The role of a Company Secretary

Mar 14, 2023

Introduction:

A company secretary is a senior executive who plays a crucial role in ensuring that a company complies with legal and regulatory requirements, as well as safeguarding the interests of the company’s shareholders and other stakeholders. The company secretary is often described as the “guardian of good corporate governance,” and their role is becoming increasingly important in today’s complex business environment.

Responsibilities:

The role of a company secretary can be broadly divided into three main areas: compliance, governance, and administration.

  • Compliance: One of the primary responsibilities of a company secretary is to ensure that the company complies with all legal and regulatory requirements. This includes maintaining and updating the company’s registers, filing annual returns with the relevant authorities, and ensuring that the company adheres to all applicable laws and regulations. They are also responsible for ensuring that the company’s directors are aware of their legal and regulatory obligations and that they comply with them. This includes ensuring that the board of directors meets regularly and that proper minutes are kept of all meetings.
  • Governance: The company secretary should also ensure that the company follows appropriate corporate governance standards. This includes advising the board of directors on corporate governance issues such as board composition and structure, director appointment and removal, and the separation of the responsibilities of the CEO and chairman of the board. They are in charge of ensuring that the firm’s policies and procedures comply with best practices and that the corporation follows its code of conduct and ethical standards. This includes ensuring that the company’s policies and procedures are followed and advising the board of directors on any possible difficulties.
  • Administration: CS is responsible for the day-to-day administration of the company. This includes maintaining the company’s statutory records, ensuring that the company’s filings and registrations are up to date, and providing administrative support to the board of directors. The company secretary is also tasked with informing and protecting the business’s shareholders about any essential information, such as the date and venue of the annual general meeting. This includes maintaining the register of shareholders and ensuring that all shareholder communications are accurate and timely.

Qualifications:

The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) is the professional body that regulates and governs the profession of company secretaries in India. To become a company secretary in India, one must complete the ICSI course and become a member of the institute. The ICSI course consists of three stages: Foundation, Executive, and Professional.

After completing the course and becoming a member of the ICSI, one can work as a company secretary in a company or can provide services as a practicing company secretary. 

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, the role of a company secretary is critical to the success of any company. By ensuring that the company complies with legal and regulatory requirements, adheres to good corporate governance practices, and provides efficient administration, the company secretary plays a crucial role in protecting the company’s and its stakeholders’ interests.

How Dess helps Company Secretaries:

Board meeting software like Dess can help company secretaries manage board meetings more efficiently and effectively, allowing them to focus on other important tasks. Board portal software has significantly decreased the amount of time and resources required to prepare board meeting materials. Such technology can be used to speed up the preparation of agendas and the taking of meeting minutes which are critical components of the drive to implement contemporary governance.

  • End-to-end board portal software addressing pre-meeting, during-meeting, and post-meeting requirements
  • Paperless board and committee meetings with cross-platform compatibility for all major devices such as laptops, desktops, tablets, and smartphones and all operating systems including Android, iOS, and Windows
  • Minutes management solution with in-built automatic activity tracking and action taken reports, agenda builder, and minutes builder
  • Online approvals with digital signature and e-signature compatibility and workflow management software
  • Calendar management for the board of directors with automatic board meeting scheduling and attendance management
  • Notings and annotations including shareable and private comments, drawings, and highlights with offline use for on-the-go access
  • Configurable reports for compliance management and tracking corporate governance and ESG goals
  • Board evaluation and performance evaluation with configurable and confidential reports

About Dess:

Dess Digital Meetings is the world’s easiest-to-use board portal software for paperless board and committee meetings. Leading organizations in over 25 countries prefer Dess as their choice for efficient and effective board management software.

Dess is committed to increasing the global value of information by leveraging unstructured data to empower the right people at the right time with the right technology. With its group of highly competent and motivated people, it has implemented several first-of-its-kind solutions.

Visit us to know more.