What is the ICSI?

Wish to know more about the ICSI?

It’s your lucky day!

Life can sometimes be a little testing for a college-going student. You’ve just finished one big step by completing high school and now you ought to worry about what to do once you graduate. Luckily, with our help, you can zero-in on your options.

Today, we talk about why a career in becoming Company Secretary is one that holds immense value, and more so if your pursue a course from the prestigious ICSI - short for Institute of Company Secretaries of India.

Before getting into the “how”, let’s first understand the “what” of a career as a Company Secretary or CS entails:

1. A CS must be well-versed in all legal intricacies that an organisation/institution may require.
2. Extensive knowledge of the best practices in corporate governance is a prerequisite.
3. A CS is responsible for all regulatory compliances in an organisation.
4. Planning and Management are also part of a Company Secretary’s job profile.

A Company Secretary can also expand his/her services into the following areas:

• Corporate Restructuring
• Foreign Collaborations and Joint Ventures
• Arbitration and Conciliation
• Financial Management
• Project Planning
• Capital Market and Investor Relations
• Corporate Advisory Services
• SEBI Act
• EXIM Policy

These are just few of the many responsibilities and areas of expertise a future CS can expect to take on. And if you find this a bit intimidating, don’t worry; it’s nothing that a course from ICSI institute can’t fix. In today’s blog, we attempt to understand what the ICSI is and all that is has to offer to you.

What is ICSI?

The ICSI is the only government-recognized statutory body that works solely around the profession of Company Secretary. This includes its development, progress and regulation. The institute provides the best quality of education in the CS realm and has the most reputed faculty members in its academic family. Its main headquarters are located in Delhi and has four regional offices located in Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. It also has branches in 70 other locations across India. The ICSI logo stands for one crucial thing and that is ‘professional excellence’. Each year, the ICSI admits students and aspirants that echo this motto.

ICSI Logo

What is the eligibility to enrol in an ICSI course?

 The ICSI provides courses based on various levels of eligibility:

• Students who wish to enrol in the course immediately after high school, i.e. 10+2 (or equivalent) are required to complete three stages – Foundation Programme, Executive Programme, and Professional Programme.
• Students who wish to enrol after graduating from college must complete the Executive Programme and the Professional Programme.

In this post, we will talk about the old syllabus subjects. In a later post, we will talk about the subjects of the new syllabus. Note that the old syllabus remains in effect until December 2019.

Foundation Programme Subjects:

• Business Environment and Law
• Business Management Ethics and Entrepreneurs
• Business Economics
• Fundamentals of Accounting and Auditing

Executive (Old Syllabus) Programme Subjects (Module 1):

• Jurisprudence, Interpretation and General Laws
• Company Law
• Setting Up of Business Entities and Closure
• Tax Laws

Executive (Old Syllabus) Programme Subjects (Module 2):

• Corporate and Management Accounting
• Security, Laws and Capital Markets
• Economic, Business and Commercial Laws
• Financial and Strategic Management

Professional (Old Syllabus) Programme Subjects (Module 1):

• Advanced Company Law and Practice
• Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management and Due Diligence
• Corporate Restructuring, Valuation and Insolvency

Professional (Old Syllabus) Programme Subjects (Module 2):

• Information Technology and Systems Audit
• Financial, Treasury and Forex Management
• Ethics, Governance and Sustainability

Professional (Old Syllabus) Programme Subjects (Module 3):

• Advanced Tax Laws and Practice
• Drafting, Appearances and Pleadings

Professional (Old Syllabus) Programme Subjects (Module 3 with 1 Elective paper from the list below):

• Banking Law and Practice
• Capital, Commodity and Money Market
• Insurance Law and Practice
• Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice
• International Business - Laws and Practices

You can get a better understanding of the above by visiting the ICSI site.

What are some other courses offered by ICSI?

Apart from the courses mentioned above, the ICSI also offers the following:

• Certified CSR Professionals
• Certificate course in Goods & Services Tax
• Certified Banking Compliance Professional Course
• Certificate Course in Valuation

The ICSI also has Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with renowned academic institutions such as IGNOU and ICAI, London.

What is the enrolment process?

You can enrol in the course you want by visiting the ICSI site and registering. The process is slightly long, but we’ll try to explain it in a much simplified way. The steps to register for the ISCI Foundation Exam are as follows:

• Log on to the ICSI website
• Click on ‘Online Services’ followed by ‘Register For CS Course’
• Keep all the documents required for registration (marks memos, photographs, etc) handy
• Fill up all sections of the form – personal details, educational details, document details, etc.
• Upload your documents
• Make your payment for the registration fee
• Track the progress of your registration
• Once successfully registered, you will have received an Admit Card.
• Print it out and carry it with you for your examination

What are other ICSI Online Services?

There are a number of other things that ICSI provides online to make things more accessible to its students as well as its members. The online portal is a single stop for all information regarding courses, coursework, notifications, and news, among many other things. If you wish to be a student in this reputed institution, here’s what you can expect from their online portal:

• Dedicated Student Portal: Once you log on to the main ICSI website, you will find a dedicated ‘Student Portal’ under the ‘Online Services’ tab. Here you can find all student-related academic information such as study material, FAQs, syllabi, practice questions, books, bulletins, presentations and any other such material required to aid you through your professional and academic growth.
• Desired Training Sessions: The online portal for ICSI has information on a number of vocational programmes for students such as Academic Training, Strategic Leadership Programme(SLP), CSR Initiatives, Corporate Leadership Development Programme, E-management Skills Programme, to name a few.
• Exhaustive E-Library: Another important aspect of the ICSI Online Services is the inclusion of a multi-vendor e-library, which offers a free trial before having to pay and subscribe. What a great way to encourage new learning!

 By the way, if you want more e-learning services, try out our CS Online Video Lectures for free!

• Personal Login Credentials: Each student gets their own ID and Password to access the online portal. 
• Web-based Training: Through ICSI’s e-learning facility, the CS course has been able to break geographical barriers. With an online studying portal, students can access information regarding their course from any location. Features of the Web-based Training include Quizzes & Mastery Tests, Hyperlinks, Hotspots, Live Chats & Discussions, and Interactive Multimedia Slides covering all aspects of the syllabus.
•  Video-based Training: The ICSI has embraced the new age of technology by introducing Video-based training. This aspect of the CS course includes Video Lectures, Online Classroom Training, and Questions & Tests from time to time. 

• Virtual Classroom: The Virtual Classroom is another great addition to the way academics operate today. With this, students can partake in live broadcast of lectures online and have their doubts clarified on the portal by the respective faculty members. The lectures have online timetables and are held on specific days and at specific hours.

If you still require some more convincing into why pursuing a CS course, especially from ICSI is worth it, here are some more reasons:

1. The eligibility criteria is as simple as it can get
2. Every student gets an equal chance at admission into the institute
3. The course fee is fairly low and the course quality, high
4. You have the option of studying through distance-learning
5. The position of Company Secretary brings with it, power and respect
6. The remuneration in the field is competitive and growth opportunities, aplenty

The other important aspect of ICSI is its members. You can use your ICSI Member Login given to you at registration to gain access to information and benefits relevant to you.

This brings us to the end of our blog about ICSI meaning it’s up to you now to make a career choice. If you require our help regarding anything else, feel free to get in touch with us at support@learncab.com. Or you can drop a line in the comment section below.

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