Corporate Secretary vs. Administrative Assistant: What are the Differences between Corporate Secretary and Administrative Assistant?
The roles of corporate secretary and administrative assistant in Singapore have been used interchangeably, but the increase of task requirements in offices have made these two positions distinct these days. They both have similar jobs but the difference lies in how much work they do. Their responsibilities might be different from one another depending on the company. Because the responsibilities of administrative assistants are wider as they usually cover a wide range of office operations support. This is what constitutes the differences between a secretary and administrative assistant.
Office Secretary What Do They Do?
Their job includes paper filings, meeting organization, proofreading, talking to guests, etc. All of these have been talked about in-depth in the responsibilities of an office secretary. Also, an office secretary has legal duties and other roles, which have been included in the secretarial roles and responsibilities in Singapore.
An office secretary has predefined roles specified in the contract agreement. They generally don’t do more than what they have agreed to do. Office secretary, however, is a busy person, and one needs numerous skills to become a secretary. Hiring a secretary is a must in Singapore. The individual working as a secretary must be living in Singapore as a citizen, permanent resident or an employment pass holder, and they should be able to fulfil their duties.
Administrative Assistant Job Description
The administrative assistants work more than secretaries. They do everything that a secretary does and have more office roles. Administrative assistants help every people in the administration to do their jobs. For instance, the administrative assistant books flights for office executives. One thing to note is that sometimes, an office secretary can help the administrative assistant to do something because these roles depend on the office as they are not strictly defined.
The administrative assistant has decision making roles. They work independently, helping other executives and office personnel do their job. They can also lead other employees and know the preference of everyone around the company. Among the differences between a secretary and administrative assistant is that an administrative assistant will not be liable for the things that a secretary is as per the law. Still, we can confer than an administrative assistant also needs the skills as required by the secretary, and they should be more energetic as the former.
There are various differences between a corporate secretary and administrative assistant in Singapore, but one similarity is that they are both important assets for a company. A corporate requires active participation and an undeniable commitment from both, the company secretary and the administrative assistant to grow. However, startups tend to first get services from an office secretary and hire administrative assistants once the business gets bigger.
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Chai Chung Hoong, Account Manager
Chai Chung Hoong will assist you in all accounting related services, and help your company in digital transformation.
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