Company Secretary (CS) is the professional course whose
future seems to be very bright after the introduction of Companies Act, 2013.
There is lot of confusion amongst the students regarding the similarities and
difference between Company Secretary course and Chartered Accountancy (CA)
course. We are explaining you the eight
major differences between these two prestigious courses. If student qualifies CPT (entrance exam of
CA) then he/she can appear directly in the executive examination of CS without
qualifying the CS foundation exam. However, CS foundation successful candidates
are not eligible for CA IPCC examination. Hence, students who are yet to make
their mind either to pursue a CA or CS, should start preparation for Common
Proficiency Test (CPT) so that both doors remain open for them after qualifying
CPT. Other than CPT’s eligibility for both CA and CS, there is no similarity
between these two professional courses.
Criteria
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Chartered Accountant (CA)
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Company Secretariat (CS)
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1) Course details
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Chartered Accountancy
Course is a professional course in the field of Accounting. It is about
financial management, taxation and accounting.
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The Company Secretary
(CS) is a professional course which is conducted by The Institute of Company
Secretaries of India (ICSI). To become a Company Secretary, the candidates
need to pass the Foundation Programme, Executive Programme, and Professional
Programme.
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2) Career Scope
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The scope of a CA is very
wide. He can either pursue private practice or join an organisation's
financial accounting department or serve in taxation departments. He can also
work in fields of Finance, Corporate finance, Management consultancy, Tax
Compliance, Change management. Chartered accountants mostly deal with studies
like market research, budget planning, planning of policies; management of
working capital of an organisation, etc. Their duty is to ensure that the
particular company is maintaining its financial transactions according to the
law of the country and manage the cost and tax matters of it.
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A Company Secretary can
find employment in government accounts or law departments or he can become a
Managing Director or Chairman of a Company and be a part of the Board of
Directors of a Company. The role of a Company Secretary is that of an advisor
for legal matters. If a company goes public, then the management of the
public issue falls under the ambit of a Company Secretary. All legalities
involved with inter-corporate investments and loans are looked after by a
Company Secretary.
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3) Skills required
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Good aptitude skills with
concentration ability, good with numbers, good analytical skills, can work
under pressure, a systematic way of working.
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Proficiency of law and
management, good communication skills to deal with many types of people,
should sound convincing and the capacity to fit in the corporate environment.
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4) Authority
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A CA can act as a lawyer
and appear before various appellate authorities of direct and indirect tax
departments like The Commissioner of Income Tax, Income Tax Appellate
Tribunal etc and defend his client
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A CS does not have the
authority to defend his client or represent him in a case.
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5) Power
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In India, it is only a CA
who can conduct various statutory audits and audits under Income Tax Act
called Tax Audit etc.
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A CS does not have the
power to conduct such audits
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6) Statutory body
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The CA is a member of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. A person can only become a CA
after passing exams conducted by The Institute of Chartered Accountants of
India
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A CS is a member of The
Institute of Company Secretaries of India. A person can become a CS only
after passing exams conducted by the Institute of Company Secretaries of
India.
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7) Companies hiring
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PwC, Ernst & Young,
HSBC Bank, Neeraj Bhagat & Co., KPMG, Alok Sinhal, ICICI Prudential, Om
Kotak Mahindra, Birla Sun-Life, Tata AIF Life, Reliance, HDFC Standard
Life-Chartered Accountancy Co., Max New York Life, SBI
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Banks like SBI, HSBC,
Bureau of Public Enterprises, government financial institutions and stock
exchanges, universities, etc
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8) Institutes offering
the course
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The Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is both an examining and a licensing
body. It is the responsibility of the institute to conduct the Chartered
accountancy (CA) Courses throughout the country. A CA programme is of two
years apart from the training period. It has three sections, Competency
Professional Test (CPT) that was earlier known as Professional Education exam
PE1, Professional Competency Examination (PCE) and Final examination
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The minimum eligibility
required for the foundation course for training as a Company Secretary is
10+2. Graduates or post-graduates in commerce, or any other discipline are
allowed to skip the foundation course and enroll directly for the
intermediate examination. This exemption is also extended to those who have
passed out of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountancy or the Institute of
Chartered Accountants of India. For better career prospects one may opt for
the Company Secretary course after having completed either the Cost and Works
Accountancy course or the Chartered Accountancy course or both. The Institute
of Company Secretaries of India conducts examinations for different levels of
competencies throughout the country. Those who clear these examinations are
granted membership to the Institute.
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Procedure to join Company Secretary course
The required educational qualifications for the Foundation course is
10+2 . However, you can get yourself registered for foundation course after passing 10th class itself but you can appear in it after passing the 10+2 only.
After completing the foundation course you can apply for the
Executive programme and at the time of Executive programme course your
age should be 17 years.
After passing the Executive Programme
examination, you can registered for the Professional Programme.
Admission to this course throughout the year and this exam is conducted 2 times in a year such as June & December.
Course Duration
A candidate needs to clear 3 stages to qualify as Company Secretary and these are:
Foundation Course: The minimum eligibility to gain entry in the Foundation Course is a pass in 10+2 examination or its equivalent in any stream.
Admission to this course throughout the year and this exam is conducted 2 times in a year such as June & December.
Course Duration
A candidate needs to clear 3 stages to qualify as Company Secretary and these are:
Foundation Course: The minimum eligibility to gain entry in the Foundation Course is a pass in 10+2 examination or its equivalent in any stream.
Subjects of Foundation Programme
Business Environment and Entrepreneurship
Business Management Ethics and Communication
Business Economics
Fundamentals of Accounting and Auditing
Exam Pattern: Each paper of foundation course consists of 100 marks and minimum 40% marks in each subject along with 50% aggregate i.e 200 marks are required to qualify the first stage of CS. Foundation exam conducted online in two shifts. There is no negative marking in the entrance exam of CS and around 60% candidates get success in passing the foundation exam.
Intermediate Course: A pass in the Foundation Course Examination of the
ICSI/Graduation degree or a Master's degree/Pass in ICWAI, ICAI can
allow you entry in the intermediate course.
duration: The course is of 9 months.
duration: The course is of 9 months.
Subjects of Executive Programme
Module 1
Company Law
Cost and Management Accounting
Economics and Commercial Laws
Tax Laws and Practice
Module 2
Company Accounting and Auditing Practices
Capital Markets and Securities Laws
Industrial, Labour and General Laws
Final Course: On passing the Final examination of ICSI you will need to undergo a practical training after which, you will be completely eligible for the Associate Membership of the Institute.
Final Course: On passing the Final examination of ICSI you will need to undergo a practical training after which, you will be completely eligible for the Associate Membership of the Institute.
Subjects of Professional Programme
Module 1
Company Secretarial Practice
Drafting, Appearances and Pleadings
Module 2
Financial, Treasury and Forex management
Corporate Restructuring and Insolvency
Module 3
Strategic Management, Alliances and International Trade
Advanced Tax Law and Practice
Module 4
Due Diligence and Corporate Compliance Management
Governance, Business Ethics and Sustainability
Bhavesh Deshmukh
Girish Johar
Ramesh S
Krish
#Dhoni #Ranchi
Mohit Banka
#GauravPradhan
