While much is written about the value company secretaries offer
to board and management, there is less awareness of the multiple
ways in which they can specifically support the work of financial
directors and auditors. In fact, the stronger the link between the
financial director and the company secretary, the more streamlined
the auditing process and year end will be. As such, a close and
effective working relationship between the two is something every
company should strive to cultivate in the interest of enhancing
company performance and optimising governance and compliance
practices.
In recent years an increased emphasis has been placed on
transparency, especially with regard to financial statements. While
the finance director's perspective will naturally be from a
transaction basis, the company secretary's key objective is to
ensure that transparency is maintained throughout preparation of
the statements and the annual returns, and that there is a full
