User:Icsi2008

ROLE OF A COMPANY SECRETARY/RANGE OF FUNCTIONS:

The major contribution to industrial growth is from the corporate sector. Company Secretary is an important professional aiding the efficient management of the corporate sector. Under the companies Act, 1956, he has a primary duty to ensure all compliances. Company Secretary is specifically designated as an officer who is in default under the Companies act, along with the whole time and managing director(s). In many other legislations-fiscal, labour, industrial and economic laws, Secretary is specifically included in the definition of the term ‘Principal Officer’. In essence, Company Secretary has the primary duty of ensuring compliances with various legislations. For the purpose, he has to interact, coordinate, integrate and cooperate with various other functional heads in a company. He acts as a confidant of the board of directors. He counsels the Board of Directors and other functional heads on the legal implications of any proposal under contemplation. With his multidisciplinary background in law, management and finance, backed by rigorous training and continuing education, a Modern Corporation needs the services of a qualified secretary to ensure that all legal compliances are adequately and promptly met. The rapid corporatization, which began in the wake of the liberalization of the economy, has brought about a sea change in the role and profit of a company secretary. The job of company secretary now involves diverse responsibilities such as formulating long- and short-term corporate policies and programmes, accounting and finance functions. Company secretaries are being seen as corporate development planners who explore the expansion opportunities such as arranging various collaborations, amalgamations, acquisitions, and setting up of subsidiaries and joint ventures within and outside India. The company secretaries have made forays in the capital market and financial services industry. The Company Secretaries are also taking care of tax planning and tax management for the company and advertising the management on the tax concessions, incentives and reliefs. [Company Secretary]

CAREER PROSPECTS FOR COMPANY SECRETARIES

Detailed and through study of the legal, secretarial, accounting, managerial and administrative functions of a company on the way to attain the company secretary ship qualification makes the person competent for taking up a wide range of responsible positions in the secretarial, legal, finance, accounts, personnel and administrative departments of companies or other organizations in a private as well as public sector.

COMPANY SECRETARY IN EMPLOYNMENT:

Pursuant to section 383 A of the Companies Act, 1956,companies having a paid – up share capital of Rs 2 crore or more, as prescribed by the Central Government, are statutorily required to appoint a whole time Company Secretary. Membership of the institute is the only prescribed qualification, which a person must possess for appointment as a Company Secretary in such a company. Pass in executive Programme examination of the Institute is one of the alternative qualifications prescribed for appointment of company secretary in companies having paid-up share capital of less than Rs 2 crores.Also; all the companies seeking listing on stock exchanges are required to have whole-time qualified Company Secretary. Almost every kind of Organization whose affairs are controlled by boards, councils and other corporate structures be it a co-operative, trust, society, association, federation, statutory authority, commission , board or the like, finds it useful to appoint a person who holds the qualifications of Company Secretary Ship in key administrative positions. Professional Institutes and educational bodies also consider utilization of the services of Company Secretaries on the full or part-time basis for academic or research assignments in the fields of accountancy, law or management. Besides, department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms of the Central Government empanels Company Secretaries as professionals for assignment of Indian experts to the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.