Article Index
Chartered or Company Secretary
Personal qualities
All Pages

Chartered or company secretaries work largely to advise company directors on how to ensure that their organisation both complies with legal and statutory requirements and is managed efficiently on a day-to-day basis.

The work includes maintaining statutory company records and sending annual reports to Companies House, organising and minuting board and general meetings, and advising directors on legal points. Where relevant, company secretaries also act as a link between shareholders and directors.

Many chartered or company secretaries have a range of other administrative duties in an organisation, often centred on accounting and finance, including responsibility for the annual budget, internal audit, credit control and the company payroll. Beyond finance, their responsibilities might include human resources management, pension schemes, office management, insurance, data protection issues or computer systems.

Entry level

The Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) has an 'open access' policy, which means that you can join its foundation training programme without any formal academic qualifications. You would simply need to be at least 17. In practice, however, many company secretaries are graduates with considerable professional experience. Before you can be accepted as a member of ICSA, you must supply two references confirming that you are a 'fit and proper person' to undertake the work involved.

Maturity and experience are at a premium in a job carrying such high levels of responsibility and it is usual to gain experience in different kinds of corporate administrative work before becoming a company secretary.

Making the grade

The ICSA scheme of study is based on the themes of administration, management, corporate law and corporate finance. The foundation programme offers an introduction to business economics, information systems, organisation and human resources, quantitative techniques and English and European Union law. The pre-professional programme prepares people for positions of responsibility in managing information systems, management principles, business law and accounting. The professional programme covers eight modules: management accounting, financial accounting, company secretarial practice, professional administration, corporate finance and taxation, management practice, corporate law and administration of corporate affairs. The courses may be studied full-time, part-time in the evening or by distance learning. On average, it takes three to four years to complete the three programmes by part-time study.

Graduates with a recognised first degree or postgraduate award are normally exempt from the foundation and pre-professional stages and can register directly for the professional programme. Candidates with other academic or professional qualifications may be exempt from at least the foundation stage.

To become an associate member of the ICSA, you must also gain six years' appropriate work experience. In common with most other professional people, you must then undertake a programme of continuing professional development to ensure that you keep your knowledge up to date.