Singapore Expats

I have approached a company in Singapore to help me incorporate a business. One of the services they provide on an annual basis is company secretary.
I was intending to use a person who lives locally and has an EP.
They say that the company secretary needs to: have requisite qualifications and experience to fulfil the role.
Now that sounds very vague to me. Especially since i know that unlike some countries the company secretary in Singapore does not need to be a qualified Charted Secretary.

Does anyone know, if there are any real requirements beyond being able to follow the rules and regulations laid out by the companies act?

I do not want to pay them for something that i do not need.

Thank you for any help.

Most of the time a secretary is a registered CPA. The rules and regulations for reporting and compliance are numerous.

From the ACRA website:

Secretary
Every company must appoint a secretary within 6 months of the date of its incorporation.
The company secretary must be residing locally in Singapore.
He/She must not be the sole director of the company.
The secretary of a public company must comply with section 171(1AA) of the Companies Act i.e. must possess at least one of the following qualifications:
Been a secretary of a company for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately before his appointment as secretary of the public company.
Qualified person under the Legal Profession Act (Cap. 161).
Public accountant registered under the Accountants Act (Cap. 2).
Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore.
Member of the Singapore Association of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators.
Member of the Association of International Accountants (Singapore Branch).
Member of the Institute of Company Accountants, Singapore.

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Even if you find a way to be qualified, it is worth spending the money for an external secretary (this person does not have to sit with you).

You have low-cost (a lot of accountants offer this service on top of their accounting work for you), medium-cost (Rivkin & co), high-cost (law firm) solutions. The low-cost accountant solution will not cost you much more than $200 a year + expenses. Happy to provide intros, have dealt with all three cost-levels.

Also, you will likely need the Secretary to appoint you as his/her agent since the Secretary will likely sit at their own accountant/law firm/corp services firm office.

Hi floWsing, could you please PM me details that you have for cost-effective accountants and secretarial services? I could need an introduction. Thank you!

Most of the time, the company secretary in Singapore is a qualified CPA or CA. The Company Act only dictates that the company secretary should be an individual above 21 of age and possess a good knowledge of the Act. There is no certified requirements for a secretary to be a chartered one.

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