How effective is your corporate secretary?
“Lately, we’ve been hearing a lot of discussion about effectiveness: effective boardroom, effective governance, effective internal controls and effective leadership. What about the effective corporate secretary?
Effectiveness is the ability to manage, assess, evaluate and remediate a situation that allows a professional to gain a competitive advantage while maximizing a given set of resources. The only problem with effectiveness is being able to maintain it.
Corporate secretaries sit in a unique position. They serve as the liaison between the board and senior management and not only know the needs of boards but also have access to the necessary regulatory resources within a company.
But between increased regulatory pressure and shareholders expecting more accountability, it seems this year will definitely test the abilities of corporate secretaries.
In light of the corporate malfeasance that has permeated a number of corporations and the poor leadership at companies like RIM, Olympus, MF Global, Yahoo!, HP and NewsCorp, boardrooms are now facing increased scrutiny from regulators, shareholders, scholars and industry observers. As a result, in order to remain effective, corporate secretaries must go beyond their usual role when supporting the board. They must be able to give clear direction, be forward-looking, competent, creative and assertive when providing advice. They should also stand clear of any instances of ‘analysis-paralysis’, a common problem that can cripple a lawyer’s decision-making process.
In an exclusive interview with Corporate Secretary, Jonathan Block, general counsel and secretary of Hot Topic, a retail chain specializing in pop-culture clothing and accessories, says that in a corporation the secretary’s role is one of the few required by law.
Although the secretary’s obligatory duties are to keep the minutes and official records of the company, ‘The reality is that an effective secretary should be doing much more than that, when it comes to supporting the company and its board,’ he says…”
Article found on Corporate Secretary, read full article here: Corporate Secretary
Read more:
La secrétaire corporative peut renforcer la gestion du CA
Secrétaire corporatif: un métier en pleine mutation
Source: corporatesecretary.com
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