Company Secretary Course - Overview

There is no doubt in saying that a company secretary is one of the most important people in an organization. A company secretary ensures that the company which he/she is working in, complies with all the applicable laws and acts in accordance with the regulatory authorities. He/she acts a mediator between the organization and its board of directors.

Company secretaries are generally more involved with creating policies for the company, maintaining documentation of all the lawful concerns, taking care of public issues, managing and monitoring mergers and acquisitions or joint ventures etc. In addition to that they also negotiate with a number of government authorities, this makes their role of a liaison agent as well. It is regarded as a high end job as a company secretary has to perform various roles and responsibilities.

The company secretary course is regulated by The Institute Of Company Secretaries Of India (ICSI). This organization was established in 1980 under an act of the Indian Parliament. ICSI has headquarters in Delhi and regional offices across India. A company that has a paid up capital of at least Rs. 5 crores needs to appoint a full time company secretary.

The company secretary course is divided into 3 stages:

Stage 1: Foundation levelr
Stage 2 : Executive levelr
Stage 3 : Professional level

What’s the market demand?

Many aspiring students have this particular question in mind. The job opportunities in this particular field are bright. After becoming a certified Company Secretary, a candidate can have a great scope of employment in consulting firms, banks, private companies, financial institutions, department of company affairs or other regulatory bodies. If you do not wish to do a job in any organization, you can even start your own independent practice. Nowadays, many multinational companies are hiring company secretaries from India. There is a huge demand of Company Secretaries in western countries like USA and UK etc.

The career growth will basically depend on your skills and ability. The designation that a candidate would be getting depends basically on the internal hierarchy of the organization he/she is applying. Generally, you’ll be appointed as an Assistant manager or Senior Executive, and then later on with by acquiring the right type of skills and expertise, one can advance in his/her career and become Assistant Company Secretary or Company Secretary.

How can I enhance my skills after CS?

If you have completed the company secretary course, you would have already gone through various levels of training. However, there are various training and qualifications available to enhance skills which will help you to improve and achieve growth in your current role. A company secretary should also be flexible: he/she might need to attend various events and meetings outside of regular working hours. The position is challenging but once you understand how to administer things, the work would get easier to handle.

As its with most of the roles nowadays, the usage of computers is quite essential and imperative. It is not only important for the company secretary to be computer savvy, but also be informed with the latest changes happening in and around various sectors.

Many students have this confusion in their mind that whether company secretaries have to do more management related work or more on the financial side. Well, a Company Secretary has to take care of certain aspects as discussed above. On the other hand, he/she also has to administer and manage various resources as well. It's a combination of both managerial and other work related to various laws and finances.