ICSI is having two overseas centres at Dubai and New York. The ICSI has on its rolls more than 58,000 qualified CS members both in employment and in practice and around 3,50,000 students pursuing the Company Secretaryship Course. The Company Secretary has been given statutory recognition of Key Managerial Personnel (KMP) under the Companies Act, 2013. In this article you can find everything you want to know about How to become company secretary. Here we are providing complete details like –

The Role of Company Secretary ,Company Secretary Course Highlights,Stages to become a Company Secretary,Cut off dates for admission to CS course,Subjects of Company Secretary Course,Qualifying MarksExisting training requirementsEmployment opportunities in India and abroad .

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How to Become Company Secretary

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The Role of Company Secretary :

COMPANY SECRETARY IN EMPLOYMENT

Advisor to the Board of DirectorsKey ManagerialPersonnel (KMP)Compliance OfficerCorporate Risk ManagerCorporate Planner & Strategic Manager

COMPANY SECRETARY IN PRACTICE

Secretarial AuditorRegistered ValuerInsolvency ProfessionalExpert under Corporate LawsNCLT PractitionerIPR, International Trade & WTO ServicesMediator and ConciliatorGST ProfessionalRepresentation ServicesIPR, International Trade & WTO Services

Company Secretary Course Highlights:

No Entry Barrier – opportunity for every studentCost EffectiveDistance Learning – any where in the world24×7 study through e-learningFlexibility in the schedules – Registration valid for 3 to 5 years.Excellent career opportunities for CS professionalPosition of Power and PrestigeOffers Self Employment  and Job OpportunitiesDirect Access to Top Management / Board RoomGood remuneration and growth opportunities

Stages to become a Company Secretary:

The student who would like to join the Course after 10+2 pass or equivalent has to undergo three stages to pursue the Company Secretaries Course i.e

Foundation Programme (Now CSEET)Executive ProgrammeProfessional Programme

Foundation Programme which is of eight months duration can be pursued by 10+2 pass or equivalent students of Arts, Science or Commerce stream (Excluding Fine Arts) CS Executive Entrance Test (CSEET) is being introduced which will be a mandatory qualifying test for all categories of students for registration to Executive Programme except a few exempted categories. Graduates / Post raduates, who were hitherto eligible to seek registration directly to Executive Programme, will also have to qualify the CSEET to become eligible for registration to Executive Programme. In order to become eligible for registration as a student of Executive Programme, an applicant, who is an Indian National, shall apply in the appropriate form, along with the student registration fee, annual subscription, if applicable, education fee and such other fees, as may be determined by the Council and shall also produce proof to the satisfaction of the Council that he,-

(i) has passed Senior Secondary Examination (10+2 system) conducted by an examining body constituted by law in India or an examination recognised by the Central Government or State Government or equivalent thereto for the purposes of admission to Bachelor’s degree course and has complied with such requirements as may be determined by the Council; and (ii) has passed Company Secretary Executive Entrance Test (CSEET) conducted by the Institute in such manner, mode and eligibility as may be determined by the Council or any other test or examination recognised or equivalent thereto or exempted therefrom by the Council:

The following categories of students shall be exempted from qualifying CSEET and can seek registration directly to Executive Programme :

a) CS Foundation Programme passed students Exemption Fee – Nilb) ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) Final Course passed students – Exemption Fee : Rs.5000/-c) ICMAI (The Institute of Cost Accountants of India) Final Course passed students – Exemption Fee: Rs. 5000/-.

Professional Programme can be pursued only after clearing the Executive Programme of CS Course ADMISSION TO THE CS COURSE is open throughout the year. Examinations are held twice a year in June & December.Students have to register online at www.icsi.edu

Cut off dates for admission to CS course: 

Subjects for CS Course

CSEET Subjects

The Syllabus of CSEET shall comprise of four papers and the nomenclature of the papers is as under:

(i) Paper 1 : Business Communication (50 marks)(ii) Paper 2 : Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning (50 marks)(iii) Paper 3 : Economic and Business Environment (50 marks)(iv) Paper 4 : Current Affairs, Presentation and Communication Skills (Viva Voce) (50 marks)

Foundation Subjects

Medium of Examination

The Institute allows facility to students to appear in examination in English as well as in Hindi. (Except Business Communication subject of Foundation Program) All candidates registered under Syllabus (2012), enrolled for the Foundation Programme examination shall be examined under Syllabus (2017), from June 2018 session onwards, i.e., candidates shall be compulsorily switched over from Syllabus (2012) to Syllabus (2017) for Foundation Programme Examination with effect from June 2018

  1. The last examination of the Executive Programme under the old syllabus shall be held in December, 2019.
  2. From and including June 2020, Executive Programme Examination shall be held under the new syllabus only. 3.It has been decided by the institute that examination of following subjects shall be held in MCQ based OMR format w.e.f. December 2019

Module 1 Paper 4-Tax Laws Module 2 Paper 5-Corporate & Management Accounting Module 2 Paper 8.Financial and Strategic Management

9.1 Banking – Law & Practice 9.2 Insurance– Law & Practice 9.3 Intellectual Property Rights– Laws and Practices 9.4 Forensic Audit 9.5 Direct Tax Law & Practice 9.6 Labour Laws & Practice 9.7 Valuations & Business Modelling 9.8 Insolvency – Law and Practice (The examination for this paper will be open book examination)

  1. Candidates registered prior to 1st September, 2018 will be permitted to appear in the Professional Programme Examination under the new syllabus if they so opt.
  2. The last examination of the Professional Programme under the old syllabus shall be held in June, 2020.
  3. From and including December 2020, Professional Programme Examination shall be held under the new syllabus only.

Qualifying Marks

A candidate is declared to have passed the Foundation / Executive / Professional examination, if he/she secures at one sitting a minimum of 40% marks in each paper and 50% marks in the aggregate of all subjects.

Qualifying Marks Passing Criteria for CS Examination

Existing training requirements 

The students are required to undergo the following trainings:

MEMBERSHIP

After qualifying the CS Professional Programme and on completion of training as provided under the CS Regulations, a candidate is enrolled as an Associate Member of the Institute and he can use the descriptive title ACS; after his / her name.

Employment Opportunities

As a qualified company secretary, one can find good positions in the private sector and public sectors, banks and financial institutions. You can also look for openings in stock exchanges, the Department of Company Affairs, company law boards and various government departments. Also,The Institute’s Headquarters and its Regional Offices provide placement assistance to its members. Campus Placements are also organised for young Company Secretaries looking for employment and students looking for training through Placement and Trainee Drives .

Opportunities Abroad

A qualified company secretary may nevertheless find employment opportunities similar to those available to business graduates in the USA, Australia UK or other European countries. Icsi MOU with Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) The ICSI and Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) having regard for each other’s high standards of examination for mutual benefit of members  signed an MOU on 13th November, 1998 providing for reciprocal exemptions of subjects as well as training requirements to members of each other’s Institutes. Further more, ICSA and ICSI have signed a supplement to the existing MoU for inclusion of subjects as per New Syllabus of ICSI and ICSA and extended the same with nine divisions of ICSA namely Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa, Zimbabwe, UKRIAT, Canada, Hong Kong/China, Malaysia and Singapore. Henceforth, members of the ICSI can study with the ICSA divisions of their choice, subject to residency requirements in some countries.