Card Index.

66

SECRETARIAL PRACTICE
safeguard a loose-leaf register the sheets should be numbered
serially and a record kept of the number of every sheet taken
from stock for use in the register. The printers of the sheets
would supply a certificate of the number of sheets in each
supply order, and the auditors would check off from it the
sheets used.

Another method is to have an index-book to the share
register containing such particulars of the proprietors as to
minimise the necessity for reference to the register itself.
A form of Index to Share Register, showing the particulars
it may contain, will be found in Appendix F (Form 30).

A very useful system is the card-index which has been
introduced by many companies, a form of which is also given
(Form 31).

The card index, though containing very full particulars,
must not be allowed to take the place of the share register,
as it would be obviously improper, and might, unless the
cards contained all the particulars required to be con-
tained in the register, be illegal solely to rely on loose
cards for so important a purpose, so that while all
particulars are entered in the register for safety, most of
them are reproduced on the cards for easv reference and
handling.

It will be observed that the card comprises at a glance full
particulars of the proprietor’s holding in the several classes
of shares or stock, together with his full name, original and
altered addresses (if any), instructions with regard to dividend,
and any other matters of a like nature, with a file number, if
the filing system is numerical, where any correspondence
relating to his account may be found, and the number of the
folio where his account may be found on the share register.

In the ordinary course the alteration to the card in regard
to the proprietor’s holding is not done in the same detail as
in the share register. Supposing, for example, that several
transfers are dealt with on one date, while they are, of course,
posted severally into the register, the card will show simply
the date and the total value of the several transfers either
into or out of the account as the case may be. It is useful
to provide a third column under each heading, where the
balance of the account may be entered after every operation.

An important point to note is the facility with which any
particular work can be accomplished with the cards; for
example, in the event of the directors requiring the urgent
dispatch of a circular to the stockholders, the cards may be
divided into small quantities among several members of the
staff for the purpose of addressing the necessary envelopes,