Company secretary services for global compliance

Company secretary services play a critical role in keeping businesses compliant, especially when operating across borders. From Singapore to the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and the United Kingdom, every jurisdiction has specific legal and regulatory obligations.

At Harneys Fiduciary, we help clients stay on track with tailored, expert-driven company secretarial services. Whether you're scaling into new markets or maintaining your current global footprint, our job is to make compliance seamless so you can focus on growth.

What are company secretary services?

Company secretary services (also called company secretarial services) ensure that your business complies with legal, regulatory, and governance obligations. These services typically include, but are not limited to:

• Maintaining statutory registers and minute book
• Preparing board and shareholder meeting materials
• Filing updates with authorities such as Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) in Singapore, Companies Registry in Hong Kong, or Companies House in the United Kingdom.
• Supporting directors in understanding their duties and responsibilities

In many countries, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, appointing a company secretary is legally required. Even where it's optional, like in the BVI, Cayman Islands or the UK for private companies, having a corporate secretarial function remains a best practice for good governance.

Why company secretarial services are critical for global compliance

Compliance obligations vary by jurisdiction. For example:

• Singapore requires companies to appoint a qualified company secretary within six months of incorporation. Failure to do so can lead to a penalty from ACRA of up to S$1,000.
• United Kingdom mandates that public limited companies (PLCs) must have a company secretary qualified under the Companies Act 2006.
• Hong Kong companies must appoint a company secretary who is a resident or licenced provider and stay compliant with the Companies Ordinance.

If you're running operations across two or more countries, you’ll face overlapping timelines, evolving laws, and local filing nuances. Company secretarial services help you manage all this with accuracy, on time, and with a reduced risk of error.

Harneys Fiduciary: global company secretarial services, local expertise

We provide company secretarial services in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, and across offshore jurisdictions including the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands. With experts on the ground and across time zones, we offer a single point of coordination for your global compliance needs.

Here’s what makes our approach different:

• Cross-border coordination: We manage filings and governance updates across entities in multiple jurisdictions with consistency.
• Time-zone advantage: Our international team supports operations 24/7, reducing downtime and delay.
• Regulatory insight: We combine legal intelligence from strategic alliance partner, Harneys law firm, practical governance know-how, keeping you informed of legal opinions in relation to regulatory changes.
• Scalability: Whether you manage one entity or one hundred, we scale our support to match your growth.

Core company secretarial services we offer

We cover the full lifecycle of governance and administration, including:

• Statutory record-keeping: We maintain statutory registers and corporate records, ensuring they are accurate and audit-ready.
• Board and shareholder meeting support: We prepare agendas, circulate notices, take minutes, and file necessary resolutions.
• Annual compliance filings: We track deadlines and handle filings such as annual returns, confirmation statements, and director changes.
• Corporate governance advisory: We offer support on director duties, corporate structure, and regulatory best practices.
• Registered office and regulatory liaison: We provide registered office services and act as your liaison with local authorities.

Why outsource your company secretarial services?

Outsourcing your company secretarial function offers five major benefits:

• Reduce compliance risk: Ensuring good governance is essential to avoid regulatory missteps and protect your company’s reputation. Our team is here to help you get it right from the start.
• Save time and resources: Focus your internal team on strategy and execution while we handle the day-to-day administration.
• Access global expertise: Our team understands both local rules and international expectations, giving you seamless support across borders.
• Stay informed and ahead: We proactively alert you about regulatory changes that may affect your obligations.
• Improve governance standards: With our support, you ensure good governance is not just maintained but optimised for future growth.

Choosing the right provider for global company secretarial services

If your company operates internationally, here’s what to look for in a provider:

• Jurisdictional expertise: Can they advise on rules in Singapore, the UK, Cayman, BVI and your other regions?
• Technology and tools: Do they offer digital record-keeping, alerts, and filing dashboards?
• Responsiveness: Are they proactive and available when you need them?
• Scalability: Can they support your growth and entity expansion without bottlenecks?
• Trust: Are they established and recognised by peers and regulators?

We check all these boxes, offering scalable, tailored solutions backed by a global reputation for excellence.

Ready to simplify global compliance with our company secretary services?

We support businesses around the world with seamless and reliable services. From first incorporation to long-term governance, we ensure your compliance is in expert hands.

FAQs: Company secretary services expanded

Co-authored by Janziel Licayan