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Every company must appoint a company secretary within 6 months from incorporation. The Company Secretary must be:

1. A natural person.
2. A resident of Singapore.
3. Must have relevant academic qualifications and professional experience.
4. Should not have a debarment order against them on the appointment date.
5. Should not be the company’s only director.
   Usually, companies engage the services of a corporate secretarial firm to provide them with corporate secretarial services. The firm will then provide the hiring company with a named company secretary.

The company secretary is the compliance office of an organization, and currently, it is a legal requirement for organizations to have this position filled. A competent company secretary fulfils many critical roles, of which they include:

1. An advisor to the board of directors and senior management. They facilitate board meetings and guide them on critical decisions.
2. Is responsible for compliance with corporate laws
3. Promote good corporate governance in the company.

As per the Company Law in Singapore, a Company Secretary has a particular set of responsibilities. The specific duties depend on the employment contract as well. However, in general, a CS is in charge of the following administrative and statutory duties:

1. Maintaining and updating the statutory registers
2. Keeping the company seal safe
3. Organizing meetings and sending notices of meetings to the members and shareholders, preparing minutes of shareholder meetings.
4. Ensuring organization-wide compliance with the Constitution of the Company.
5. Preparing and filing accounts of the company
6. Filing statutory returns and forms, like annual returns with the Registrar
7. Other responsibilities revolve around assisting and advising the board of directors, chairman and other senior functionaries.
8. On top of the above, a company secretary also has fiduciary responsibilities to ensure that he or she always works in the company's best interest.

An organisation can release or change its Company Secretary when he or she is not performing their duties properly. Here are some common reasons for initiating a change:

• The person takes very long to respond to queries or perform tasks and usually delivers work after continuous follow-ups.
• Is unavailable during important matters.
• Is lax in preparing and submitting necessary documentation, either internal or to the authorities. The organisation has been fined for late submissions.
• Has provided ineffective or wrong advice on compliance.