All about company secretary course

Who is a Company Secretary?

Company Secretary (CS) is a critical role in any organisation. A certified Company Secretary takes care of the legal matters of a business enterprise or for individuals. A CS maintains and audits the organisation's tax returns, maintain records, gives advice to the board of directors with respect to the financial health of the company and ensures that the business is complying with the legal and statutory regulations. In order to professional practice Company Secretaryship, an individual is required to complete professional training and pass examinations.

 

Who trains and regulates Company Secretaries?

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 regulates, trains and maintains the profession of Company Secretaries. The ICSI trains and provides education to a multitude of aspiring company secretaries. Currently, there are more than 50,000 members and 4,00,000+ students who are studying with ICSI. 

 

What is the eligibility for the CS course?

Students who wish to be a company secretary are required to meet the following eligibility criteria before they pursue the course. 

• Students have to clear their class 12 exams in any stream (excluding fine arts) from a recognized university before they register for the first level (Foundation Programme or CSEET) of the Company Secretary course
• If a student has cleared the foundation level of CA and Cost Accountancy Course by ICWAI can get direct entry to the executive level. 

 

What is the course structure and exams for Company Secretary Course?

Students who are looking to pursue their career as a Company secretary can do so after they have completed their 12th. They are expected to clear three levels of exams 

• CSEET
• Executive Programme
• Professional Programme

 

• Application for the ICSI’s Company Secretary programme is open any time of the year. The exams are conducted twice a year: in June and December. Students have the choice to pick an exam month of their convenience.
• If a student wishes to appear for the CSEET exam in December then they must enrol themselves for the exam before the 31st of March (the same year); if they are targeting to attend the June exam in the upcoming year, then they must enrol before the 30th of September. 
• For those who are attending the executive level programme should enrol themselves by the 28th of February if they wish to attend both modules in December (The same year) or by the 31st of August if they are targeting to attempt both of the modules in June exams in the upcoming year. 
• If they are focusing on appearing for only one module in the upcoming June examinations, then they are required to enrol for the executive programme by the 30th of November.
• To be declared cleared in the CSEET/Executive/ Professional level exams the students should achieve 40% aggregate for each paper and an aggregate of 50% in all subjects in a single sitting. 

 

Skills needed to be a Company Secretary: Communication Skills, Expertise for Company law, Compliance, Attention to Detail, Time Management & Multi-Tasking, etc.

Duties of a Company Secretary:

The roles and responsibilities of a company secretary are as follows - 

• Company secretaries are the compliance officers of the company and they give suggestions as an in-house legal expert.
• They also play the role of 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.

 

Course Levels in Company Secretary Course:

Level	Description	Duration
CSEET	It is the first level to be a CS, the course is provided by the ICSI. All 12th pass and graduates are required to appear for this exam.	8 months
Executive	Executive level is the second level of the CS course. CA foundation and CMA foundation pass students can attempt this level directly.	9 months
Professional	CS executive level pass students can attempt this exam. It is the final level of the CS programme	10 months

CSEET

CSEET replaced the CS foundation level exam. The course trains students in various areas including entrepreneurship, management, business environment, ethics, accounting, and economics.

 

Eligibility:A candidate needs to have passed the 10+2 exam; graduates and postgraduate candidates also need to appear in the CSEET. Such candidates who pass the CSEET 2022 exam are eligible for registration to the CS Executive Programme. 

 

CSEET syllabus:

Paper	Subject
Paper 1	Business Communication (50 Marks)
Paper 2	Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning (50 Marks)
Paper 3	Economic and Business Environment (50 Marks)
Paper 4	Current Affairs, Presentation and Communication Skills (Viva Voice. (50 Marks))

CS Executive

The CS executive course concerns diverse scopes primarily regarding the law. This includes commercial law, company law, general law, tax law, accounts and audit practice, and securities law.

 Eligibility:

• All students are required to clear the CSEET exams. Else they should be a CA foundation or CMA foundation pass student.
• Students should be 17 years of age

 CS executive syllabus

The executive programs consists of 2 modules. Each module contains 4 papers. 

Module I

Paper	Subject
Paper 1	Jurisprudence, Interpretation & General Laws
Paper 2	Company Law
Paper 3	Setting up of Business Entities and Closure
Paper 4	Tax Laws

Module II 

Paper	Subject
Paper 5	Corporate & Management Accounting
Paper 6	Securities Laws & Capital Markets
Paper 7	Economic, Business and Commercial Laws
Paper 8	Financial and Strategic Management

 

CS Professional Programme

 The CS professional course is the final level of the CS program. 

 Eligibility:

For candidates aspiring to get admission for the cs professional course, it is compulsory for them to clear the cs executive program successfully.

CS Professional Syllabus

The CS professional course consists of 3 modules; each module consists of 3 papers.  

 Module I

Paper	Subject
Paper 1	Governance, Risk Management, Compliances and Ethics
Paper 2	Advanced Tax Laws
Paper 3	Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances

 Module II

Paper	Subject
Paper 4	Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management and Due Diligence
Paper 5	Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency, Liquidation & Winding-up
Paper 6	Resolution of Corporate Disputes, Non-Compliances & Remedies

 Module III: In the final module of the cs professional course syllabus, there will be paper 7,8, and 9. The first paper includes Corporate Funding & Listings in Stock Exchanges, the second - Multidisciplinary Case Studies, and paper 9 will have Eight Elective Papers. These 8 elective papers are -

• Banking in Law and Practice
• Insurance in Law and Practice
• Intellectual Property Rights in Law and Practices
• Labour Laws and Practice
• Forensic Audit
• Valuations & Business Modelling
• Direct Tax Law & Practice
• Insolvency in Law and Practice

Job Opportunities for Company Secretary

A CS has many job opportunities awaiting them. They can both work in an organisation, MNCS’s or they can set up their own private practice. 

They can look into job roles such as Business Consultant, Operations Manager, Investment Banker, Finance Consultant, Marketing Manager, Stock Broker and such. 

 

If you have any more questions regarding the programmes or wish to compare this course with others such as a CA, CMA or how to appear for the exams feel free to contact our career experts they will guide you through the course.