Gauri Chhabra
The financial Tsunami that hit the Wall Street and spread across worlda couple of years ago has taught us two lessons- first the organizations need to change the way they do business; second and more important they need to show their balance sheet items in a more credible and transparent manner to rebuild the faith of the share- holders. Ironically, the people at the helm of affairs are either too pre occupied taking acre of the top line activities or lack the expertise to dive into the legal and statutory compliances that change from time to time.
Therefore, a lacuna is created…
The profile that fills this lacuna is that of a company Secretary (CS).He ensures a company’s legal & regulatory complianceand is supposed to guide the board of the company on governance issues during shareholders meetings, and meetings of directors. He also establishes a link between the board & stakeholders like shareholders, deposit holders, stock exchanges & regulators. He is the one who makes sure the companies walk the straight and the narrow when it comes to compliance with legal and regulatory matters.
The role of a company secretary has taken a paradigm shift. From a traditional role that was limited to providing support to the board of directors and managing administrative affairs of an organization today it has graduated to taking care of corporate governance. This shift has catapulted into an ever increasing demand for Company Secretaries escalating it in value chain and stature.A Company Secretary has to undergo extensive training and in the process, he gets associated with Law and administration.
Thus ,the Company Secretary is:
* An in-house legal expert; a compliance officer of the Company.
* An expert in corporate laws, securities laws & capital market and corporate governance
* Chief advisor to the board of directors on best practices in corporate governance
* Responsible for all regulatory compliances of company
* Corporate planner and strategic manager
The Threshold:
The Company Secretary Course is offered by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI)
ICSI imparts training in Company Secretaryship by Distance Learningenabling students to qualify as Company Secretaries. The Institute provides “Course Material” for all the subjects at the time of Registration. There is also provision for Optional Oral Coaching classes.
In order to be a Company Secretary, you need to graduate through 3 stagesviz ,the foundation stage, the intermediate stage and the final stage. You can join the foundation course after completing your 10+2 and then move on to the intermediate level of the course. Alternatively, you can complete you graduation, post-graduation or any other professional qualification to seek admission directly into the intermediate stage.
Foundation Stage:
The Foundation Course, of 8 months duration(excluding admission and examination) can be taken up after10+2. You would be required to pass the foundation examination within three years from the date of admission. The subjects you ought to study are
English and Business Communication,
Economics and Business Environment
Financial Accounting,Elements of Business Laws and Management and Information Systems and Quantitative Techniques.
Intermediate Stage or Executive Program:
The next rung of the ladder, the Intermediate Course, of 9 months duration (excluding admission and examination) can be taken either after the Foundation Course or you can also directly enroll for it in case you have graduated or post graduated from ICWAI or ICAI or any other recognized accountancy institution in India or abroad. The subjects you would be studying are divided into 2 groups. In the first group you will have General and Commercial Laws, Company Accounts and Cost & Management Accounting,Tax Laws , Management Information Systems and Corporate Communication . In Group II, you will have Company Law, Company Secretarial Practice, Economic, Labor and Industrial Law, Securities Laws and Regulation of Financial Markets.
Final Stage or Professional Program:
The final stage of the company secretary course imparts training on a wide variety of niche disciplines like Advanced Company Law and Practice
Secretarial Practice,
Secretarial Management and Systems Audit
Financial, Treasury and Foreign Exchange Management
Corporate Restructuring-Law and Practice
Banking and Insurance-Law and Practice, WTO-International Trade, Joint Venture ,Direct and Indirect Taxation-Law and Practice and Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations
Hands on:
In order to hone Communication skills and get an actual hands on into the working of the corporate sector, students will have to undergo short term training programs at the intermediate stage and after the final stage. Besides, you will have to acquire practical training after completing the intermediate or final level examination to obtain an Associate Membership of ICSI. The 15 months Management Trainingcan be completed in companies sponsored by ICSI or under the guidance of a practicing company secretary.
Henceforth, you can get yourself admitted as an Associate Company Secretary.
Admission:
Admission to the CS Course is open throughout the year. Examinations are held twice a year in June & December.Cut off dates for admission to CS course:
For Foundation Program 31st March for appearing in December Examination in the same year
30th September for June Examination next year
For Executive Program 28th February for December Exams in the same year
31st August for June Exam next year
Skillset Required:
Company Secretary ship requires good Communication skills apart from good judgmental quality, general awareness and good managerial skills. You also need to be deeply grounded in in accountancy, secretarial practice and an undying thirst for knowledge.
The Road Ahead:
The road for Company Secretary is ever escalating and on a fast track. As per the Companies Act, 1956, every company that has a paid-up share capital of Rs 2 crores or above has to employ a full time company secretary. Hence, there are ample career opportunities for company secretaries in various sectors across the nation.
As a qualified company secretary, you can find good positionsboth in the private sector and public sectors. You can also look for openings in stock exchanges, the Department of Company Affairs, company law boards and various government departments. The larger the company and the wide, its field activity, the better is the remuneration.
Remuneration and Pay Scale:
Even in the throes of recession, a fresh Company Secretary’s annual salary is Rs 3 lakh-Rs 4 lakh on an average, as compared to Rs 5 lakh-Rs 6 lakh till about two years ago during campus placements. Company secretaries with 4-5 years of experience make Rs 25 lakh to Rs 1 crore a year in large corporate houses and multi-national companies, as per ICSI figures. Compensation, of course, depends on an individual’s performance and varies from one sector to another.
With the world becoming flat, to borrow Friedman’s phrase, there is a plethora of opportunities for Company Secretaries in the wake of mergers and joint ventures becoming the order of the day. However, the course is based on the Companies Act 1956, which has its heredity in the Indian legal and political system and does not have much relevance outside India.
Not to be disheartened, a qualified company secretary may nevertheless find employment opportunities similar to those available to business graduates in the USA, Australia UK or other European countries
Roles and Responsibilities:
The Company Secretary wears multiple hats and performs many roles:
Advisory: As a Company Secretary, you may not only provide secretarial assistance to the board but also provide them with expert advice in many respects.
As a legal advisor, you may have to provide assistance to the company in case of any legal matter and ensure that the company complies with the statutory and bureaucratic directives of company, security and corporate laws. You may also advise the company board when existing corporate policies are brought up for review from time-to-time.
Administrative and Managerial: Donning the administrative hat, you may have to monitor the general administrative activities of the company. They are responsible for the safekeeping of all legal and other confidential documents of the company including managing all aspects of corporate meetings be it board meetings, annual general meetings, interaction with important clients and vendors, meetings with government and private delegations. They may also have to take up the responsibility to manage corporate events and manage clients.
Donning the Managerial hat, you may be required to manage the fiscal details of the company. The assessment of tax, filing of tax organizations, dealing with corporate banks and actively participating in important investment decisions.
Those with an entrepreneurial instinct can go in for an independent practice.
Whichever forking pathway you choose, career as a company secretary is like scripting glory after an arduous three stage climb. Once you reach the summit , your career is on a fast track. So start now…
For any queries, you may contact gauri_nagpal@yahoo.com
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