Company Secretary
A Company Secretary (CS) is one of the principal posts in a company. A certified Company Secretary handles the legal aspects of a business enterprise or an individual. A CS is responsible for maintaining and auditing the company’s tax returns, keeping records, advising the board of directors regarding the financial health of the company, and ensuring that the company complies with legal and statutory regulations. To be able to professionally practice Company Secretaryship, an individual has to complete professional training and pass examinations.
Company Secretary is a 3-year course that trains students to handle the legal aspects of a firm including tax returns and record keeping. The Company Secretary is directly involved in a company’s strategy, decision-making, and ensuring all the activities comply with legal, ethical and regulatory requirements.
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) trains and regulates Company Secretaries in India under Company Secretaries Act, 1980. There are more than 65,000 members and around 2,50,000 students on the roll of ICSI. As per the new UGC guidelines, Company Secretary is equivalent to a postgraduate degree. Students have the option to pursue higher studies in the field of research.
The CS program offered by the ICSI includes three levels:
- Foundation Programme (Now replaced with CS Executive Entrance Test or CSEET)
- Executive Programme
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Professional Programme
Company Secretary Exams
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Admission to ICSI’s Company Secretary program is open throughout the year. The exams are conducted bi-annually in June and December. Aspiring candidates can apply according to their choice of exam month.
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Those who wish to appear for the Foundation Programme examination in December (same year) must get themselves enrolled by March 31; those who wish to appear in the June exam next year must enroll themselves by September 30.
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Those who wish to join CS from the Executive Programme level must enroll by February 28 for appearing in both modules in the December exam in the same year or by August 31 for appearing in both modules in the June exam next year.
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In case one wants to appear in a single module in June Examination the next year; they must get enrolled in the Exeter curative Programme by November 30.
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A candidate is declared to have passed the Foundation / Executive / Professional examination if he/she secures in one sitting a minimum of 40 percent in aggregate in each paper and 50 percent in aggregate in all subjects.
Company Secretary is a profession that requires analytical skills, keen observation, and an eye for detail. Although the three-level CS course equips the candidates with all the required skills and training, one should choose the course only after analyzing whether they can handle analytical tasks and responsibilities about financial assessments and auditing.
Why Study Company Secretary Course?
Pursuing the Company Secretary course, helps the individual to be a company secretary of a particular organization. The benefits of studying the Company Secretary course are –
- By pursuing the Company Secretary course, one gets trained to perform every role and responsibility of a Company secretary.
- Candidates can pursue this subject at any age after 17, and there is no age restriction for being a company secretary as well.
- Candidates can have flexible working hours, and work under low stress.
- Good compensation is another benefit of being a Company Secretary (C.S). The average salary of a Company Secretary in India is 6 lakhs per annum.
- The Company Secretary job is highly satisfying. Being a secretary of a particular organization is a good and respected job, with a high salary and comparatively low stress.
Eligibility Criteria
Any student who aspires to become a certified Company Secretary must fulfill the given eligibility criteria to pursue the course:
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The minimum qualification required to register for the first level (Foundation Programme or CSEET) of the Company Secretary course is to Class 12 pass in any stream (excluding Fine Arts) from a recognized university or equivalent
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The candidate who wishes to pursue CS after graduation will have to complete only two levels: Executive Programme and Professional Programme
- Those who have completed graduation, post-graduation (excluding Fine Arts) or have cleared Foundation level of CA and Cost Accounting course by ICWAI can directly take admission to CS Executive level
Company Secretary Skills Required
Company Secretaryship is a job that requires perseverance, mental strength, and strong convincing power. Some of the desired skillsets for this job are mentioned below:
| Skillset for Company Secretary Aspirant | |
|---|---|
| Strong Communication Skills | Expertise in Company Law |
| Time Management & Multitasking | Command over Written and Spoken English |
| Analytical Skills | Strong Numerical Skills |
Company Secretary Courses, Subjects & Specialisations
This course is a corporate professional course. The Company Secretary Foundation course includes subjects like business environment, entrepreneurship, management, communication, ethics, economics, and accounting. Authorities have announced the new syllabus for ICSI CS in 2022. The new syllabus will be applicable for candidates registering from the 2023 session onwards.
The Company Secretary Executive syllabus comprises company law, commercial law, tax law, general law, securities law, and accounts & audit practice.
