|
Company
Secretary
Q. 1. What the
Functions of the ICSI?
Ans. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India is a
premier professional body constituted under the Company
Secretaries Act, 1980 to develop and regulate the profession
of Company Secretaries in India. The ICSI, besides conducting
Company Secretaryship examinations and enrolling qualified
students as members after practical training, exerscises
professional supervision over the members in matters
pertaining to professional ethics and Code of Conduct. It
also organises on a regular basis professional development
and continuing education programmes and brings out research
publications, guidance notes, secretarial standards as well
as professional monthly journal Chartered Secretary for
corporate executives and Student Company Secretary and CS
Foundation Course Bulletin for students. The ICSI regularly
interacts with government, regulatory bodies and chambers of
commerce and industry on policy and professional matters.
The institute has its Headquarters at ICSI House, 22
Institutional Area, Lodi Road, New Delhi and Regional offices
at Mumbai, Calcutta, New Delhi and Chennai and 36 Chapters
and 16 Statellite Chapters located in various cities all over
India. The ICSI has on its rolls over 13,000 qualified
members and nearly 2 lakh students pursuing the CS Course.
Q. 2. What exactly is the role of a Company Secretary?
Ans. As the principal officer of the company, the Company
Secretary is a vital link between the Company, the Board of
Directors, shareholders and governmental and regulatory
agencies. He is a business manager and an important adjunct
in corporate management hierarchy, serving as the Registrar
for the company. He acts as a confidante of the Board of
Directors, takes part in the formulation of long-term and
short-term corporate policies, maintains statutory books and
records and ensures compliances with legal and procedural
requirements under various enactments for effective corporate
governance. His duty involves advising the Board of Directors
on the ramifications of the proposals under the consideration
of the Board. As a corporate development planner he
identifies expansion opportunities, arranges collaborations,
amalgamation, mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, divestment,
setting up of subsidiaries and joint ventures within and
outside India. He looks after the entire secretarial
functions which include preparing agenda, convening,
conducting and minuting meetings of Board of Directors,
Shareholders, Annual General Meetings, Inter-departmental
meetings and meetings with foreign delegations, Financial
Institutions, regulatory authorities, etc.
A Company Secretary, as a competent professional, comes into
existence after extensive exposure provided by the institute
of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), through comprehensive
study material, compulsory coaching, highly exacting
examinations, rigorous compulsory training and continuing
professional development programmes. Besides, rendering
statutory duties, as attending meeting, preparing minutes,
maintaining register of members, ensuring timely transfer of
shares and ensuring compliances of various laws, a Company
Secretary also assists the Board in various other aspects.
Q. 3. What are the Career prospects for Company Secretaries?
Ans. A qualified CS has access to openings both in the
private and public sector, financial institutions stock
exchanges and even the Central/State Government. As per
Section 383 A of the Companies Act 1956, companies with a
paid up share capital of Rs 50 lakh, or more must have a
whole-time company secretary. In case of a company with a
paid up capital of less than Rs 50 lakh, a CS with an
Intermediate pass is also eligible for appointment. All
companies seeking a listing on stock exchanges are required
to have a full time CS. The Ministry of Human Resources
Development Department of Education has recognised Membership
of the ICSI for appointment to superior posts and services
under the Central government. It is one of the essential
qualifications for recruitment from Grade I to Grade IV in
the accounts branch of the Central Company Law Service of the
Department of Company Affairs. The Indian Banks Association
has recommended to banks to consider appointment of company
secretaries as specialists in the field of finance, accounts,
law and merchant banking.
Almost every kind of organisation, whose affairs are
conducted by boards, councils and other corporate structures,
be it a company, cooperative society, trust, society,
association, federation, authority, commission, board or the
like, finds it useful to appoint a person in key
administrative positions who holds the qualification of
company secretaryship, Members of the Institute may also go
in for independent practice. Beecides issuing statutory
certifications and appearing before various quasi-judicial
authorities as an authorised representative, he issues due
diligence and comfort certificates, acts as a secretarial
auditor and an advisor and consultant on finance and
management.
Q. 4. What are the future plans of the ICSI for the next
millennium?
Ans. In the early part of the next millennium national
boundaries will disappear for trade and commerce. There will
be tremendous increase in international trade, with fierce
competition increasing pressure for survival leading to
leaner organisations with high efficiency and technological
excellence. In such a scenario, a Company Secretary, being
the principal co-ordinator, will be called upon to play a
crucial role as an integrated business manager and as
in-house legal counsel. He will be called upon to provide
support to the various economic, activities and operations of
the company, including finance and accounts, external audit,
costing and budgeting, materials management, commercial and
general administration, besides legal and secretarial
functions. He will have to act, advise and guide on good
corporate governance and assume a much wider role in ensuring
compliances in an altogether new corporate setup and legal
procedural and disclosure requirements not necessarily
originating from Company Law, but other laws which will be no
less stringent and hitherto unknown to corporates in India.
Issues such as competition law, intellectual property,
environment, mergers and acquisitions, information technology
and cyber laws and corporate governance, focussed attention
on investor relations, market exploration and sustaining
investors confidence and interest in the company, settlement
of commercial disputes through ADR methods will all engage
the attention of company secretaries in the next millennium.
With a view to create professionals to meet the new
challenges, the ICSI is shortly coming out with a new
syllabus and is in the process of strengthening training of
students in close coordination with trade and industry and
practising members. For professional development of existing
members, focussed attention is being directed by conducting
professional development programmes as well as continuing
education and participative certificate programmes.
|
|
