A dearth of company secretaries is being felt in the country, especially after the enactment of the Companies Act, 2013, even though it is a financially rewarding profession at present, according to R Sridharan, President of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Sridharan, who was here in connection with the holding of a seminar on the Companies Act, 2013, was speaking to the media on Tuesday.

He said the role of a company secretary has become very important in the changed circumstances. He said there are 35,000 registered company secretaries in the country, of whom a mere 6500 are professionals and there is a dearth of trained qualified professionals in the country.

Fully qualified professionals were offered packages upward of ₹14 lakh per annum and partly qualified company secretaries were drawing a minimum of ₹15,000 per month. He said the Companies Act had defined the role of the CS and held him or her responsible for compliance with various provisions of the Act. The CS was defined as a key management personnel holding him/ her responsible for the errors and violations of provisions of law. The ICSI had impressed upon the Centre to expand the provisions of the Act to make it mandatory for companies, both private and public, with ₹5 crore annual turnover to appoint a fulltime company secretary, he said.

Course details He said the CS course was through correspondence and it could be completed in three-and-a-half years and the registration was valid for five years. Students who have passed +2 in any stream, except fine arts, can register and appear for the foundation level examination after nine months. The second is Executive level after which employment can be sought in any company. The final or Professional level has five elective subjects. The students have to qualify in a group and it is not adequate to pass in one exam. The fees is ₹35,000.

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