In the Company Secretary Final course, candidates are taught secretarial practices, and financial & treasury management. In the final module, candidates can choose one of the specializations given below:
- Banking Law and Practice
- Capital, Commodity, and Money Market
- Insurance Law and Practice
- Intellectual Property Rights – Law and Practice
- International Business Laws and Practice
The Foundation Programme has four papers while the Executive Programme has eight papers divided into two modules and Professional Programme has nine papers divided into three modules. Candidates can check the CS syllabus below:
CS Foundation Programme
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Business Environment and Law
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Business Management, Ethics, and Entrepreneurship
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Business Economics
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Fundamentals of Accounting and Auditing
CS Executive Programme
|
Module module |
Module II |
|---|---|
|
Jurisprudence, Interpretation & General Laws |
Corporate & Management Accounting |
|
Company Law |
Securities Laws & Capital Markets |
|
Setting up of Business Entities and Closure |
Economic, Business and Commercial Laws |
|
Tax Laws |
Financial & Strategic Management |
CS Professional Programme
|
Module module |
Module II |
Module III |
|---|---|---|
|
Governance, Risk Management, Compliances, and Ethics |
Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management and Due Diligence |
Corporate Funding & Listings in Stock Exchanges |
|
Advanced Tax Law |
Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency, Liquidation & Winding-up multidisciplinary |
Multidisciplinary Case Studies (The examination for this paper will be open-book examination) |
|
Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances |
Resolution of Corporate Disputes, Non-Compliances & Remedies |
Electives: 1 paper out of below 8 papers
(The examination for this paper is an open book examination) |
Company Secretary: Course Levels
Company Secretary has 3-course levels namely, Foundation Programme, Executive Programme, and Professional Programme.
| Levels | Description | Duration | Fees (INR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CS Foundation Programme | It is the first level among the Company Secretary courses and the path to becoming a Company Secretary. This course is provided by the ICSI and is a mixture of optional coaching and postal tuition classes. | 8 Months | 3,600 |
| CS Executive Programme | The Executive Programme is the second level of becoming a certified Company Secretary (C.S). Candidates coming from any stream can pursue this course, except fine arts. | 9 Months | 7,000 |
| CS Professional Programme | Candidates can only pursue this course if they have successfully cleared the executive program under the Company Secretary course. | 10 Months | 12,000 |
Fee Structure
Candidates pursuing the CS foundation program, need to give both the admission and tuition fees. The fees for both these are INR 1200, and INR 2400 respectively. The total course fee for this course is INR 3600.
| Description | Fees (INR) |
|---|---|
| Admission Fees | 1200 |
| Examination Form Fee | 875 |
| Tuition Fees | 2400 |
| Total Course Fee | 4475 |
CS Executive: Duration
Company Secretary course duration for the Executive program lasts for 9 months. The Registration for CS Executive program began on November 30, 2021, for the June session of 2022 (both modules). ICSI CS Executive program registration is open throughout the year for the exam conducted in June and December.
CS Executive: Fee Structure
The fee structure for the CS executive program differs from the earlier one, and the total course fee is higher in this instance. The registration fee for the CS executive course is INR 1500, while there is another fee for the foundation examination exemption, which is INR 500. The tuition fee for this course is INR 5000, and the total course fee stands at INR 7000.
| Description | Fees (INR) |
|---|---|
| Registration | 1500 |
| Tuition Fee | 5000 |
| Examination Form fee | 1800 |
| Examination Fee | 500 |
| Total | 8,800 |
CS Executive: Syllabus
In the CS executive course syllabus, there will be two modules, namely I and II. In each module, there will be 4 papers. In module I, there will be the topics of Interpretation, Jurisprudence, and General laws, in the paper I, company law in paper II, setting up of business entities, and closure and tax laws in the last two papers.
On the other hand, in module the paper I will consist of corporate and management accounting, and Paper II will consist of securities laws and capital markets. In the last two papers, there will be Business, Economics and Commercial Law, and financial and strategic management respectively.
| Modules | Syllabus |
|---|---|
| Module I | Jurisprudence, Interpretation & General Laws |
| Company Law | |
| Setting up of Business Entities and Closure | |
| Tax Laws | |
| Module II | Corporate & Management Accounting |
| Securities Laws & Capital Markets | |
| Economic, Business, and Commercial Laws | |
| Financial and Strategic Management |
CS Executive Exams Dates
To be eligible for the CS executive course, candidates have to come through the CSEET exam, i.e., CS Executive Entrance Test. Candidates having a UG or PG degree are eligible to apply for this entrance.
| Exam Events | June Session | December Session |
|---|---|---|
| Registration Date | Up to Nov 30, 2021 (Both Module) Up to Jan 31, 2022 (Single Module) |
May 31, 2022 (Both Module) July 31, 2022 (Single Module) |
| CS Executive Exam Dates | June 1 to June 10, 2022 | 3rd week of Dec 2022 |
| CS Executive Result declaration date | August 25, 2022 | February 2023 |
CS Professional Course
The CS professional course is the final level of the CS program. Check out the eligibility, duration, course fee, syllabus, and entrance exams, below.
