a simple filing and we coordinate the handover of registers and records directly with the outgoing secretary. Your only involvement is signing the appointment papers.
A 30-minute chat, no obligations. We reply within one working day.
Accounting, corporate secretarial, payroll and advisory for Singapore SMEs since 2012.
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Ian & Son refers to the Ian & Son network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Contact us to learn more.
