KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT COMPANY SECRETARY(CS) COURSE

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	Chartered Accountant (CA)	Company Secretariat (CS)
1) Course details	Chartered Accountancy Course is a professional course in the field of Accounting. It is about financial management, taxation and accounting.	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.
2) Career Scope	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.	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.
3) Skills required	Good aptitude skills with concentration ability, good with numbers, good analytical skills, can work under pressure, a systematic way of working.	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.
4) Authority	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	A CS does not have the authority to defend his client or represent him in a case.
5) Power	In India, it is only a CA who can conduct various statutory audits and audits under Income Tax Act called Tax Audit etc.	A CS does not have the power to conduct such audits
6) Statutory body	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	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.
7) Companies hiring	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	Banks like SBI, HSBC, Bureau of Public Enterprises, government financial institutions and stock exchanges, universities, etc
8) Institutes offering the course	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	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.

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.

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.

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.

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