Company Secretary

Company Secretary (CS) is a professional qualification, and its practitioners are responsible for the efficient administration of a company, particularly with regard to ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements and for ensuring that decisions of the board of directors are implemented. Company secretaries are the company’s named representative on legal documents, and it is their responsibility to ensure that the company and its directors operate within the law. It is also their responsibility to register and communicate with shareholders, to ensure that dividends are paid and to maintain company records, such as lists of directors and shareholders, and annual accounts.

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) is the sole recognised body in India which is involved in developing and regulating this profession. It was constituted under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980.

It is the work of the company secretary to ensure that an organization works within relevant legislation and regulations.A company secretary can be recognized as the key managerial personnel of a company whose position is mandated under the laws of the country if the company has a paid-up share capital of 10 crore rupees or more.

You have to provide guidance to company directors about how their organization should be directed, managed or controlled as per the corporate laws as well as keeping the board of members informed about all the rules and regulations governing the activities of the companies. You have to ensure that the company must act in accordance with the companies’ act while fulfilling all its duties.It is the company secretary who signs all the documents which are presented to the inside and outside stakeholders (shareholders, senior leaders, government, tax authorities etc.

Key roles and responsibilities

• As a Company Secretary, you have to keep the maintenance of secretarial records, statutory books and registers.

• You will be responsible for arranging the board/general meetings and preparing minutes of those meetings.

• You will ensure that all the shareholders are paid their dividend on time.

• You will be responsible for filing all the forms and returns on behalf of the company to all government agencies and tax authorities.

• As a Company Secretary, you will have to advise companies on compliance of legal and procedural aspects under foreign exchange management act, SEBI Act, labour and industrial laws, environment and pollution control laws, anti-competitive practices.

• As a company secretary, you have to represent a company before the company law board, Registrar of Company, Consumer Forums, Tax Authorities, National Company Law Tribunal.

• It is your responsibility as a company secretary to advice on the arbitration whenever there is a dispute or a conflict arises.

• You will help in getting loans from banks and financial institutions.

• As a company secretary, you will be drafting all the documents related to the issue of securities.

• You have to make the list of securities listed with the recognized stock exchange.

• You will play a key part in raising of funds from the international market.

• You will be advising on the legal structure of the organization.

• As a company secretary, you are responsible for communicating all the policies to all parties including shareholders, government, regulators etc. whatever the board of directors made.

• As a company secretary, you will be responsible for training directors and members of the senior leadership team

• You will be responsible for keeping up to date with any regulatory or statutory changes that might affect the organization.

Enterprising: You should have interests for Enterprising Occupations. Enterprising occupations involve taking initiatives, initiating actions, and planning to achieve goals, often business goals. These involve gathering resources and leading people to get things done. These require decision making, risk taking and action orientation.

Investigative: You should have interests for Investigative Occupations. Investigative occupations involve working with ideas and quite a lot of thinking, often abstract or conceptual thinking. These involve learning about facts and figures; involve use of data analysis, assessment of situations, decision making and problem solving.

Abilities

Abstract Reasoning: The ability to understand ideas which are not expressed in words or numbers; the ability to understand concepts which are not clearly expressed verbally or otherwise.

Articulation: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules and common logic to specific problems to produce answers that are logical and make sense. For example, understanding the reasons behind an event or a situation using general rules and common logic.

Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information from various sources, concepts, and theories to form general rules or conclusions. For example, analysing various events or situations to come out with a set of rules or conclusions.

Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.

Mental Stamina: The ability to sustain prolonged mental effort.

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a long period of time without being distracted.

Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.

Verbal Reasoning: The ability to think and reason with words; the ability to reason out ideas expressed in words.

Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.

Knowledge

English Language: Knowledge about English grammar, words, spelling, sentence construction, using English to communicate with others, reading in English, etc.

Law: Knowledge of laws, legal codes, legal procedures, regulations, Government orders, etc.

Skills

Active Learning: Focused and continuous learning from various sources of information, observation and otherwise for application in getting work done.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, understanding the points being made by others, asking questions, etc.

Communication in English: Skills in communicating effectively in writing as well as verbally with others in English language.

Critical Thinking: Skills in analysis of complex situations, using of logic and reasoning to understand the situations and take appropriate actions or make interpretations and inferences.

Judgment and Decision Making: Skills in considering pros and cons of various decision alternatives; considering costs and benefits; taking appropriate and suitable decisions.

Negotiation: Skills in bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.

Problem Solving: Skills in analysis and understanding of problems, evaluating various options to solve the problems and using the best option to solve the problems.

Public Speaking: Talking effectively to a large group of people or an audience or addressing public at large in different settings such as conferences, seminars, meetings, etc.

Reading Comprehension: Skills in understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Writing: Skills in communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the readers.

Personality

You are always or mostly organised in your day-to-day life and activities.

You are always or mostly careful about your actions and behaviour.

You are always or mostly disciplined in your action and behaviour.

You are always calm or generally remain calm in most situations.

You can always act independently or could do so in most situations.

You are helpful to others sometimes.

You don't trust others easily.

You are always practical or in most situations.

You are always or mostly dependent on others or on set rules and procedures.