Opportunities as a Company Secretary

Rahul Lahkar, INN/Banglore, @raulasap735

The market demand for this career is on the upswing.  There is tremendous growth opportunity in this profession along with excellent remuneration. 

This is a coveted position and rapidly gaining popularity amongst youngsters who want to make it big in the corporate world.

The Companies Act, 2013 Act confers a special status to Company Secretary as the Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) and has bracketed him along with Managing Director (MD) or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or Manager, Whole-time director(s) or Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

It is mandatory for every  listed company and every other public company as well as private company having a paid up share capital of 10 crore rupees or more is required to appoint a whole time company secretary under the Companies Act, 2013.

The company secretaries have also been empowered as secretarial auditor under section 204 of the Companies Act, 2013.

For the first time in our country, the Company Secretaries are recognized as advisors to the Board on the affairs of the Company and all matters to ensure good Corporate Governance by the Act itself.

They are also required to guide the Board on its own role, responsibilities and duties.

Apart from these a Company Secretary also has role under Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) laws, corporate and economic laws, taxation laws, GST, Insolvency Laws, appearing before tribunals like NCLT/NCLAT, Consumer Protection Act, Depositories Act, Competition Act, Labour and Industrial laws, Intellectual Property Laws, advising on risk management, Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability Reporting, etc.

Course details: 

The Company Secretary Course comprises of following three stages and a compulsory training requirement-

	Programmes	Eligibility	Fee Details**	Cut off Dates for Registration*		Subjects
	CS Executive Entrance Test (CSEET)*	Students who have passed Senior Secondary Examination (10+2 pattern) or appearing in Senior Secondary Examination (10+2) with the condition of submitting 12th pass proof at the time of Executive Programme registration	` 1,000/-	Registration between •  16th December to 15th April Saturday/ Sunday in 2nd /3rd Week of May •  16th April to 15th June Saturday/ Sunday in 2nd /3rd Week of July •  16th June to 15th October Saturday/Sunday in 2nd /3rd Week of November • 16th October to 15th December Saturday/Sunday in 2nd /3rd Week of January		•    Computer Based Test 1.     Business Communication 2.     Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning 3.     Economic and Business Environment 4.     Current Affairs •    Viva-voce: Presentation And Communication Skills
	CS Executive Programme	•  CS Executive Entrance Test (CSEET) Passed students, • CS Foundation Programme Passed students •  ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) Final Course Passed students, •  ICMAI (The Institute of Cost Accountants of India) Final Course Passed students.	` 8,500/- CSEET Qualified Students / CS Foundation Pass Student ` 13,500/- For ICAI / ICMAI Final Course Passed students (In addition ` 1,000/- payable for Pre-Examination Test fee & ` 600/- for one day orientation program fee)	• 31st May (eligible to appear in both Modules of Executive Programme in December examination of the same year) • 31st July (eligible to appear in only One Module of Executive Programme in December examination of the same year) • 30th November (eligible to appear in both Modules of Executive Programme in June examination of the next year) • 31st January (eligible to appear in one Module of Executive Programme in June examinationx of the same year)		(Students are provided with the study material at the time of admission) Module- 1 1.     Jurisprudence, Interpretation & General Laws 2.     Company Law 3.     Setting up of Business Entities and Closure 4.     Tax Laws Module – 2 5.     Corporate & Management Accounting 6.     Securities Laws & Capital Markets 7.     Economic, Business and Commercial Laws 8.     Financial and Strategic Management
	CS Professional Programme	CS Executive Programme Pass	` 12,000/- (In addition ` 1,000/- payable for Pre-Examination Test fee)	• 31st May (eligible to appear in all Modules of Professional Programme in December examination of the same year) • 31st July (eligible to appear in only One Module of Professional Programme in December examination of the same year) • 30th November (eligible to appear in all Modules of Professional Programme in June examination of the next year) •  31st January (eligible to appear in one Module of Professional Programme in June examination of the same year)		(Students are provided with the study material at the time of admission) Module-1 1.     Governance, Risk Management, Compliances and Ethics 2.     Advanced Tax Laws 3.     Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances Module – 2 4.     Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management and Due Diligence 5.     Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency, Liquidation & Winding-up 6.     Resolution of Corporate Disputes, Non- Compliances & Remedies Module – 3 7.     Corporate Funding & Listings in Stock Exchanges 8.     Multi disciplinary Case Studies (The examination for this paper will be open book examination) 9.     Electives1paper out of below 8 papers 9.1   Banking–Law & Practice 9.2   Insurance–Law & Practice 9.3   Intellectual Property Rights–Laws and Practices 9.4   Forensic Audit 9.5   Direct Tax Law & Practice 9.6   Labour Laws & Practice 9.7   Valuations & Business Modelling 9.8   Insolvency–Law and Practice (The examination for elective paper will be open book examination)
CSEET qualified students with result not older than one year.

Financial Assistance:

Applicants belonging to SC/ST, Physically Handicapped, Wards & Widows of Martyrs and Defence Service personnel with Permanent Disability, Serving/Retired Personnel of Defence Services and Paramilitary Forces.

ICSI Students Education Fund Trust: Provides Financial Assistance to Economically Backward or Meritorious Students. – 100% fee waiver for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. – 50% fee waiver for Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, North Eastern states and Himachal Pradesh. 

The entire registration process is online. Study material is dispatched to the students after registration to their registered addresses.

Examinations are held twice in a year in June and December at around 200 examination centres across the country and one overseas centre at Dubai.

The Institute also provides for various scholarships/ financial assistance to the meritorious or economically backward students.

 

Compulsory Training Requirement:

• 1 month Executive Development Programme

(15 days online mode 15 days classroom mode)

• 21 month  practical training with Industry/ PCS(after completing Executive Programme)
• 1 month residential Corporate Leader Development Programme after completing Professional Examination

( exemption is granted if candidate possess practical experience)

 

Campus Placements:

The Institute conducts campus placements periodically at its regional and chapter offices wherein the fresher company secretaries are picked up by the regulators and the reputed companies at very attractive packages.

Professional Skills required:

 To become a successful Company Secretary a student should have interest in subjects like Corporate Laws, Accounting, Finance, Taxation, Economics, Commerce and has the ability to understand, analyse, complex and technical issues.

A Company Secretary is expected to have outstanding organizational ability along with excellent communication and coordination skills. 

“Everyone has a talent and so do you. Let it shine out, is all you have to do.”  The course of CS transforms a student into the modern corporate governance professionals whose specialised services are essential for the good governance of corporate sector.

The requirement for qualified Company Secretaries among the companies is steadily going up and would keep on rising with the rise in number of companies and their increasing focus on compliances.

Career as a Company Secretary would be prestigious, financially rewarding and carries with it a high degree of job satisfaction.

To know more about ICSI and Company Secretary Course, please visit www.icsi.edu