What does a Company Secretary do?
A company secretary (CS) ensures a company complies with corporate law and governance requirements and advises the board on legal and regulatory matters. In India, qualified through ICSI, they typically manage statutory filings, board and shareholder meetings, regulatory compliance, and corporate records — acting as the link between the board, regulators and shareholders, and safeguarding the company's legal standing.
A company secretary usually has around 0–12 yrs of experience and earns typically ₹5L–₹20L/yr in India. The day-to-day blends Corporate law, Companies Act compliance, Board meeting management and more — this page gives you a ready-to-use company secretary job description template you can copy, plus the exact skills and salary employers expect.
Company Secretary job description template
Copy the 8 responsibilities, 5 requirements and 9 skills below into your job post, then edit the parts that are specific to your company — pay band, location and reporting line.
Select the text above to copy it manually if the button is unavailable.
What are a Company Secretary's key responsibilities?
A company secretary is typically responsible for the 8 duties below, which cover the day-to-day work most employers expect the role to own outright. Paste them into your job post as they are, or cut the ones another team already handles — a responsibility list that claims work the hire will not actually do is the fastest way to lose a candidate at offer stage:
- Ensure compliance with the Companies Act and corporate governance norms
- Organise and minute board, committee and shareholder meetings
- File statutory returns, forms and resolutions with the MCA/ROC
- Maintain statutory registers and corporate records
- Advise the board and management on legal and governance matters
- Manage regulatory filings with SEBI and other authorities (listed firms)
- Coordinate on secretarial audits and due diligence
- Act as the link between the board, regulators and shareholders
What qualifications does a Company Secretary need?
Employers hiring a company secretary in India usually ask for the 5 qualifications below, typically alongside 0–12 yrs of experience. Keep only the ones you will genuinely screen on: every extra must-have narrows the pool, and in the Indian market a long mandatory list filters out strong candidates whose background simply reads differently on paper:
- Qualified Company Secretary (ICSI) membership
- Strong knowledge of the Companies Act, SEBI and corporate law
- Attention to detail and command of compliance and documentation
- Excellent communication and governance-advisory skills
- Integrity and discretion in handling sensitive matters
What skills should a Company Secretary have?
These are the 9 skills employers name most often on live company secretary listings in India. Treat the first few as the ones worth screening for directly and the rest as signals a candidate can pick up on the job — asking for all of them at once is what turns a reasonable role into an unfillable one:
Listing the three or four skills you genuinely screen on — rather than all 9 — is what keeps a company secretary posting from filtering out candidates who could do the job.
What does a Company Secretary earn in India?
Typical salary (India)
typically ₹5L–₹20L/yr
Experience range
0–12 yrs
These are typical ranges and vary by city, company and skills. For live, role-specific pay data, see the OnJob salary guide.
Company Secretary job description — FAQs
What does a company secretary do?
A company secretary (CS) ensures a company complies with corporate law and governance, manages statutory filings and board meetings, maintains corporate records, and advises the board on legal and regulatory matters — acting as the link between the board, regulators and shareholders.
How do you become a company secretary in India?
Company secretaries qualify through the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), clearing the Foundation, Executive and Professional levels and completing practical training, then taking membership to practise as a CS. Exams alone are not enough — employers also expect working command of the Companies Act, SEBI regulations, board-meeting procedure and ROC/MCA statutory filings.
What is the difference between a CA and a CS?
A chartered accountant (CA) focuses on accounting, auditing and taxation, while a company secretary (CS) focuses on corporate law, governance and statutory compliance. CAs handle the numbers; CSs handle legal and regulatory compliance.
How much does a company secretary earn in India?
Newly qualified company secretaries typically earn ₹5L–₹9L per year, experienced CSs ₹10L–₹18L, and senior or listed-company roles ₹20L+. Listed companies sit at the top of that spread because the work adds SEBI filings, secretarial audit and heavier board-governance exposure. Drafting quality, ROC/MCA filing accuracy and confident board advisory are what move a CS up a band.