The Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot today said he would support Company Secretaries in their effort to gain a bigger say in corporate governance.
He said the Government would move amendments in Parliament for a new nomenclature for Company Secretaries – governance professionals – should the Institute of Company Secretaries of India push for an amendment. He was speaking at the 41st annual convention of the institute here today.
The institute has already set up a committee under former Supreme Court Judge B.N. Srikrishna to recommend changes to the Company Secretaries Act.
The move comes at a time when the Centre is looking to sharpen oversight of compliance procedures by corporates through the proposed National Financial Regulatory Authority. Pilot said a bigger role for Company Secretaries would help them “implement the new rules.” The Government recently released the third set of draft rules of the NFRA.
He said governance in the country was moving from “command and control” to a model that puts responsibility on the governing board in companies. “The terminology of ‘Company Secretary’ does not reflect the new role envisaged in the new Companies Act.” But the Minister stopped short of specifying how long it would take for the amendment to come to pass.
The company secretaries institute is looking to help its 36,000 members graduate from compliance officers to ‘Governance Professionals.’ The new status will raise the standing of Company Secretaries, who have been included in the list of Key Management Personnel in the new Companies Act. M.J. Joseph, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, said the proposed National Company Law Tribunal offered opportunities for practising CS’ to become technical members in the Tribunal after 15 years of practice. They would assist in new roles such as corporate restructuring and winding up operations, far higher than their current contribution as compliance officers. Besides, their duty was to report fraud and collaborate with internal and external auditors in ensuring legal compliance.
The ICSI has begun educating company secretaries about their new roles through seminars and videographed speeches of experts on various provisions in the Companies Act 2013.