Whether you are part of a large multinational organization or a fast-growth start-up, if you're working across borders, you'll likely need the help of corporate secretarial services.
When working in new countries and territories, you are legally responsible for the governance and compliance of your entities. With this in mind, many organizations, big and small, find it easier to manage their global entities by using a third-party corporate secretarial services provider.
Traditionally, organizations would rely on their in-house team or law firm to ensure compliance in other jurisdictions. However, the move to work with a specialist outsourced provider with in-country experience has been driven by increased personal accountability for directors and mounting pressure to keep both regulators and shareholders happy.
What Are Corporate Secretarial Services for Entity Management?
Corporate secretarial services are used by organizations to handle every aspect of legal entity management throughout their lifecycle. From high-volume, mandatory activities to more complex, specialist activities, for example:- Entity formation and set up
- Statutory records and legal requirements
- Account filing and statutory obligations
- Board and annual meeting documents
- Director obligation support and training
What Are the Benefits of Using Corporate Secretarial Services to Manage Entities?
The advantages of using corporate secretarial services to manage entities are vast. Of course, the needs of each organization are unique depending on sector, stage of business, and particular activities. However, some of the most common benefits organizations enjoy are outlined below.- Investment ready: having the right basis for governance in place, where you can draw upon expert knowledge and a wider team can be particularly beneficial for new or early-stage firms to help ensure they are deal/fund ready.
- Better governance: working with an outside provider with specialist expertise can help to establish a solid framework for process and governance. The risks of an 'ad-hoc' approach are diminished and a clear process for new entities is in place.
- Cost efficiencies: a centrally managed and standardized approach helps to streamline workflow and ensure the best possible cost efficiencies are achieved.
- Higher value: by working with a third party to outsource repetitive high-volume tasks, your team is freed up to focus on more important, higher-value tasks.
- Reduce risk: by having access to on the ground 'in-country' expertise, general counsels or company secretaries at HQ are absolved from potential mistakes in unknown territory.
- Proactive approach: by partnering with an expert, your organization is taking a proactive approach to managing global entities, anticipating and understanding requirements, rather than a fire-fighting approach when something goes wrong.
- Board and company meeting support: with the increased need for regular, formally run, board meetings and other company meetings, corporate secretarial service providers are increasingly attending and minuting meetings for clients in overseas jurisdictions using theirs on the ground resources.
- Director support: aware of their increased obligations, more and more directors are seeking to understand their roles and responsibilities in greater depth. A provider with in-country expertise can help you to confidently outline and reassure directors of what their role entails and their compliance.
- Legal-entity rationalization expertise: corporate secretarial services can help to review legal structures and help determine whether existing legal entities are necessary, as well as provide transparent advice on where efficiencies or cost savings could be achieved to help build more efficient, sustainable operating structures.
- Market intelligence: many organizations also use the in-country expertise of their corporate secretarial services provider to assess new market opportunities. Drawing on both their understanding of the local commercial landscape and cultural nuances.
- Leveraging Technology: corporate secretarial service providers can help you make the most of your Diligent software product to ensure that you are surfacing the right information to the right people at the time, and making better-informed decisions.
Corporate Secretarial Services and Entity Management Software
To effectively manage global entities and work with a corporate secretarial services provider, having the right technology to underpin the partnership and a single source of truth for entity data is crucial. Entity management software such as Diligent Entities, ensures third parties, such as corporate secretarial services providers, with access to confidential company information can both complete their duties and do so in a secure, efficient, and collaborative manner. Diligent Entities puts all legal, tax, financial, and other information in one place to hugely simplify the process and reduce the risk of non-compliance going undetected. It also features dashboards that can be used by stakeholders to provide reassurance and a quick 'at-a-glance' update on global entities and compliance. Diligent Entities can also be accessed by permitted individuals anytime, anywhere and on any device. Essential in the light of the recent pandemic and the hybrid of home and office working which has been adopted across the globe. Schedule a demo today and start your journey with Diligent Entities and the support of corporate secretarial services.![](/-/media/project/diligent/master/au-whitepaper-images/whitepaper-images/a-buyers-guide-to-esg-data-management-software.png?h=511&iar=0&w=765&rev=263be577-e761-4e63-96ef-8ab461f2c7d1&hash=35A71501C65320AF30D85580C75077F4)
Media Highlights
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have become more complex and multifaceted than ever before. At the same time, ESG continues to ascend on board and leadership agendas.
In this buyer’s guide, we explore what a market-leading ESG solution should look like and highlight the key areas organisations should be prioritising as they embark on their search.