Outsourcing your company secretary role
If you are an Irish company owner or director then you are legally obliged to have one company secretary named on legal documentation. This role is appointed when setting up a company in Ireland and can be changed at any time.
Here, we discuss the benefits of outsourcing to a company secretary professional and explain the differences between our two service offerings: Named Company Secretary and Company Secretarial Maintenance.
What does a Company Secretary do?
Files the company's Annual Return
Second signatory on company documentation
Takes care of compliance
Benefits of using a Company Secretary Service
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Your company's compliance is looked after
You can be confident that your company will meet its corporate obligations, such as minutes of board meetings and keeping an updated company register.
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Your Annual Return will be looked after
We will help you avoid penalties from the CRO by keeping track of your Annual Return Deadline (ARD).
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Fixed fees
There are no surprises in what you need to pay us. We have fixed fees for our Company Secretarial service which are renewed annually.
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Professional company secretary advice
You have up to 300 minutes' worth of post-registration changes and corporate governance advice per year.
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Dedicated support from Company Team
You don't have to rely on one person to act as your company secretary. We have a team of professionals that can help you.
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More time to focus on your company
Outsourcing to a company secretarial professional means you have more time to focus on growing your business.
Difference between the company secretary and an accountant
Company secretary
Having a company secretary is a legal requirement under the provisions of the Companies Act 2014. They are not required to have any formal qualifications, however, it is the duty of the directors to ensure that the company secretary has the skills necessary to carry out its necessary duties.
Accountant
On the other hand, a company is not legally required to hire an accountant – although they are often seen as an important role in the company. Many non-financial owners/managers will outsource to an accountant so they have a trusted advisor to look after financials, such as tax and VAT registration, accounts preparation, and tax returns.
Our Company Secretarial Services
Named Company Secretary for €299+VAT
Secretarial Maintenance for €459+VAT
Once-off services
Choose a service that matches your needs
Named Company Secretary for €299+VAT/year
- Manage the Annual Return deadline
- Prepare and file an Annual Return in CORE
- File PDF financial statements in CORE
- Signing the Annual Return and bank application documents. Please note that this does not include the co-signing of financial statements or legal forms that are not prepared by Accountant Online.
Not included:
Filing of any general company secretarial paperwork, such as changes in directors, registered office, shareholders, increase in share capital
Maintaining and updating your company registers
Updating your beneficial ownership details with the Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO)
Draft minutes of board meetings, including the Annual General Meeting
300 minutes of ongoing company secretarial advice annually
Company Secretarial Maintenance for €459+VAT/year
- Manage the Annual Return deadline
- Prepare and file an Annual Return in CORE
- File PDF financial statements in CORE
- Signing the Annual Return and bank application documents
- Looking after general company secretarial matters, such as changes in directors, registered office, shareholders, increase in share capital
- Maintaining and updating your company registers
- Updating of your beneficial ownership details with the Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO)
- Prepare draft minutes of board meetings, including the Annual General Meeting
- 300 minutes of ongoing company secretarial advice annually – there is an extra charge of €109+VAT per hour if this exceeds the 300 minutes
- Countersigning company bank applications and Annual Return. Please note that this does not include the co-signing of financial statements or legal forms that are not prepared by Accountant Online.
Professional Company Secretaries can help you to avoid penalties
We have a team of trained professionals that work to make sure your company remains compliant with the CRO.
Our team of chartered and certified professionals includes ICSA-certified secretaries and expert company formation agents. We have the skills and experience to keep you compliant and make sure you don’t miss important deadlines!
Rachel is a certified company secretary from The Law Society College Dublin and currently leads the Company Secretarial Team at Accountant Online. Areas of expertise include Company Formation in Ireland and the UK, Company Secretarial procedures and regulations, and the Companies Act 2014 relating to small business and company directors.
