SECRETARIES MEET

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22247, 23 October 1935, Page 16

SECRETARIES MEET

WORK OP INSTITUTE FOUR YEARS' PROGRESS ANNUAL MEETING HELD Members from many parts of the Dominion attended the fourth annual meeting of the New Zealand Institute of Secretaries, held in Auckland yesterday under the presidency of Mr. E. A : Wallace, of Wellington. The annual report, presented at the business meeting, held at the Hotel Cargen, showed that the membership of the institute at June 30 was 687, made up of 528 fellows and 159 associates. At the end of the previous year there had been 695 members, 533 being fellows and 162 associates. Mr. Wallace was elected president for the third successive year. It was stated that the ballot to fill .three vacancies in the council had resulted in the re-election of Messrs. J. A. Sheriff (Auckland), G. X. Boulton ("Wanganui), and J. Annand-Smitli (Wellington). It was decided to hold the next annual meeting in Dunedin. ' System of Examinations

The good work accomplished by members in assiting students and examinees during the past year was commented upon by Mr. Wallace in his presidential address, delivered at a dinner after the meeting. Mr. Wallace said members woud be pleased to know that during the past few months there had been an unusual number of applications from very desirable young men to sit for the institute's examinations. He paid a tribute to the assistance rendered by the various commercial colleges.' Referring to the code of ethics which had been approved and adopted by the council, Mr. Wallace said it was essential that a high standard of professional rectitude should be maintained by the members of the institute. " I am exceedingly pleased to say," he continued, " that during the years the institute has been established, _we have not been called upon to pass judgment upon any of our members for unprofessional conduct." . . Mr. Wallace presented the institute with a bronze bell upon a polished wood stand as a trophy for general activity and efficiency, to be competed for by the chapters during the next 10 years. The trophy was accepted by Mr. D. L. Bone, chairman of the Auckland chapter. Efforts for Recognition Mr. T. U. Wells, president of Auckand University College and chairman of the Auckland Education Board, in proposing the toast of the institute, congratulated members upon the progress made, and assured them that they had the sympathy of many people in their efforts to raise the calling of secretary t-o the rank of a profession. Mr. Alan Smith, of Wellington, replying, said the institute was gradually gaining the recognition it sought. Mr. J. S. Barton, S.M., who was a member of the institute as one of those engaged in the revision of the Companies Act, had secured some recognition of secretaries in the new measure. The council had approached the Minister of Finance, Mr. Coates, in regard to the status of qualified secretaries under the Act, and as a result the Government was definitely interested in the profession. In time it would undoubtedly gain an assured standing Mr. G. J. Park, director of the Seddon Memorial Technical College, responding to the toast of the guests, proposed by Mr. W. M. Barton, chairman of the institute's council, said it was gratifying that the institute desired closer relations with educationists. The shaping of school courses to meet the needs of pupils desiring to qualify as secretaries would, he was sure, be carefully considered. He hoped that the institute, on its part, would adapt its examinations in some measure to suit the school courses. In particular, he would suggest that it should not require matriculation as a preliminary, but should accept the school leaving certificate or some other examination more suited to modern needs. The president remarked that this matter had been discussed by the council a few hours earlier, and Mr. Park's advice was most welcome. ADDRESS TO MEMBERS

DUTY TO STOCK EXCHANGE IMPORTANT OBLIGATIONS _ The duties of company secretaries to the Stock- Exchange were" outlined by Mr. W. M. Barton, secretary of. the Auckland Stock Exchange, when he addressed members of the Auckland chapter of the New Zealand Institute of Secretaries at Milne and Choree's Reception Hall yesterday. Mr. D. L. Bone, chairman of the Auckland chapter, presided. The guests included Mr. G. Creagh, president of the Auckland Stock Exchange; Mr. J. W. Frater, vice-presi-dent; Mr. H. R. Rodwell, actingprofessor of economics at the Auckland University College; Mr. L. Yardley, manager of the International Correspondence Schools; Mr. E. A. Wallace, of Wellington, president of the New Zealand Institute of Secretaries; and delegates to the annual convention of the institute in Auckland. In welcoming the guests, Mr. Bone referred to the fact that the convention was being held in Auckland for the first time. He also mentioned the importance of members strongly supporting the governing body. For Stock Exchange purposes companies were divided into two groups, listed and unlisted companies, Mr. Barton said. The official list was a very much more comprehensive thing than that which was familiarly known in Auckland. However, for the purposes of the Auckland Exchange a list was •published, and there was also an unofficial list, known to brokers as the " yellow peril." Listing implied an obligation on the company to do onrtain things, notably to supply to the Exchange returns and balance-sheets at the same time as they were sent to shareholders. In this respect difficulty was sometimes experienced, and the obligation was one that secretaries should remember. Notification of the closing of transfer books, and also of all dividends, returns and other information likely to be of interest to the investing public, was also required. This information was vital, for in its possession lay the power of the Exchange to make a correct market. Mr. Barton said ho know that a lot of the shortcomings in this respect were due to ignorance. In many cases the secretaries who signed the documents when the companies were first listed were no longer associated with the concerns, and the men who had replaced them did not realise these important obligations.