Traditionally, the company secretary’s primary purpose has been squarely focused on corporate governance, but in today’s modern business environment, the corporate secretary wears many different hats. Now they play a role in compliance management, document management, information security, training, record keeping, and even long-term business planning.
To fulfill all of these critical roles, the corporate secretary needs the right combination of applications and tools, but therein lies a question: What is the ideal technology stack for a company secretary?
In any case, if you want to ensure the person that fills the role of corporate secretary is empowered to succeed, the insights below will help you establish the quintessential tech stack.
Signs Your Tech Stack Is Undermining Corporate Governance
Before we shift our attention to the attributes of a winning tech stack, it is important to recognize the signs of an inadequate tech suite. If it has the wrong components in place, it could undermine your corporate governance processes and make life excessively difficult for your company secretary.
Some signs to look for that indicate an inefficient tech stack include the following:
An Overreliance on Manual Processes
An overreliance on manual processes is the most obvious indicator that your corporate secretary’s tech stack needs an upgrade. If your secretary spends hours each week filing and tracking down physical documents, it is time to make a change.
Replacing manual processes and antiquated tools will benefit the company secretary and the entire organization. With modern technologies at their disposal, the secretary will be able to address shifting compliance requirements, help the business preserve its brand image, and streamline governance-related functions.
Lack of Data Visibility from Too Many Applications
Your current tech stack is very likely lacking if the total number of applications your corporate secretary uses on a daily basis is in the double digits; that is, having more than ten disparate solutions at once.
A lack of data visibility is symptomatic of an excessive amount of contrasting applications. When data is input into several platforms, and those applications do not communicate, silos will form. Before you know it, your corporate secretary — and potentially a large chunk of your administrative team — will be engaged in an entity management scavenger hunt.
Fortunately, the right tech stack can provide unparalleled clarity to your entity data, meaning your corporate secretary will be able to access the data they need to support compliance and governance initiatives. Ideally, you’ll want a unified platform that includes multiple applications and tools in a consolidated location, as such a solution will promote efficiency and help your company secretary streamline their compliance management processes.
Key Attributes of a Great Tech Stack for Corporate Secretaries
When searching for a new tech stack for your corporate secretary, ensure that it includes the following attributes:
Scalability
Scalability is one of the most important aspects of a technology stack for company secretaries. A scalable solution will be able to grow with your business and evolve as the role of the secretary continues to change.
When assessing the scalability of a platform, ensure that it is cloud-based while also determining whether you can integrate additional tools or modules into the solution as your needs change.
A User-Friendly Interface
The corporate secretary already juggles a plethora of responsibilities, so the last thing they need is an overly-complex tech stack that is tedious to use.
To assess the usability of a prospective solution, book a demonstration with its provider and include the company secretary in the discussion. After all, there is no one better to decide whether a platform is a good fit than the person who will use it daily.
Automation Tools
The role of the corporate secretary becomes more complex by the year. Today, the company secretary manages a wide range of responsibilities, from board member training to compliance and governance functions. The best and brightest even play a key role in strategic planning processes.
In other words, modern corporate secretaries are multifaceted individuals with many talents, but they often get bogged down with redundant administrative tasks. Remedying the issue necessitates that you choose a technology stack that is laden with automation tools. The secretary can use these capabilities to automate the more redundant aspects of their work and devote their talents to more dynamic processes.
A Single Source of Truth
Replacing an antiquated tech stack with a new set of equally disparate tools will not solve your corporate governance challenges. In fact, such a move can end up exacerbating existing hurdles and putting undue stress on your corporate secretary.
Instead, find a platform that serves as a single source of truth for your entity data. An all-in-one entity management system will serve as a secure repository for your data, thereby putting an end to unpleasant scavenger hunts and expediting decision-making processes as well.
Integrations
The best entity management solutions will replace a large portion of your corporate secretary’s technology stack, but they may still need to use a few complementary systems to fulfill all of their compliance management and corporate governance responsibilities.
With that in mind, it is critical that you choose an integration-friendly platform that can communicate and share data with your other technologies. Find out whether the developer offers APIs to leading business platforms and also ascertain whether they offer any personalized integration support.
Empower Your Corporate Secretary with Athennian
For a corporate governance solution that checks all the boxes for your company secretary, Athennian is the answer. As the leading corporate technology solution for enterprise-grade organizations, Athennian is filled with tools designed to simplify compliance, governance, and entity management.
Athennian proudly serves clients across a wide range of industries, including power generation, finance, legal, manufacturing, healthcare, and more. Schedule your demo, today.
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