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Company Officeholder Duties
Company Officeholder Duties
Who is a Company Officeholder?
A company officeholder refers to anyone in charge of an office, usually a secretary or a director. An officeholder as the name implies takes care of all activities in the office.
The position of company’s officeholder is governed by the Corporations Act of 2001.
Who is a Director?
A director is at the helm of affairs in a company. He guides, controls, directs the organisation and management of the company. The director is one who represents the company in and outside board meetings.
The work of a director is described as hectic because it often concerns legal liabilities. As a director, you are expected to be transparent in all your dealings. Your primary aim must be to improve the current state of the company. In addition to ensuring the government’s smooth running through proper record-keeping, the director must learn to separate personal sentiments from work and represent the company’s best interests always.
Requirements to be a Director
To be appointed as an officeholder, you must fulfil the following requirements as stated under the law:
- An officeholder must not be less than 18years of age.
- He or she must not have been declared bankrupt.
- He or she must not have been previously convicted of fraud, dishonesty or breach of duties before.
Who is a Secretary?
A secretary assists the director in the day to day running of the company through accurate details and records keeping. He or she is in charge of all correspondences being received or forwarded to the company.
A secretary must be confidential and have a high sense of responsibility. They sometimes perform advisory functions.
Duties of a Company Secretary
- He or she must assist in the daily running of the company.
- He or she is in charge of all documents and files and is responsible for their safety.
- He or she must act in good faith and in the best interests of the company.
- He or she must not be involved in dishonest dealings that would tarnish the image of the company.
- He or she must not utilise all information he acquired for his or her selfish interests.
Requirements to be a Secretary
The Directors are generally in charge of appointing secretaries by the provisions of the Corporations Act, 2001 which include:
- Must be at least 18 years of age
- Must be a natural person and not a corporate body
- He must submit an appointment to ASIC.
Finally, the Act does not explicitly forbid a person to act as both the director and the secretary. A review of their duties suggests it will be disastrous to have one person occupy both positions.
Record Keeping in A Company
The company deals a lot with paper works and often takes various records for reference purposes. Financial documents usually present in an office include cheques, invoices, contracts files, receipts, and entry books, among others.
Nowadays, it is now becoming a trend to keep records online rather than the traditional way. However, the best way is to save documents both ways- electronically and offline.