The New Companies Bill which is expected to be passed in Parliament soon will trigger a demand for company secretaries in India since it will be mandatory for companies to take the services of a company secretary the moment the Bill becomes an Act, said Nesar Ahmad, President, The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).
He pointed out that there is vast demand-supply gap in the availability of qualified company secretaries and hence it will be a prudent decision for students if they take advantage of the situation by joining company secretaryship course of ICSI.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, Mr. Ahmad said that the new Companies Bill 2011 which will replace the old Companies Act 1956 is all set to create good career opportunities for students since it is going to change the way a business or a company is managed.
“The rules of the game are going to change as the new Bill will focus on compliance laws in terms of filing tax returns, disclosures and auditing. Offences by companies, both small and big, will attract penalty. So, the role of company secretary is becoming important soon,” he informed.
He said that lot of initiatives have been taken up to encourage students pursue company secretary as a profession and career. In that direction, special coaching centres would be started in select universities and colleges. One such coaching centre will be set up at Lady Doak College in Madurai in view of the interest shown by its students and the commerce department faculty, he added.
Many technology interventions have been made for the benefit of students joining company secretary course. “When there are lakhs of companies in this country and their compliance level is expected to improve, the demand for company secretaries would go up. Every company will have to get annual returns signed by a company secretary when the Bill is passed by the Parliament,” Mr. Ahmad said.
Earlier, Mr. Ahmad addressed the students of Lady Doak College at a lecture organised by the Department of Commerce.
Mercy Pushpalatha, Principal, Lady Doak College, spoke. “Commerce department students constitute one-third of our total student strength and the department is doing a splendid work,” she said.
R M. Nagammai, Head of the Department of Commerce and S. Kumararajan, chairman, ICSI Madurai Chapter, were among those who spoke.
