How MISHU Handles Requests To Switch Company Secretaries
Many valid reasons exist for switching Company Secretaries, namely slow or poor service.
Unfortunately, less valid reasons like overdue payments or a CoSec resigning over lack of transparency tend to go unmentioned 🙂
As a result, most Company Secretaries carry out due diligence before agreeing to a switch.
MISHU is no different, and this guide explains our process for those considering us, including:
- initial information requested
- contacting the current CoSec, and
- factors affecting our decision to take over
Let’s begin.
Initial information requested
Our immediate goal is to piece together facts about your company, how compliant it has been thus far, and why you want to switch Company Secretaries.
To learn this, our team member will ask the following questions:
- What is your company incorporation date?
- Have you filed all Annual Returns to date?
- When is your Financial Year End (FYE)?
- Have you filed all Audited Financial Statements to date?
- Why do you want to switch Company Secretaries?
It’s okay if you can’t answer immediately, as a lot of this is for a Company Secretary to know–but that’s why we need to know!
In addition, we’ll ask for your company’s e-SSM profile dated to within the last 3 months.
This is what an SSM profile looks like.
This profile is a snapshot of your company using the most recent details lodged with SSM, allowsing us to verify answers to some of our initial questions and can be purchased here.
We will also check MyData to confirm the company has filed returns as mentioned.
Contacting the current Company Secretary
We don’t always do it, but we may contact the existing CoSec if we feel there is reason to.
Some circumstances that might trigger this check include:
- switching CoSecs multiple times within a short time period
- switching after many years with the same CoSec
- being extremely critical of their current CoSec
In the event of a switch, we’ll have to get in touch with them for document handover anyways, so this just means saying hello sooner 🙂
Factors affecting our decision to take over
While we’d love to inherit perfect clients with spotless track records, we know a request to switch CoSecs means there’s probably going to be baggage.
So we take it on a case-by-case basis.
Based on the three main factors below, we identify visible and potentially hidden issues.
| Factor | Why It Matters |
| Annual Return & Financial Statement Filings | Late submissions can lead to penalties or compliance complications we need to address. |
| Directorship & Shareholding Structure / Nationality | Complex structures, especially involving foreign entities, carry higher risk of being used to mask true ownership or conduct illicit activities. |
| Years of Incorporation | Older companies are more likely to come with messy histories like missing documents, compliance issues, or abandoned obligations. |
Based on the factors above, we decide if the overall risk profile is something we can undertake.
The important thing here is that we consider the aggregate risk profile, so while one complication may be allowable, multiple issues likely means we have to decline.
Switch to MISHU as your Company Secretary
Like a happy marriage, a good Company Secretary stays with your business for life. If you’re unhappy with your current arrangement, get in touch with us and we’d be happy to start the due diligence process!