Outsourcing your Company Secretary: what are the benefits?

November 11, 2025

Outsourcing your Company Secretary: what are the benefits?

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By Siobhan Williams

Read time: 3 minutes

Running a business comes with a lot of legal and administrative responsibilities, making it easy for important administrative and compliance tasks such as submitting filings to Companies House and record keeping to slip through the cracks.

Using professional company secretarial services can help ensure you remain compliant, organised and well-prepared for future decision making.

What does a Company Secretary do?

A company secretary helps ensure a business is meeting its legal obligations. They deal with matters such as filing confirmation statements and accounts, maintaining statutory registers, preparing board minutes, and ensuring resolutions are properly documented. Mistakes or missed deadlines can lead to fines or even criminal liability for directors, having someone dedicated to these responsibilities helps ensure the company stays on top of its obligations.

Company secretarial services support you with meeting legal obligations under the Companies Act 2006. This includes:

• Preparing and filing confirmation statements and accounts
• Maintaining statutory registers and company records
• Preparing board minutes and documenting resolutions
• Ensuring filings are accurate and submitted on time
• Keeping directors updated on governance responsibilities

Getting these wrong can lead to penalties, administrative delays or even liability risks.

Having a dedicated corporate specialist helps keep everything running smoothly and reduces pressure on internal teams.

Who can act as a Company Secretary?

When deciding who to appoint as your Company Secretary, you should note that certain people are excluded from holding the position. These include:

• Anyone who has been disqualified under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. A person who is banned from acting as a director is also prohibited from taking part in the management of a company, which includes the role of a company secretary
• An undischarged bankrupt, unless they have been granted permission by the court to act
• Anyone under the age of sixteen
• A company’s auditor or any employee of the auditor, as this would create a conflict of interest
• Anyone who is restricted under the company’s articles of association

It is common for companies to appoint one of their directors to also act as company secretary. It is vital that whomever is appointed is well-organised, reliable, and has a good understanding of the company’s statutory responsibilities.

The benefits of outsourcing company secretarial services

Outsourcing company secretarial responsibilities ensures filings are dealt with accurately and on time, helping to avoid penalties and administrative issues caused by missed deadlines or incomplete records. It also provides:

• Professional expertise – ensuring your business stays compliant with current legal and regulatory requirements
• Consistent record-keeping – registers and documents are well-organised and properly maintained
• Reduced risk – minimises the risk of incurring fines or liability for directors and business leaders
• Efficiency – improves capacity levels for internal teams and directors to focus on running and growing the business
• Continuity – especially valuable if the company experiences roles changes or if employees leave the organisation

How Darwin Gray can help

At Darwin Gray, our corporate team provides company secretarial support for businesses of all sizes. We can handle your filings, maintain company records, and advise on governance matters, giving you confidence that your business is compliant and in safe hands.

If you would like  to hear more about our bespoke company secretarial services or have another related query, please get in touch with a member of our Corporate team using the contact form or via 029 2082 9100 to see how we can support you and your business.