A secretary appointment gap review should establish the actual appointment position when one service engagement ends before another provider starts. Tell the responsible director promptly and give the secretary or adviser the relevant dates and documents. A commercial service end date should not automatically be treated as proof of formal cessation or a replacement appointment.

Hands signing a document at an office desk
Illustrative photograph by Pavel Danilyuk.

Establish the separate dates

Collect the existing engagement, termination or renewal correspondence, appointment records and any proposed replacement arrangement. Record what each date describes. Keep a draft proposal separate from an accepted engagement and from an actual company record.

Do not backdate a new document or infer consent from a provider saying that onboarding is in progress. Ask the responsible reviewer to confirm the applicable current process.

Identify urgent work

List upcoming filings, official correspondence, outstanding approvals and original-document custody. Assign an authorised contact to keep those items visible during the review. An unresolved appointment question does not make an imminent notice disappear.

Clarify what the outgoing provider remains authorised and engaged to do. Do not assume that access to a former contact’s email establishes authority to submit a filing on the company’s behalf.

Example: the new provider awaits documents

The outgoing service period has ended, while the incoming provider has not completed its acceptance checks. Give the director a specific list of missing items and the responsible owners. Mark the status accurately rather than reporting that a new secretary is already in place.

Close through verified records

Retain the genuine appointment or cessation evidence and any applicable filing outcome after the adviser confirms the process. Keep the service handover and document-custody check separate. This checklist supports prompt escalation and does not prescribe a universal grace period for every gap.

Related practical guidance

For the surrounding records and responsibilities, see maintaining statutory records, the company secretary role, company recordkeeping.

Official guidance: ACRA company guidance.

Help with your company records

For corporate secretarial and company administration support, contact Raffles Corporate Services at [email protected] or WhatsApp +65 8501 7133. Tell us which records or process need attention so we can discuss the relevant next steps.