According to the Bar Council, one of the professional bodies that attended a recent engagement session with SSM officials, the regulator raised serious concerns regarding the persistently low compliance rates in this matter.

The regulator pointed to the submission of annual returns, audited financial statements and declarations of beneficial ownership, and issued a timeline and corresponding actions to be taken.

Professional bodies whose members are acting as company secretaries, have been told that companies must submit the required documents by the end of this month.

In July, SSM will issue show-cause letters pursuant to Section 238 of the Companies Act (CA) 2016 to non-compliant company secretaries, which may result in the revocation of their practising certificates.

“In August, enforcement action will be taken through the issuance of compounds under Section 259(1) of the Companies Act 2016 against company officers, including directors and company secretaries, for failure to submit annual returns,” the Bar Council quoted the SSM as saying.

The Bar Council said a number of these non-compliant companies have lawyers acting as company secretaries.

“Lawyers who serve as company secretaries are hereby reminded of the compliance measures to be implemented by SSM, in its effort to improve the submission rate of statutory documents,” it said.

The council urged all members involved to communicate proactively with company directors and stakeholders to avoid breaches, and to take immediate compliance steps to avoid enforcement action by SSM.

“Members are reminded that they are not only bound by the Companies Act 2016, but are also held to the standards of professional conduct expected of legal practitioners,” said the council.