London Registrars can take the stress out of a company secretarial audit

Few companies look forward to a company secretarial audit, given the scrutiny to which a wide range of aspects of the firm’s governance become subject. Typically, such an audit as provided by London Registrars (http://www.london-registrars.co.uk) involves various matters being reviewed for compliance with the Companies Act 2006, including – but not limited to – a company’s memorandum and articles of association, statutory filing record and share ownership.

Other such matters include a company’s statutory registers such as the register of directors and secretaries and the register of members, as well as its minute keeping, directors’ service contracts and in the case of PLCs, the register of substantial share interests, to cover just some aspects rather than all. However, one look at the statistics shows just how necessary a company secretarial audit can be.

Until the introduction of the Corporation Tax Act 2009, there had been no longer piece of legislation in British history than the Companies Act 2006, and with 97 criminal offences covered, its terms remain daunting for the many firms that seek to avoid contravening them. Despite their best efforts, companies can end up unwittingly committing these offences, which means that the same applies to every officer in default.

Companies with shares listed on AIM, meanwhile, may need to be mindful of not only certain aspects of the AIM rules, but also parts of the Disclosure and Transparency Rules in addition to, as applicable, the UK Corporate Governance Code. The period between December 2009 and July 2010 alone saw fines exceeding a quarter of a million pounds being levied by the AIM enforcement team against companies found to have breached the AIM rules.

Although such companies should primarily collaborate with their NOMAD to ensure compliance with the rules, they are also likely to appreciate a company secretarial audit from London Registrars that can ensure the company’s compliance with certain disclosure duties to minimise the risk of both current and future breaches.

Of course, one reason for directors struggling to ensure compliance is a simple lack of time for such more onerous obligations when they wish to focus squarely on their core business. This is why London Registrars can be so invaluable in providing such a necessary company secretarial audit, making the most of its considerable experience to cover the broadest range of compliance matters.

London Registrars’ company secretaries attend the client company’s offices as part of the process, ensuring that the audit is suitably tailored to the business and its size. This is the case whether the client company is a small private company with a single member, or a larger one with shares listed on a regulated exchange. Once the visit is done, a report will be compiled to draw attention to compliance aspects that should be considered as a matter of best practice, as well as those for which immediate attention is required.

Contact London Registrars (http://www.london-registrars.co.uk) now to order a company secretarial audit from an ISO 9001:2008 accredited public company, handled to the highest standards.

Editor’s Note: London Registrars (http://www.london-registrars.co.uk) are represented by the search engine advertising and digital marketing specialists Jumping Spider Media. Email: info@jumpingspidermedia.co.uk or call: +44 (0)20 3070 1959 / +34 952 783 637.