繁體中文
法定職位與委任條件
公司秘書是公司法下的法定職位,每間私人有限公司都必須委任一名。若公司只有一名董事,該董事不得同時出任公司秘書。委任條件方面,自然人公司秘書須通常居於香港;法人團體公司秘書則須在香港設有註冊辦事處或營業地點,並在提供公司服務時符合信託或公司服務提供者的發牌制度。
專業資歷:香港公司治理公會
香港公司治理公會的會籍分為學生、畢業學員、會士與資深會士。學生先完成特許公司治理專業資格課程,成為畢業學員後,具備指定年數的相關工作經驗並符合適當人選要求,方可獲選為會士;資深會士則要求更長的經驗年期及高級經驗。這些資歷由專業團體頒授,並非政府牌照,但在市場上有較高的認受性。
日常職責與合規
公司秘書的工作圍繞公司治理與合規:保存法定紀錄冊、籌備董事會及股東大會並撰寫會議文件、辦理公司註冊處的各項申報與更新、處理股份轉讓及周年申報表,並就公司法事宜向董事會提供意見。以法人身分提供服務的公司秘書公司,還要遵守打擊洗錢及恐怖分子資金籌集的規定,例如委任合規主任及洗錢報告主任。
English
A statutory office and appointment rules
A company secretary is a statutory office under company law, and every private limited company must appoint one. Where a company has only one director, that director cannot also be the company secretary. On eligibility, an individual secretary must ordinarily reside in Hong Kong, while a corporate secretary must have a registered office or place of business in Hong Kong and meet the trust or company service provider licensing regime when providing company services. Appointing a secretary is a continuing requirement, not a one-off step.
Professional qualification: the HKCGI
Membership of the Hong Kong Chartered Governance Institute runs from Student to Graduate, Associate and Fellow. A student completes the Chartered Governance Qualifying Programme, becomes a Graduate, and then needs a specified number of years of relevant experience and fit-and-proper status to be elected an Associate; Fellowship requires a longer period including senior experience. These qualifications are awarded by a professional body rather than a government licence, but carry strong recognition in the market. The route from Student to Fellow is set by the Institute's own membership rules.
Day-to-day duties and compliance
The work centres on governance and compliance: maintaining the statutory registers, preparing board and shareholder meetings and their papers, handling filings and updates with the Companies Registry, dealing with share transfers and annual returns, and advising the board on company law. Corporate secretarial firms providing services as a body corporate must also follow anti-money-laundering rules, such as appointing a compliance officer and a money-laundering reporting officer. Keeping records accurate and filings on time is central to the role, and accurate records matter to directors, shareholders and regulators alike.