A Corporate Secretary could be considered the glue that holds an entire corporation together. He/she is responsible for assuring the company stays in compliance with both regulatory and statutory requirements while also executing all of the decisions, resolutions and changes put forth by the corporation’s Board of Directors.
In general, states require that corporations designate a Corporate Secretary, and that he/she is present at all Board of Director meetings. The Corporate Secretary is an officer of the corporation.
The precise obligations that a company’s Corporate Secretary fulfills may be different among corporations; but they typically focus on helping the company keep up with legal and regulatory requirements. However, every corporation typically outlines the Corporate Secretary’s role in its corporate bylaws.
So what does a Corporate Secretary do? Many people mistakenly believe a Corporate Secretary’s primary role is to take and record meeting minutes. While doing so is, indeed, one of the Corporate Secretary’s responsibilities, this task is nowhere near the entirety of this pivotal corporate role.
Typically, a Corporate Secretary's job description would include:
Do I Need a Delaware Corporate Secretary?
In a Delaware Corporation one person can hold all company positions, so it does not have to have a corporate secretary.
A Corporate Secretary has a number of key responsibilities within the company, so make sure to hire someone comformtable with record keeping, corporate filings, and other forms of board support. The best candidate to hold the position of Corporate Secretary would be:
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There are 3 comments left for What Does a Corporate Secretary Do?
Ashu Agarwal said: Thursday, April 22, 2021Well Said, A company secretary is the backbone of the corporation looking after all the affairs.
Erin Grey said: Tuesday, April 6, 2021Thank you for sharing details on roles and responsibilities of a company secretary. Lots of new information.. very helpful for new users.
HBS Staff replied: Wednesday, April 7, 2021Hi Erin,
Thank you for reading our blog and we're glad you found it to be helpful.
Fred said: Thursday, April 23, 2020Very helpful information for those of us who are joining boards for the first time.
HBS Staff replied: Monday, April 27, 2020Thanks, Fred!