Company Secretary Work
The company secretary plays a crucial role in the administration of an organization. They perform several clerical and administrative functions in order to manage the regulatory matters of the organization. Maintaining statutory norms and confirming legality in business operations come under the job scope of a secretary. A company secretary is called as a corporate secretary in the United States. Company secretary work is explained in detail below.
Job Nature
The work of a company secretary is regulatory and supervisory. It includes keeping track of organization's practices and ensuring they comply with the financial and legal standards applicable to business organizations. They establish coordination between the board of directors, shareholders and the regulatory boards. They perform advisory functions as well where they are required to guide the organization on meeting all legal requisites. They must be adept at analyzing the planned work with the actual work such they make certain all protocols have been met.
Work Requirements
Educational Qualifications:
All candidates aspiring to work as company secretaries require competence in subjects of public administrations, economics, corporate law, finance and accountancy for the graduation degree. Further, they must enroll at The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators and complete the course to gain the title of company secretary.
Skills:
- Excellent communication skills that will help establish coordination between the organization and regulation authority members
- Strong managerial skills that help keep track of the departmental activities and ensure legal compliance
- Multitasking abilities that allow handling different responsibilities at once
- Ability to comprehend voluminous data and sort out information relevant to the requirements
- Diplomatic approach and ability to maintain cordial relations with all associates
Work Responsibilities
- Make arrangements for company meetings and take down the minutes of the meeting
- Maintain all statutory books of annual reports, register of members, register of directors, etc.
- Monitor the changes in the regulatory framework and adopt them in organization's protocols
- Advice on legal matters and ensure the organization meets all legal policies
- Check legality in accounting and taxation procedures
- Ensure accurate payments of dividend and interests to stakeholders
Work Conditions
- Candidates work for normal office hours of 40 hours a week. However, on certain days they need to put in additional working hours to accommodate lengthy meetings or prepare statutory reports, as per the requirement.
- Secretaries work in typical office settings. However, traveling is required for candidates who work in large scale organizations with multiple branches all over the city or country or world. They must report to branch offices to verify their legal documents.
- Secretaries perform jobs with higher grade of responsibilities. Any mistake or inconsistency can lead to strict legal action against the organization. Hence, company secretaries are often under pressure to fulfill legal formalities with precision.
- Secretaries wear dual hats of being a legal advisor and administrator. They must be good at multitasking and ensure they do not mix their roles. Candidates often find multitasking stressful and difficult.
Career Prospects
- New reforms get introduced for organization with every passing year that increases legal complexities. Hence, it becomes vital to employ an expert to take care of the legal requisites. This need has improved the prospects for company secretary jobs
- A company secretary performs multiple functions of advisor and administrators. Job opportunities are better for candidates who are lawyers by profession as they double up as legal advisors for the organization.
- Company secretaries receive handsome salaries. Hence, many jobs seekers are keen on taking up this profession. This has given rise to stiff competition among the experienced and fresh job seekers.
Employment Industries
All organizations are required to hire company secretaries, especially public companies. They can work for any types of organization, whether services industry (such as medical or education) or a manufacturing unit. Some candidates work as full time employees while some others choose to work on contract basis.
The position of a company secretary comes across in countries of UK or Canada. It bears many similarities with the position of corporate secretary, used in United States. Hence, study the information given here and relate it to the peculiarities of your country and choose your career.
