Who is a Company Secretary: A complete Guide!!

What is a Company Secretary?

A company secretary has a top position in the public sector. They are also referred to as compliance officers, and they hold one of the essential managerial positions in any organisation, along with the CEO and CFO. A company secretary is frequently referred to as a corporate secretary in sizable publicly traded American and Canadian firms. A business's efficient administration is the responsibility of the company secretary, who also ensures that the board of directors' decisions are carried out and that all legal and regulatory obligations are met.

Contrary to its name, this position is neither clerical nor secretarial. The company secretary makes sure that a firm complies with all applicable laws and regulations and informs the board of directors of their legal obligations. Company secretaries are the organization's designated signatory on contracts, and it is their duty to make sure that the business and its directors abide by the law. They are also accountable for maintaining corporate records, including director and shareholder lists and yearly reports, as well as for registering and communicating with shareholders, ensuring dividend payments, and paying dividends.

Private corporations have typically been obliged by law to name one individual as the company secretary, who is typically a senior board member, in many nations.

All industries have high-level responsibilities for company secretaries, including management of governance mechanisms, corporate behavior within an organization's regulatory environment, board, shareholder, and trustee meetings, compliance with legal, regulatory, and listing requirements, non-executive and trustee training and induction, contact with regulatory and external bodies, reports and circulars to shareholders/trustees, and management of employee benefits like health insurance.

What is the role of Company Secretary? 

Company secretaries are the go-to people for assistance on how to run a corporation, and this advice can range from legal counsel on potential conflicts of interest to accounting counsel on financial reporting to corporate strategy and planning.

Giving counsel on matters of corporate governance is a role that corporate secretaries play in public firms in North America that is becoming more and more crucial. Sound corporate governance is viewed by many shareholders, especially institutional investors, as being crucial to the effectiveness of the board and the company. They encourage boards to conduct regular corporate governance assessments and to publish written statements of corporate governance principles quite forcefully.

The corporate secretary is typically the executive to support directors in these endeavours, offering knowledge on other corporations' practises and assisting the board in moulding corporate governance concepts and procedures to suit the board's requirements and investor expectations. A title like Chief Governance Officer has been added to the corporate secretary's current position in some organisations, formalising their work as a corporate governance advisor.

The profession of company secretaries is governed in India by "The Institute of Company Secretaries of India" (ICSI). More than 65,000 associate members belong to ICSI, a statutory professional organisation.

In addition to serving as executives and company secretaries, Chartered Secretaries also serve as chairs, chief executives, and non-executive directors. Some chartered secretaries are also known as corporate secretarial executives/managers or corporate secretarial directors inside their own organisations.

Many corporate secretaries of publicly traded corporations in North America are attorneys, and some of them also act as general counsel for their firms. While this may be advantageous in carrying out their tasks, it may also make it difficult to distinguish between commercial counsel and legal advice, which is covered by the attorney-client privilege.

Categories of Company Secretaries:

Private secretary: Private secretaries must build trust with their clients in order to successfully manage a range of tasks. This entails determining the person's requirements and expectations. The position of a private secretary also requires strong communication and organisational abilities. Additionally, a private secretary oversees their clients' schedules. Conferences, business meetings, and appointments will be scheduled by the personal secretary. Even private secretaries occasionally inform others about conversations and other happenings.

Secretary of Government Department: In the Indian government, secretaries hold positions like that of home secretary, finance secretary, member of the railway board, secretary of defence, and secretary of telecommunications. Under the Central Staffing Scheme, the position known simply as "Secretary to the Government of India" exists. The Council of Ministers of the Union is primarily in charge of creating this position.

Embassy secretary: An embassy secretary's duties include assisting his minister with administrative matters and providing the state secretary or even other foreign ministers with specific information, typically in the form of preliminary draughts. He or she informs their respective governments on crucial political, social, economic, military, and other events taking place in the host country. He or she organises state delegation visits and international accords. He or she seeks to advance the culture, economics, and knowledge of their own country in the host country.

What is the future of the Company Secretary position?

Organizations are placing greater emphasis on demonstrating corporate accountability and transparency while managing the ternal affairs. Additionally, it's important for many stakeholders to maintain their credibility. Since higher management will be preoccupied with creating the overall organisational structure, only a few talented and skilled employees will be able to capitalise on the new opportunity. The need for a company secretary has increased as the position's importance to a company entity's smooth operations has grown as well. Not only do they occupy the highest position in the organisational hierarchy, but they also play a crucial role both inside and beyond the organisation. This job description offers a wide range of pleasurable career options along with a great deal of difficult situations.

Conclusion:

Hope you all will surely like this blog. I had tried to provide all the necessary information about CS. Who is CS, their responsibilities and roles, what is the future of being a CS. All this will definitely help those students who are preparing themselves to be a CS. 

All the best!!!