Company Secretary Services in Malaysia
What company secretary services cover, how much they cost, and how to choose the right provider for your Sdn Bhd.
If you run a Sdn Bhd in Malaysia, you are legally required to have a company secretary. This is not a suggestion — it is a statutory obligation under Section 236 of the Companies Act 2016. Operating without one is an offence that can result in fines for both the company and its directors.
Yet many SME owners treat the company secretary as a background cost they pay without understanding what the service involves, what they should expect, or how to tell a good cosec from a bad one.
What Does a Company Secretary Actually Do?
Statutory Filings with SSM
Lodging annual returns within 30 days of your incorporation anniversary, filing changes to company details, and submitting audited financial statements through MBRS. Missing deadlines can result in fines up to RM50,000.
Maintaining Statutory Registers
Every Sdn Bhd must maintain the Register of Members, Register of Directors, Register of Secretaries, and Register of Charges. Your cosec maintains and updates these as changes occur.
Board Resolutions and Minutes
Opening bank accounts, appointing directors, declaring dividends, and approving contracts all require board resolutions. Your cosec prepares, circulates, and files these.
Compliance Monitoring
A good cosec proactively tracks deadlines — annual return dates, financial statement filings, director appointment renewals — and reminds you before things become overdue. This is arguably the most valuable part of the service.
Corporate Governance Advisory
Share transfers, shareholding changes, allotment of new shares, company name changes, and strike-off applications — your cosec advises on process and handles the SSM filings.
Registered Office Address
Many cosec firms include use of their office as your company’s registered address. This is standard practice in Malaysia and usually included in the service package.
What Cosec Services Do NOT Include
A company secretary is not your accountant — they do not do bookkeeping, management accounts, or tax filings. They are not your lawyer — they cannot represent you in court. And they are not your business advisor — their role is compliance and governance, not strategy. Some firms bundle accounting, tax, and cosec together, which can be cost-effective — but make sure you understand what is included and what is charged separately.
How Much Do Company Secretary Services Cost?
Standard ongoing services: RM100 – RM300 per month (or RM1,200 – RM3,000 per year)
This typically includes: maintaining statutory records, filing annual returns, preparing routine board resolutions, providing a registered office address, and compliance reminders.
Non-routine work (charged separately): share transfers, constitution changes, new share allotments, director changes, company name changes, strike-off applications — typically RM200 to RM1,000 per transaction.
The cheapest option is not always the best value. A company secretary who charges RM80 per month but is unresponsive, misses filing deadlines, or fails to prepare resolutions when needed will cost you far more in penalties and frustration than one who charges RM200 per month and does the job properly.
How to Choose a Company Secretary
Check their qualifications. A company secretary must be a member of MAICSA, MIA, or hold an SSM licence. Ask to see their practising certificate. An unqualified secretary cannot legally act for your company, and filings they make could be invalid.
Ask about their capacity. Some practitioners handle hundreds of companies with minimal staff. This leads to missed deadlines and poor communication. Ask how many companies they serve and how many staff they have.
Test their responsiveness. Contact them with a question before engaging and see how long they take to respond. If it takes three days before they have your business, it will only get worse after. Responsiveness is the most common complaint about company secretaries in Malaysia.
Understand the handover process. If switching from another cosec, the transition involves a formal resignation and appointment. A good firm handles the entire process including liaison with the outgoing secretary to obtain all company records.
Get fee transparency upfront. Ask for a clear schedule — what is included in the retainer and what is charged separately. Get it in writing. If a firm is vague about pricing, that is a red flag.
When to Change Your Company Secretary
Consider switching if you experience consistently late filings, difficulty reaching them, inability to explain your compliance status when asked, unexpected charges that were not disclosed upfront, or a general sense that your records are not being properly maintained.
Changing is straightforward — the new cosec firm handles the transition including the resignation letter, SSM filing, and record handover. The process usually takes one to two weeks.
For a deeper look at the role, see our article on what a company secretary actually does and why your Sdn Bhd cannot operate without one.
Need a Company Secretary?
Whether you are incorporating a new company and need your first cosec appointment, or you are unhappy with your current provider and want to switch — we can connect you with qualified, responsive professionals.