Company secretary
The main purpose of company secretaries is to ensure that the company complies with all legal codes, performing duties often attributed to legal advisors. The job entails a wide variety of duties that may vary depending on who a company secretary ends up working for.
Most Company secretaries work for individual corporations. Their main purpose is to specialize in that particular company’s departments and make sure they are working in accordance with the laws of the land. However, some experienced company secretaries prefer working on a freelance basis, being contracted for short periods by different companies.
Their work generally involves organizing large amounts of data collected from various departments of the company. They must take responsibility for overseeing various aspects of the daily operations of a company, including the safety of employees, their insurance coverage, corporate social responsibility programs, accounting, and tax-related matters, and much more
The job is rather holistic in nature, and so most company secretaries are not limited to a particular department. Rather, they look at each aspect of the company they are working with or working for, depending on their contract.
In terms of qualifications, they are generally required to have the same qualifications as chartered accountants. This may include certification from the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants. While a master’s degree is not a requirement, it is considered a welcome bonus when applying for competitive jobs in reputable firms.
Career Path
There is a three-stage professional examination of a company secretaryship course i.e. foundation, executive, and professional. Students who have passed senior secondary (10 2 or equivalent) examination of a board/university constituted by an Indian law or any examination recognized by the central government as equivalent, are eligible to join the CS foundation program. All graduates and postgraduates (excluding fine arts) need not go through the foundation program and can directly seek registration to the executive program stage of the CS course.
After clearing the executive/professional program, one needs to complete 15 months of training in a company or under a practicing CS. Additionally, one has to undergo 15 days of training with the Registrar of Companies, stock exchanges, and specified regulators and 15 days compulsory Management Skills Orientation Programme (MSOP). After the professional course and training, one becomes eligible to be an associate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India, (ICSI). One can be in employment or start his/her own practice
Criteria –
Entrance Test
Job Roles –
- convening and servicing annual general meetings (AGMs)/meetings (producing agendas, taking minutes, conveying decisions, handling meeting correspondence, and so on)
- providing legal, financial, and/or strategic advice during and outside of meetings
- training directors and members of the senior leadership team on corporate governance matters
- keeping up to date with any regulatory or statutory changes and policies that might affect the organization
- ensuring that policies are up to date and are approved
- providing support to the board or other committees on specific projects
- in public companies, acting as a point of contact and building good relationships with shareholders
- implementing processes or systems to help ensure good management of the organization or compliance with legislation
- writing reports
- collating information.