Evolving Company Technology: How Cybersecurity Affects Company Secretaries
Whether we deny it or not, technology has rapidly taken over the world in every aspect. People have been seeking new innovations throughout the years to ease their tasks while increasing efficiency and productivity at the same time.
Digital transformation and other use of new technology have also urged firms to shift to online platforms. These help them make their business processes more efficient and improve overall operational productivity. While technology can help your company, you must put in mind that there are risks at the same time and traditional security standards may not be sufficient anymore.
With this being mentioned, do not be surprised if there will be cyberattacks launched against your company. This makes cybersecurity one of the top priorities of every company implementing and using new technologies to improve their operations.
The businesses are not taking the concern lightly because poor cybersecurity can lead to a data breach, damage to reputation, and even loss in revenues. Expanding the knowledge of information technology and cybersecurity is something that corporate secretaries are now required to do in order to ensure cybersecurity.
Indeed, cybersecurity affects company secretaries now because of additional tasks.
Corporate Governance and Technology
The responsibilities—such as compliance, corporate governance, and risk management—of the company board and the corporate secretary in monitoring cybersecurity should be outlined properly. Understanding cybersecurity is necessary for coming up with company strategies related to the matter.
Increasing Capacity Role
The emergence of digital platforms has allowed corporate secretaries’ capacities to increase, making them more productive. For example, there are now digital meeting solutions that allow you to track and file documents and memorandum, among others. They are readily available for reference in the future.
These platforms are equipped with security models for document management such as permission-based access and audit trail to know who the participants in every transaction within the database are.
Ensuring a Secure Line of Communications
This should be one of the top priorities of a corporate secretary because, as they say, communication is a foundation of almost everything.
The traditional communication channels like e-mail are usually prone to hacking. Take note that sensitive data, including personal information and financial reports, may be breached due to cyberattacks. With this, it is necessary to make all the documents encrypted before sending via email or other digital platforms.
More Tasks of Company Secretaries
As mentioned, cybersecurity affects company secretaries because it is now among the top agenda they should push with the company’s board of directors.
Explaining to the Board the Importance of Cybersecurity
Corporate secretaries should be able to make time during meetings to discuss the matter whenever the need arises. In addition, they should be able to hire an expert on the matter and bring him or her to the boardroom to facilitate an insightful discussion regarding information technology and cybersecurity, among others.
It is important to discuss the matter in plain language to avoid alienating board members. You should be able to explain matters clearly so the board can also understand the importance of cybersecurity. Overly technical reports will only make your presentation difficult for the company to understand.
Studying the Matters Related to Cybersecurity and New Technologies
It will not hurt if the corporate secretary is tech-savvy. Because of this, they can better communicate the corresponding risks and rewards of adapting and incorporating new technologies with the current company system. Having knowledge of the technological trends relevant to the industry of a specific firm is actually beneficial. This is because corporate secretaries will be able to provide more informed advice.
If you are knowledgeable yet on the matter, it is advised to be part of a network with industry peers. This provides you with the opportunity to stay informed of the technological trends, providers, and regulators, among others.
Bigger roles
Because cybersecurity affects company secretaries, their roles have become even bigger today. Corporate secretaries are deemed strategic partners in delivering sustainable business operations with the use of technology while taking care of company governance. This has shown that the role of corporate secretaries has been evolving throughout time as technology shapes the business landscape. It is only expected for corporate secretaries to have a more dynamic role for the companies in the future.
Let us help you find corporate secretary services in Indonesia. Contact 3E Accounting today. Our top-notch team is more than willing to help you in every step of the way.
