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Q1.Tell
me something about the career
of company secretary?
Q2.What
is the role of "The Institute
of Company Secretaries of
India " ?
Q3.What
does a Company Secretary do?
Q4.Who
can become a Company Secretary?
Q5.Where
are the centres of the institute?
Q6.What
is the procedure for becoming
a Company Secretary?
Q7.What
are the places where examinations
are held?
Q8.What
are the prospects for employment
?
Q1.Tell
me something about the career
of company secretary?
A1.The use of the word secretary
in the name of this specialisation
is a bit misleading for one
who is new to the concept.
A Company Secretary has nothing
to do with regular secretarial
work. A Company Secretary
is a professional whose role
in a corporate set up is that
of an advisor for legal matters.
As per the Companies Act,
a statutory requirement is
that companies with a paid
up share capital of a minimum
of Rs 50 lakh are required
to appoint a Company Secretary.
A Company Secretary is a very
important member of the company's
management.
Top
Q2.What
is the role of "The Institute
of Company Secretaries of
India " ?
A2.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.
The origin of this profession
can be traced back to 1960,
when the Company Law Board
started a course in Company
Secretaryship leading to a
Government Diploma in Company
Secretaryship. A tremendous
growth in the number of Company
Secretaries led to the formation,
in 1969, of The Institute
of Company Secretaries of
India under Section 25 of
the Companies Act, 1956. The
Institute of Company Secretaries
of India has been converted
into a statutory body under
the Company Secretaries Act,
1980.
Top
Q3.What
does a Company Secretary do?
A3. The range of services
that a Company Secretary is
trained to carry out is wide.
In actual practice, it will
depend upon the size of the
company he or she is working
with. The nature of activities
that the company is engaged
in will also affect the type
of services that a Company
Secretary is required to provide.
Functions of a Company Secretary
A Company Secretary has been
recognised by law as one of
the principal officers of
the Company. The knowledge
that he or she acquires during
training makes him or her
versatile enough to carry
out functions in various areas
like finance, accounts, legal
administration and personnel
division. Training as a Company
Secretary equips a person
to provide the following services.
Handling legal aspects that
need to be covered for incorporation,
formation, promotion, amalgamation,
reorganisation or winding
up of a company, are the responsibilities
of a Company Secretary ¨
If a company goes public,
then management of the public
issue falls under the ambit
of a Company Secretary's responsibility.
¨ All legalities involved
with inter-corporate investments
and loans are looked after
by a Company Secretary. ¨
All responsibilities attached
to meetings of Board of Directors
are attached to the Company
Secretary. He or she is responsible
for scheduling them in consultation
with other members of the
management team, conduct the
meetings and maintain all
records related to the meetings.
¨ Depending upon the needs
of the company that he or
she is working for, a Company
Secretary is required to handle
matters related to central/state
sales tax, excise laws, labour
laws and corporate laws. ¨
Looking into the details of
processing applications for
management appointments and
their remuneration is also
the responsibility of a Company
Secretary. ¨ A Company
Secretary handles matters
related to obtaining institutional
finance. Responsibilities
in this regard would include
getting project approvals,
obtaining relevant licences
and permits, zeroing in on
all requirements under the
MRTP (Monopolies and Restrictive
Trade Practices Act) and FERA
(Foreign Exchange Regulation
Act) and any other relevant
legislation. ¨ The Company
secretary is authorised to
sign the annual returns of
the company, as also represent
the company when a situation
demands it. The above-mentioned
duties are just a broad guideline
of what is expected of a Company
Secretary.
Top
Q4.Who
can become a Company Secretary?
A4.The minimum eligibility
required for the foundation
course for training as a Company
Secretary is 10+2 or an equivalent
examination. Graduates or
post-graduates in commerce,
or any other discipline except
fine arts, are allowed to
skip the foundation course
and enrolled directly for
the intermediate examination.
This exemption is also extended
to those who have passed out
of the Institute of Cost and
Works Accountancy or the Institute
of Chartered Accountants of
India. For better prospects
one may opt for the Company
Secretary course after having
completed either the Cost
and Works Accountancy course
or the Chartered Accountancy
course or both. The course
The Institute of Company Secretaries
of India conduct examinations
for different levels of competencies.
Those who clear these examinations
are granted membership to
the Institute.
Top
Q5.Where
are the centres of the institute?
A5.The Institute has headquarters
at New Delhi. Offices at Calcutta,
Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai,
four regional councils and
thirty-six chapters of the
Institute in various cities
provide the infrastructure
through which the Institute
functions. This course is
a mixture of postal tuition
and optional coaching classes.
Study material is provided
to the students at the time
of admission. On completion
of postal coaching and contact
classes, if the student has
opted for it, he or she is
eligible for appearing for
the examinations conducted
by the Institute. Registration
for each examination needs
to be done at least nine months
before the month in which
the examination is held. The
examinations are held in June
and December every year. Examinations
are held at thirty-six centres.
Top
Q6.What
is the procedure for becoming
a Company Secretary?
A6. It is as follows: Pass
10+2 or equivalent examination
Enrol with the institute for
foundation course Complete
the compulsory postal coaching
Pass the foundation examination
Register with the institute
for intermediate course. Graduates
and those who have passed
out of the Institute of Cost
and Works Accountancy or the
Institute of Chartered Accountants
of India can enter straightaway
at this level. Complete the
compulsory postal coaching
for the intermediate course.
¨ Pass the intermediate
examination. Enrol for the
final course ¨ Complete
the compulsory postal coaching
for the final course. During
this period the student is
also required to undergo management
training or apprenticeship
with a company recognised
by the Institute or with a
recognised practising company
Secretary. The duration of
the training may vary from
12 months to 24 months, depending
upon whether it is done on
a full time or part time basis.
Pass the final examination.
¨ Undergo practical training
for four months. Now a student
qualifies for membership of
the Institute On admission
as an Associate member, he
or she is entitled to use
the descriptive letters "ACS"
after his name. Senior members
in the profession are eligible
for admission as Fellow Members,
and on admission as Fellow
Members they are eligible
to use the descriptive letters
"FCS" after their
names.
Top
Q7.What
are the places where examinations
are held?
A7.The Institute has its headquarters
at New Delhi and four regional
offices of 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,
which are located at Agra,
Allahabad, Gurgaon, Jodhpur,
Meerut, Beawar, Yamuna Nagar,
Varanasi, Bhilwara, Bareilly,
Dharwad, Kottayam, Thrissur,
Vijayawada, Nasik, Raipur.
Top
Q8.What
are the prospects for employment
?
A8. Today's global scene shows
a focus on the development
of the corporate sector. Growth
automatically translates into
the involvement legalities
of various kinds. And this
falls under the purview of
a Company Secretary. Companies
need advice from a person
with a thorough knowledge
of all relevant laws. This
service is provided for by
the Company Secretary. So
the employment potential in
the corporate sector is very
high. Openings are also available
in government sectors, in
bodies like the Bureau of
Public Enterprises, government
financial institutions and
stock exchanges. Other government
openings are the Accounts
branch of the Central Government
Law Services; the finance,
law, accounts and merchant
banking divisions of nationalised
banks. An option for the academically
inclined is as lectures in
universities. A combination
of experience and expertise
can lead to appointment at
top level positions like chairman,
directors and managing director,
in reputed organisations. |
