CS in Demand

Company secretaries are in demand with the economic boom and the liberalisation of the market. This can be a very lucrative and prestigious career for those seeking to enter the private or the public sector


The demand for trained company secretaries is enormous and growing. There are a number of factors fuelling this requirement. The primary contributing factor is the growth of our country’s economy. The policy of liberalisation has created favourable conditions for setting up of new industrial units and corporate offices across the country. Further, it has also attracted foreign players in the country on a large scale. All this has translated into India as one of the fastest growing economies of the world. Also, there is a spurt in corporate activities as far as expansions, mergers, collaborations, joint ventures, and so on are concerned. An exponential rise in demand for highly trained company administrators and officials.

Corporate rulings

According to the corporate law of our country, any company that has a paid-up capital of Rs.5 crore or more is required to engage a full time company secretary. This corporate directive has automatically opened new avenues for secretaries in the era of liberalisation. Another company law directive states that any company which intends to enlist itself on the stock exchange is to employ a full time company secretary. This means more job openings for company secretaries.

Recognition in the public sector

Members of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) are eligible for higher posts in various central government offices. This means company secretaries play a critical role in the private sector but also in the public sector. This is also a lucrative option for aspiring company secretaries.

Further, members of ICSI are qualified for taking up positions in different grades of the accounts department within the Indian Company Law Service. The Indian Banks Association has directed its members to mull over the appointment of company secretaries as specialists in the field of law, finance, accounts, and other banking operations.

Highly trained professionals

These candidates have good exposure to a wide spectrum of subjects such as law, accountancy, administration, secretarial practice, and so on. This automatically qualifies them for a vast range of positions within a company at an early stage in their career.

In the realm of law, company secretaries act as the primary legal advisor to an organisation. As secretaries, they are an essential go-between the company board of directors and various internal and external stakeholders. They are entrusted with the important task of managing the corporate governance of a company. Company secretaries also ensure that the company is adhering to the directives of various regulatory bodies. With the spurt in economic and financial activities, a company secretary also has to look into matters pertaining to strategic and business planning.

The rigorous training that company secretaries undergo also comes handy in managing the affairs of different types of organisations. They posses the correct skill set to work in small, medium, or large scale industries. Furthermore, they can get into cooperatives, trusts, associations, regulatory authorities, other corporate bodies, firms, and even start their own consultancy business.

Independent options

Company secretaries have the added advantage of setting up their own consultancy business after obtaining a certificate of practice. Companies with a paid-up share capital of Rs.10 lakh and more and less than Rs.2 crores are required to utilise the services of practicing company secretaries for issuing corporate compliance certificates.

Various corporate laws facilitate independent practitioners to issue compliance certificates and attest important corporate documents. This means a huge volume of work for company secretaries. Company secretaries’ posses an in-depth knowledge of a wide variety of subjects. In this context, they can take up position of a lecturer or a visiting faculty in various educational institutions.

According to industry assessment, there is a big demand for company secretaries. At present, there is a yawning gap between the requirement and the supply of these highly skilled professionals in our country. Institutions running this course are experiencing a hitherto glut of applications to this prestigious course in the past couple of years.