As all of us understand that now a days, there’s a great emphasis on adherence to norms of efficient corporate governance, hence the demand of Company Secretaries have also risen especially after enactment of Company Act 2013. The role of Company Secretary revolves around the following domains-
- Structure of the company
- Management of the company
- Administration of the company
- Provisions related to conduct of affairs of company
The Company Secretary Course is offered by Institute of Company Secretaries of India. It is basically a distance learning course, although very popular among the commerce students. It is a professional course which is not only a reputed one rather is very lucrative in terms of salary.
Students who are interested to pursue this course has to undergo different stages of examinations along with some practical training sessions.
The different stages of examination includes the following-
- Foundation Programme
- Executive Programme
- Professional Programme
- Management Training
Revised Syllabus
ICSI undertook the process of revising its syllabus and brought out an unique syllabus which encompasses the innovative concepts of Core, Ancillary and Hybrid Subjects. Following have been given huge emphasis-
- Company Law,
- Securities Laws,
- Insolvency Law,
- FEMA and
- GST.
The following areas are covered under the Ancillary-
- Accounts,
- Finance,
- Taxation,
- Economic,
- Business and
- Commercial Laws and Business and
- Financial Management.
Lastly, Hybrid Subjects ensure integration of Core and Ancillary areas. In view of this, the following have been kept under this category-
- Setting up of Business,
- Governance,
- Risk and Compliance Management,
- Drafting,
- Pleadings and Appearances,
- Secretarial Audit and Due Diligence,
- Restructuring and Insolvency Resolution,
- Corporate Funding,
- Corporate Disputes etc.
Duration of CS Executive Exam
CS Executive Exams are usually held two times in a year i.e. in the months of June & December. Each paper at the Executive Programme Examination will be of three hours duration and will carry 100 marks
Mode of Examination : Combination of both 20% case based objective type questions and 80% descriptive questions at all papers at Executive Programme except Paper No. 4 i.e. Corporate Accounting and Financial Management which is 100% descriptive.
Duration : 3 Hours (each paper) Marks : 100 Marks (each paper)
| COMPANY SECRETARIES EXAMINATION – DECEMBER, 2023 | |||||||
| TIME – TABLE | |||||||
| Examination Timing : 02:00 PM to 05:15* PM | |||||||
| Date & Day | Executive Programme(Syllabus – 2017) | Executive Programme(Syllabus – 2022) | Professional Programme(Syllabus- 2017) | ||||
| 21.12.2023Thursday | Jurisprudence, Interpretation and General Laws(Module-I) | Jurisprudence, Interpretation and General Laws(Group-1) | Governance, Risk Management, Compliances and Ethics(Module – I) | ||||
| 22.12.2023Friday | Securities Laws and Capital Markets | (Module-II) | Capital Market and Securities Laws | (Group-2) | Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management and Due Diligence(Module – II) | ||
| 23.12.2023Saturday | Company Law | (Module-I) | Company Law and Practice | (Group-1) | Corporate Funding and Listings in Stock Exchanges(Module – III) | ||
| 24.12.2023Sunday | Economic, Business and Commercial Laws(Module-II) | Economic, Commercial and Intellectual Property Laws(Group-2) | Advanced Tax Laws | (Module – I) | |||
| 25.12.2023Monday | NO EXAMINATION | NO EXAMINATION | NO EXAMINATION | ||||
| 26.12.2023Tuesday | Setting Up of Business Entities and Closure(Module-I) | Setting Up of Business, Industrial and Labour Laws(Group-1) | Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency, Liquidation and Winding – up(Module – II) | ||||
| 27.12.2023Wednesday | Corporate and Management Accounting(OMR Based) (Module-II) | Tax Laws and Practice | (Group-2) | Multidisciplinary Case Studies[Open Book Exam.] | (Module – III) | ||
| 28.12.2023Thursday | Tax Laws(OMR Based) | (Module-I) | Corporate Accounting and Management | Financial(Group-1) | Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances | (Module – I) | |
| 29.12.2023Friday | Financial and Strategic Management(OMR Based) | (Module-II) | NO EXAMINATION | Resolution of Corporate Disputes, Non– Compliances and Remedies(Module – II) | |||
30.12.2023Saturday | NO EXAMINATION | NO EXAMINATION | Elective 1 out of below 5 subjects[Open Book Exam.] | (Module – III) | |||
| (i) | Banking – Law and Practice | ||||||
| (ii) | Insurance – Law and Practice | ||||||
| (iii) | Intellectual Property Rights – Laws andPractices | ||||||
| (iv) | Labour Laws and Practice | ||||||
| (v) | Insolvency – Law and Practice | ||||||
*15 minutes Extra-Time for reading the Question Paper has been granted to the Examinees from 2:00 PM to 2:15 PM
Note: The Institute reserves 31st December, 2023, 01st, 02nd and 03rd January, 2024 to meet any exigency.
Study Plan for CS Executive Exam 2023
1. Ensure complete understanding of the CS Study Material
The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) provides study material for the candidates preparing for CS Professional exam. Go through those study materials along with some reference books as recommended by experts. Conceptual understanding and correlations among various topics are the best strategies you can adopt while preparing for theoretical topics because everything is correlated. Don’t focus on memorizing, but understanding and analyzing the topic.
2. Practice of making notes
While studying the chapters make short and handy notes of the topics. This will not only help in noting down the important points but also help in remembering the topics for the future. Keep a small notebook handy while studying a new chapter. Focus on writing for theoretical subjects. It will not only improve the writing speed but also help remember the topics easily. Practice as much as you can before the exams, do the writing instead of just learning formulas.
3. Start with a proper Time Table
Prepare a timetable or study routine so that all the CS Syllabus is covered within a given time period. It is necessary to dedicate most of the time to CS Professional exam preparation. The aim should be to complete one chapter at a time. After doing that, refer to the practice manual, scanner, and gauge if the coverage is maximum.
Time tables can be made on a weekly or monthly basis with breakups in between.
4. Setting targets
Set targets for a day that is achievable. Do not set such targets which are impossible to achieve. It will only lead to exam burden and not help in any way. Aspirants must try to finish the entire syllabus at least three months before the main exam. One and a half months should be dedicated for revision. During the revision phase-only go through the previous chapters which are completed, and focus on improving the weaknesses
5. Analysing the actual performance very week
Analyze every week’s target and check if there are any backlogs. Monitor the effort put in and revise the schedule accordingly.
6. Never Do following-
- Never go with selective topics, go through each and every concepts and chapter thoroughly.
- Never refer old study material. Before every attempt, you can find all the supplements, practice paper, ICSI Study Material, amendment of all sorts in every subject
- Try to finish your revision beforehand, do not leave anything undone or partly done. Time management is the key.