The changing role of company secretary

The changing role of company secretary and how to navigate it: Expert corporate governance insights from guest contributor Boglarka Radi

As a Chartered Governance Professional working as a Company Secretary and supporting the Board, I have seen just how much the governance landscape has changed. The role of company secretary has evolved so much in just a few years, becoming broader, more dynamic and at times, more demanding. But with that change has also come real opportunity: to influence, to adapt and to add even greater value to the organisations we support. 

For those who are working in this field, our work might not always make the headlines, but it is what quietly builds the foundation of trust and value in any business. And to me, it is something truly worth being part of.

I wanted to share a few of my own reflections and experiences, the challenges that have stood out, some lessons I have learned along the way and the ways I have seen our profession continue to adapt and grow.

We all felt it at least once throughout our careers that keeping up with regulatory changes is like running a marathon at sprint pace. There is always something new on the horizon, especially if you are one of those professionals who are also looking after multiple jurisdictions. Recently, the UK’s Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act has been the big one keeping many of us busy. 

The shift in the past years toward electronic filings and the appearance of different governance software have been both exciting and demanding for company secretaries. It is not only about learning new systems, educating stakeholders; it is about rethinking how we work so that these tools genuinely make our workload easier and a lot more efficient. Well, it can feel like a lot some days, but I also see how these changes reinforce the importance of what we, as governance professionals and company secretaries, do. We are often the steady hand working behind the scenes, the ones who are ensuring that everything connects and aligns. And while the work we do is not always visible, that quiet consistency is what keeps good governance strong.

It is also interesting how compliance for company secretaries has broadened. It is no longer about filing on time and ticking the necessary boxes. It now includes a growing list of regulatory areas. In my experience, this has made the company secretary’s role much more collaborative. We are not just ensuring the rules are followed; we are advising on how to incorporate them into the organisation’s culture. We are the bridge between the law and the realities of business, and that takes both technical knowledge and a fair bit of diplomacy.

Lastly, one of the biggest shifts I have seen in recent years is the growing focus on ESG matters. ESG matters are now a reporting requirement for many businesses.

Another part of the job that never gets easier, but always matters, is managing conflicting interests. There are times when it feels like you are in the middle, trying to balance shareholder expectations, board priorities and stakeholder concerns. All at once. The ability to understand different perspectives and maintain trust is one of the most underrated skills in governance, in my view.

Hybrid and remote models have changed how board meetings run, how stakeholders communicate and how information flows. Ensuring that the right information reaches the right people at the right time, especially when everyone is set in different locations, is really not easy. I have also seen how processes can slow us down or make our lives easier. I know that some governance professionals and company secretary teams are still working with legacy systems and manual tasks that make it hard to focus on the bigger picture. Therefore, changing and modernising the way we work, whether through digital board packs or AI-supported tools, is no longer a luxury. It’s a necessity, in my view. Technology has the potential to make governance a lot more efficient and insightful.

Despite these mentioned changes, or maybe because of them, I find it an incredibly exciting time to work in governance and support businesses in this capacity. The role of the company secretary and governance professionals continues to change, and with it comes more opportunity to influence, advise, and guide.

Good governance is not only about compliance, it is also about creating systems and a culture that help organisations act with integrity and purpose.

Boglarka is a chartered governance professional (FCG) and Doctoral Researcher in Corporate Governance and Business Ethics.