Check: CA Final
CS Professional Eligibility
For candidates seeking admission to the CS, Professional Courtney must comecome through the CS executive program successfully.
Check: CA Final Eligibility
CS Professional: Duration
The final course in the CS program is the professional course. The company secretary program lasts for three years, where the first two courses combine a duration of the cs professional course is equal to the duration of the first two, i.e. 15 months as well.
CS Professional: Fee Structure
The course fee for the cs professional course is the highest and certainly bigger than the first two. The registration fee for the same is INR 1500. Candidates have to pay the fee for both exemptions from the foundation and exemption from the executive program exam, which is INR 500 for both. Lastly, the tuition fee for this course is INR 9500 and combining all these, the total course fee stands at INR 12,000.
| Description | Fees (INR) |
|---|---|
| Examination Form Fee | 2250 |
| Registration Fee | 1500 |
| Tuition Fee | 9500 |
| Total | 13,250 |
CS Professional: Syllabus
In the CS Professional course, there will be three modules, and each module will consist of three papers.
| Module | Syllabus |
|---|---|
| Module I | Governance, Rgovernanceent, Compliances, and Ethics |
| Advanced Tax laws | |
| Drafting, Pleadings, and Appearances | |
| Module II | Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management, and Due Diligence |
| Corporate Reconstructing, Insolvency, Liquidation, and Winding-up | |
| Resolution of Corporate Disputes, Non- Compliances, and Remedies | |
| Module III | Corporate Funding and Listing in Stock Exchanges |
| Multidisciplinary Case Studies | |
| Elective(1 out of below 8 subjects) | Banking- Law, and Practice |
| Insurance- Law and Practice | |
| Intellectual Property Rights- Laws and Practice | |
| Forensic Audit | |
| Direct Tax Laws and Practice | |
| Labour Laws and Practice | |
| Valuations and Business Modelling | |
| Insolvency- Law, and Practice |
CS Professional Exam Dates
CS Professional exams take place twice a year. This takes place mostly in the months of Jer. The CS Professional Exam Results are released after 1 month of the exam.
| Exam Events | June Dates | December Dates |
|---|---|---|
| CS Professional Form submission | – | February 7 to May 31, 2022 |
| CS Professional Admit Card | 10-12 days before the Exam | To be announced |
| CS Professional Exam Date | June 1 to June 10, 2022 | To be announced |
| CS Professional Result | August 25, 2022 | To be announced |
Company Secretary Training
There is some training which the students need to undergo, to complete the company secretary course. The total time to complete this training course is around 20 months approx. Check these in detail below.
| Type of Training | Description | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| SIP or Student Introduction Programme | Students need to pursue this training within 6 months after applying for the CS executive program, to be eligible to sit for the exams for both modules. | 7 days |
| EDP or Executive Development Programme | This training course is the most pursued among all, which the students can get into after coming through the cs training program before the 15 months of training. | 8 days |
| Compulsory Computer Training Programme | All the students have to pursue this course to get eligible for the cs executive program. | 70 hours |
| PDP or Professional Development Programme | Candidates have to pursue this training course for a period of 15 months of trail | 25 hours |
| Specialized Agency Training | Students can pursue this course after completing EDP or SIP or passing the professional program, and by completing the 15 months of training. | 15 days |
| MSOP or Management Skills Orientation Programme | This training course can be pursued if the student has been partially or fully exempted from training and has registered the documents needed to fulfill the regulation of 1982. | 15 days |
| Professional or Management Training | Candidates can pursue this course with the completion of the CS Executive or CS professional program. Students must complete their training with the companies which are registered with the Company Secretary in Practice or the ICSI Institute. | 15 months |
| Practical Training | Candidates can only pursue this training course, only if they have completed the cs professional program. Also, they are eligible to do this training only if they are exempted from undergoing the 12 months of training under the 1982 companies secretaries regulation. | 3 months |
Duty of a Company Secretary
The roles and responsibilities of a company secretary are as follows –
- Company secretaries are the compliance officers and give suggestions as in-house legal experts.
- They also play their role as a chief advisor to the board of directors in corporate governance.
- A company secretary is an expert in corporate laws, capital markets, and securities laws.
- They are also responsible for the regulatory compliance of an organization.
- They also play a significant role in corporate planning and as a strategic manager.
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