Company Secretary: Job Description, Education & Career Prospects

Also referred to as a chartered secretary, a company secretary has an array of financial and legal management responsibilities to perform. While working as a company secretary, your job is to ensure that company laws and financial rules and regulations are appropriately followed by the company and its directors. From the duties and the job responsibilities, it is obvious that the job position is very prestigious. Not only the job position brings you a lot of job satisfaction, but it is a profitable career as well. Almost every organization which has a corporate structure requires company secretaries to handle administrative responsibilities.

Job Responsibilities
There is an array of legal and financial duties that a company secretary needs to perform. The typical responsibilities of the secretary are as follows.

Maintaining the list of company directors and shareholders
Furnishing company information to the Stock Exchange
Taking meetings of annual and board meetings
Preparation of annual company reports
Handling share schemes and paying dividends
Dealing with professionals like auditors, lawyers etc.

Duties, however, may vary depending on the size and type of organization you work for. In addition to performing the above mentioned work responsibilities, company secretaries may also look after tasks including health and safety management, property management and managing the accounts and finance of the organization.

Educational Qualification & Training Required
To land jobs with a public limited company, you need to be an accountant, a solicitor or must qualify with the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA). Under this scheme, candidates are required to qualify the ICSA certificate in business practice, ICSA diploma in business practice and the Part 1 and 2 of the professional program. On the other hand, if you wish to join as a company secretary with a private company, you need not qualify for this. However, you need to possess educational qualification in business law, public administration, accountancy etc. Today, aspiring candidates have the flexibility of taking ICSA courses both via campus mode and online. For further occupational details of this secretariship profession, you can visit the ICSA website.

Besides having the required educational qualification, there are some other essential skills you need to posses to make the most of your career. Some of these important skills include excellent communication skills (verbal and written), strong presentation skills, strong negotiation skills, good organizational skills, good understanding of law and finance, problem solving capabilities and decision making abilities among others.

Work Conditions
Working hours are standard, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm. Apart from full time work, part time job opportunities are also available. Company secretaries may need to put in some extra hours depending on the timelines of the projects. Professionals spend most of their time in office. However, you may also be asked to travel for attending company meetings.

Career Prospects
Almost all the organizations that run on a corporate structure and registered companies must need company secretaries. Whether it is the public sector or the private sector, there is no dearth of employment opportunities for trained professionals. For jobs opportunities, you can check national press, accounting industry publications, law industry publications and niche job websites. Both full time and part time employment opportunities are available for secretaries. You can also start your own work as a consultant working for multiple small businesses. With growing experience and skills, a company secretary may also be promoted to senior level positions like company's chief executive or managing director.

Annual Salary
Salaries of company secretaries vary depending on the nature and size of the organization and years of experience professionals carry. Starting average salary ranges between £35,000 and £55,000. As you grow in experience your annual salary can reach up to £120,000.