Career as Company Secretary

Introduction::

Globalization has led to the growth and expansion of corporate sector which resulted in the demand for specialized professionals known as Company Secretary. A company secretary is one who is responsible for efficient management of the corporate sector. He co-ordinates various departments of the organization, ensures compliance of company legislations and advises directors on statutory requirements of the company. Apart from this, he also looks after finance, accounts, legal, personnel and administrative functions.

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India is constituted under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980, to develop and regulate the profession of Company Secretaries in India. To qualify as a Company Secretary, you have to undergo three stages:

• Foundation Course
• Intermediate Course
• Final Course
The revised curriculum of the CS programme includes topics like English, Business Communications, Basic Economics and Business Environment, Financial Accounting, General and Commercial Law, Management Accounting, Company Law, Management Information Systems and Corporate Secrertarial Practice relating to economic laws and drafting, Corporate Restructuring – law and practice, Banking and Insurance – law and practice, World Trade Organisation – International Trade, Joint Ventures and Foreign Collaborations, Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations.

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India has its headquarters at New Delhi and four regional offices at Calcutta, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. The Institute has four Regional Councils and under their jurisdiction there are thirty-six Chapters:

• Eastern Region: Bhubaheshwar, Guwahati, Jamshedpur, Patna, Ranchi
• Northern Region: Chandigarh, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Modinagar, Noida (U P), Shimla, and Udaipur
• Southern Region: Bangalore, Coimbatore, Cochin, Hyderabad, Madurai, Mangalore, Mysore, Pondicherry, Tiruchirapalli, Thiruvananthapuram, and Vishakapatnam
• Western Region: Ahmedabad, Bhopal, Dombivli, Goa, Indore, Nagpur, Pune, Surat, and Vadodara.
In addition the Institute has 16 Satellite Chapters, located at Agra, Allahabad, Gurgaon, Jodhpur, Meerut, Beawar, Yamuna Nagar, Varanasi, Bhilwara, Bareilly, Dharwad, Kottayam, Thrissur, Vijayawada, Nasik, Raipur.

Nature of Work:

Company Secretaryship is a well paid career option. If you are employed in public and private sector, you can expect 10,000 to 15,000 per month at junior level and 30,000 to 35,000 at senior level. In foreign companies, you gain even higher. You can also get good returns by privately practicing C.S but it depends upon the number of clients you have.

Thus the career course of a Company Secretary is not only prestigious but also financially rewarding. And the post of Company Secretary is considered as a respectable and most important one in the hierarchy.

Eligibilty:

To gain entry in the Foundation Course, the minimum eligibility is a pass in 10+2 examination or its equivalent in any stream. A pass in the Foundation Course Examination of the ICSI/Graduation degree or a Master’s degree/Pass in ICWAI, ICAI can allow you entry in the intermediate course. Once you pass the Intermediate Course, you automatically become eligible for entry in the Final Course. On passing the Final examination of ICSI, you are required to undergo a practical training after which, you will be completely eligible for the Associate Membership of ICSI. The examinations are held regularly in June and December every year. Study materials are provided at the time of admission.