Company Secretarial Practice and COBE Act Compliance

Every registered company in Zimbabwe has legal duties that do not stop once it is incorporated: annual returns, accurate registers, beneficial ownership disclosure, properly made decisions, and directors who understand what the law expects of them. When these are neglected, companies face penalties, blocked transactions, failed tenders, frozen bank accounts and even deregistration, and directors can face personal liability.

This course gives you a practical command of company secretarial practice and compliance under the Companies and Other Business Entities Act [Chapter 24:31] (the COBE Act). It is designed for company secretaries and assistants, accountants, business owners, directors, legal and compliance staff, and anyone who keeps a company’s statutory affairs in order. The first lesson of each module covers the basics for those new to the subject.

What you will learn

• How the COBE Act and the Companies Registry work, including the electronic registry and re-registration
• The role of the company secretary and how to keep constitutive documents and statutory registers
• Directors’ appointment, duties, the business judgment rule, and conflicts of interest
• How to run shareholder and board meetings, pass resolutions and keep minutes
• Annual returns, changes of particulars, beneficial ownership filings, financial records, and how to avoid penalties and deregistration

How the course works

There are five modules, each with four lessons and a short quiz. You need 70% on each quiz to complete the course and earn your certificate.

Important

This course reflects the law and Registry practice as at October 2026. Filing periods, forms, fees and penalties can change through amendments and regulations, and Registry practice develops over time. Always confirm current requirements with the Companies Registry, and take legal advice on specific transactions.

About figures in this course

Rates, thresholds, time limits and penalties are shown as examples of the law as at 2026, not fixed rules, and are expected to change. Lessons focus on principles and procedures, worked examples are labelled as 2026 figures for illustration, and the figures are collected in one Course reference table at the end of the final lesson. Always confirm the current position through official channels such as the Registrar of Companies, the Government Gazette or a registered chartered secretary or legal practitioner.