About CS

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About Company Secretary Course

The Institute

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India constituted under an Act of Parliament i.e. the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 is the only recognized professional body in India to develop and regulate the profession of Company Secretaries in India and to award the certificate bestowing the designation of Company Secretary to a candidate qualifying for membership of the Institute

The Institute has on its rolls over 31,000 members including over 5,000 members holding certificate of practice. Besides, more than 3,80,000 students are pursuing the Company Secretaryship Course.

Career prospects for Company Secretaries

Executive/Accounting/Managerial Positions : Such jobs or positions where people with professional accounting knowledge are needed are what you would be generally coming across as Financial Manager, Finance Director, Financial Controller, Chief Accountant, Cost Controller, Marketing Manager, Chief Internal Auditor, Managing Director etc.

Special Government Services: Membership of the institute is one of the essential qualifications for recruitment to grades I to IV in the "Accounts Branch" of the Central Company Law service of the Department of Company Affairs.

Private Practice: A qualified professional can set up his/her own private practice as a practicing company secretary. Apart from the statutory opportunities that would be available to a company secretary, one can play the role of a consultant for any organization relating to the functions of accounting, taxation, auditing, cost management etc.

The following statutory opportunities are also available to practicing Company Secretaries:

  • Under Sec 383 of the Companies Act 1956 every company with 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 who is a member of the ICSI
  • Every company not required to employ a whole time secretary and having a paid up share capital of Rs. 10 lacs or more shall file with the Registrar a certificate from the secretary in whole time  Practice as to whether the company has complied with all the provisions of the Companies Act.
  •  Pursuant to Provision VII of Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement, Practicing Company Secretaries have been authorised to issue Certificate regarding compliance of conditions of Corporate Governance as stipulated in the clause.
  • All companies seeking listing on stock exchanges are required to have a whole time qualified company secretary.
  •  Under Sec 161 of the companies Act, the annual return of a listed company is compulsorily required to be signed by a whole - time practicing company secretary.
  •  A company secretary in practice is recognized to issue compliance certificates and attest documents under:
  1. Companies Act 1956
  2. The Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (SEBI)
  3. The Securities Contracts (Regulations) Act, 1956 (SCRA)
  4. Depositories Act, 1996

Step for pursuing CA course:

1. Foundation

This is an entry to the CS Course for the candidates who have appeared for class XII examinations. A student has to register in foundation after appearing in 12th examination and appear in foundation exam. After passing CS foundation exam, student can register for Executive examination. It has 4 papers of objective type.

2. Executive

After passing foundation, student can register in executive program. He can appear in examination after minimum 9 months.  Executive has 8 subjects which are divided in two groups of 4 subjects.

Direct Entry Route:

A candidate possessing any of the following qualifications is eligible for exemption from passing the Foundation Program examination:

(i) A degree or master’s degree in any discipline (other than Fine Arts); or

(ii) Pass in the Foundation examination of the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICAI-CMA) or Common Proficiency Test (CPT) conducted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) or any other Accountancy Institution in India or abroad recognized as equivalent thereto by the Council.

3. Professional

A student can register for the professional course after qualifying both the Groups of executive Course. He/She can appear in professional examination after minimum 9 months. CS professional has 9 subjects divided in three groups of 3 subjects each. After qualifying all groups of professional, a student become member of ICSI subject to completion of training.

Training

As a part of CS course, a student has to undergo training under a practicing company secretary. A student can undergo 3 years of training after passing foundation or 2 years of training after passing executive or 1 year of training after professional.

It is advisable to undergo 1 year training after professional as you don't have burden of studies.