Company Secretary
Dreaming of assisting CEO’s of top fortune 500 companies
With a surge in interest in Chartered Accountancy(CA) in recent years in India, there has been huge competition with young students scrimping for the coveted CA jobs. The Company Secretary(CS) has slipped through in this humdrum and emerged as the lesser competitive career option that has not been taken full advantage of, by students.
According to ICSI, “ With the enactment of companies act, 2013, the demand for CS is projected to go up to 200,000 by 2020 while there are only 46,000 CS right now.”
Let us understand what exactly a CS does!
A Company Secretary is on the same rank as a CX0 or a Managing Director in a company. A CS sits on the board of directors. A CS is the conscience center of the company and is responsible for all things related to the legal side of a company. A CS is responsible for the tax returns of the company, keeping records, and making sure the company is compliant with the legal and statutory norms of the government.
The government post-2013 companies act mandates that all companies with a paid-up valuation of more than 10 crores need to appoint a Company Secretary as a Key Management Personnel (KMP) who is at the same level as the likes of CXOs and a Managing Director. A CS advises the board of directors on issues relating to legal compliance.
On average, a CS earns ₹35000/month as a fresher and can earn up to ₹100000/month with a few years of experience. There are Company Secretaries who work for companies like HUL, TATA, ITC, earning in crores per year.
The one more great thing about CS is that it’s open for students of any stream, be it Science, Arts, Engineering or Commerce.
This sounds exciting and loads of responsibility, right? Let us give a gist of the Company Secretary field in India and the opportunities available in a Nutshell.
- The Institute of Company Secretaries of India is the only officially recognized body that is constituted in 1980 by the government and has the sole authority to confer CS certificates to individuals in India. It regulates and provides training and education to hundreds of thousands of Company Secretary students in India.
- An individual has to be a member of ICSI to be a CS in India. ICSI has 46,000 qualified members both in employment and in practice who are constantly endeavoring for the transition of Company Secretaries as Governance Professionals. About 4 lakh students are currently enrolled in the Company Secretaryship course.
- A student has to go through three levels conducted by the ICSI to qualify for the Company Secretary certificate and start working as a Company Secretary.
The different levels are as follows:
- Foundation Programme
- Executive Programme
- Professional Programme
- Admission to be a member of the ICSI is open throughout the year, but the exams are conducted twice a year in June and December.
- The deadlines are generally 31st March for the December Exam and September 30 for the June exam for the foundation course.
- The deadlines are generally 28st Feb for the December Exam and August 31 for the June exam for appearing in both modules in the Executive Programme lev.
Who is this for?
If you are stickler for everything related to finance, Accounting, Corporate Taxes and Ethics, this is the right job for you. A CS demands one to be a painstaking planner, good with numbers, great at multi-tasking and have a great ability as a communicator.
What do you study?
Business Accounting, Business Economies, Comapny Laws, Tax Laws, Governance, Risk Management, Ethics and a whole lot of other things. You will also be required to intern for a total of 36 months before you get your CS certificates.
It’s not for the faint-hearted!
For more info on the fees of the exams and other things, visit the ICSI website.
Did this pique your interest in CS and are you raring to learn more about CS? We, at InterviewBuddy, are conducting a free Masterclass on CS by Vithal Pingali, who has a experience as a CS for 20 + years.
See you at the Masterclass!
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This is a handwritten article by Team InterviewBuddy.
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