What does a Company Secretary to a public or private entity actually do? It’s a question that we are routinely asked at Indian Ocean as Boards and Directors grapple with listing rules, governance & compliance in an ever changing and challenging global business landscape. Many people hold different views, and it is always a tough one to answer.

For some, the Company Secretary is just there “because we have to have one” and might fill in a few forms every now and then. But for the more progressive and forward thinking entities, the Company Secretary can be a vital member of, and contributor to, the senior management team and growth of your business.

Regardless of where you stand on the “what does a Company Secretary do” issue, here are some provocative questions that Indian Ocean often asks of our small to mid cap ASX listed clients (existing and prospective):

• Does your Company Secretary have a sound understanding of your company and the goals of stakeholders (both short term and long term)?
• Does your Company Secretary bring commercial pragmatic business strategy experience and assist the board to identify opportunities and solve problems?
• Is your Company Secretary really part of your senior management team?
• Does your Company Secretary keep themselves constantly up to date with what the ASX Listing Rules say that you can do, and just as importantly cannot do, in a listed environment?
• Is your Company Secretary proactive and innovative to identify and implement opportunities such as dual listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange?
• Does your Company Secretary promote and represent the company in dealings with other companies, banks, shareholders, ASX, regulatory bodies, brokers and lawyers, thus allowing management to focus on operations?
• Is your Company Secretary willing to assist with “corporate makeovers” and interface with the ASX on your behalf?
• Does your Company Secretary assist in corporate due diligence of merger and acquisition transactions?
• Likewise, the capital raising process can be lengthy and complicated, so is your Company Secretary capable of managing this process and co-ordinating between the various parties from shareholders to board to brokers.

To discuss further what Indian Ocean thinks that a Company Secretary should do (and with a proactive, commercial and pragmatic individual who does this for a number of listed entities) then feel free to give me a call at any time.