176 SECRETARIAL PRACTICE 
Miscel- 
laneous. 
first thing to do is to stop the payment of the warrant at the 
bankers of the company. After instituting due enquiries 
with a view to satisfying the board that the warrant has 
not been passed through the company’s account, and that 
the statement made by the shareholder is, so far as can be 
ascertained, correct, a form of indemnity is sent to the 
shareholder, and upon this being signed, a duplicate warrant 
is issued, the indemnity of course being carefully preserved. 
[f the warrant is for a sum less than £5 no stamp is necessary 
on the indemnity, but if for a sum of £5 or more the indemnity 
must be signed across a sixpenny stamp (see Form 32). 
There are other aspects of the accountant’s work of which 
the modern secretary who wants to be really abreast of his 
work should have at least some knowledge. These include 
the law and custom in regard to cheques and negotiable 
instruments, and also that relating to income tax, and 
sur-tax, sur-tax having been substituted for super-tax 
for the year 1929-30 and subsequent years by the Finance 
Act, 1927. 
Another subject of which the secretary should have some 
knowledge is the method of collecting debts due to his com- 
pany, either by the ordinary methods of business, or by 
legal process, and he will probably find it distinctly advisable 
to provide that his office organisation includes an adequate 
system for obtaining full information, through trade or 
banking channels, or through credit enquiry agencies, with 
regard to the credit and standing of actual or prospective 
customers or clients. 
As the officer responsible for obtaining the authority of the 
board where necessary, the secretary should take particular 
care to see that every accounting transaction which does not 
come within the ordinary routine of his company’s business 
is covered by a duly recorded minute of the board. Appro- 
priations to or from reserve or depreciation funds, the purchase 
or sale of investments, the writing off of bad debts, and various 
other transactions not of an ordinary character which are 
certain to arise in the history of any company, should all be 
authorised by the minutes of the board. 
It is the usual practice now for auditors to require minutes 
on such points as these to be produced for their inspection, but 
whether asked for or not they should be in the minute book. 
The record contained in the minute book, duly confirmed 
by the chairman’s signature, is a protection not only. for 
himself but also for the staff working under him, and the 
secretary owes a duty to himself and his staff as well as to 
his board of directors.