COMPANY SECRETARIES HAVE VITAL ROLE AS INTERNAL AUDITORS, CONSCIENCE KEEPERS

Role soft he Company Secretaries have expanded substantially. ACStoday is an insiderwhohas the know-howof what is going on within thecompany

Reflecting on the role of a Company Secretary as a Corporate Saviour and brooding over the element of professional DNA, a panel of eminent professionals at the Golden Jubilee Convention of the ICSI, agreed that the Company Secretaries are indispensable to any company.They are the corporate saviours in true sense. CMAAmit Anand Apte, President, The Institute of Cost Accountants of India said that a Company Secretary is a more insider than an Independent Director. Prithvi Haldea, Founder Chairman, Praxis Consulting& Information Services Pvt Ltd remarked: Every professional is not a scamster but behind every scam there is a professional. The Company Secretary, theCFOand the management have a more vital role to play than any other employee of the company – even the top bosses. Company Secretaries have a very vital role to play as internal auditors. Sandip Bandu, Director, IncomeTax, Intelligence and Criminal Investigation said: This is the age of big data. This brings into question the concern of data protection.“We are living in the age ofGDPR– the rule framed by the European Union. As seen in the Satyamcase that howpowerful can data be and data will be the all-powerful thing, so I see a great value here for the institute itself to frame the rules accordingly,” said Bandu. Company Secretaries today probably have the best position to be the conscience keepers of the company. Their roles today have expanded substantially as a Company Secretary today, is an insider who has the know-howof everything that is going on within the company, opined the panel. The panelists agreed that there is a need for good laws, accountability and quicker punishment. They gave credit to stringent laws for changing the mindset of the borrowers today. Earlier, the borrowersworried more about their own monetary concerns but today they are moreworried about returning their loans. This is awelcome change but a lot more needs to be done. Analyzing the present scenario, the panelists agreed that the need today was to rebuild the professional DNA. The fear of law, over last fewyears, has gone down drastically. Earlier, therewas a fear that if caught the personwould lose respect, profession and evenworse be convicted. However, today the feeling is completely lost. People think that they can easily get away and which is verymuch true, all thanks to the corruption across all professions. It ismuch about lawand enforcement and above all is the sector agnostic role of a Company Secretary. The role of aCSdepends on laws of different sectors, but the Corporate lawwill always be there. Ahandbook onGSTCompliances andGSTEducational Serieswere released on the occasion.