CS Courses: Complete Course Guide For Company Secretaries
A Company Secretary (CS) is a professional who is responsible for handling legal aspects of a business. These professionals manage tax returns, keep records, and offer advice related to legal regulations to the company’s Board of Directors. CS courses facilitate the learning for company secretary aspirants. These courses act as an add on for the course offered by ICSI.
Table of Contents
- What is CS course?
- CS course duration
- CS course fees
- CS course eligibility
- CS course syllabus
- Top online CS courses
- Free CS courses
- Top vendors for CS course
- Career prospects and Salary after CS course
What is CS course?
CS courses are meant for professionals who want to become company secretaries in the future. In India, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) is the governing body for Company Secretaries. The institute trains these professionals through a three-level CS program.
If you plan to join the CS course directly after completing the 10+2, you will have to complete the following three stages:
- Foundation Programme
- Executive Programme
- Professional Programme
If you have completed your graduation, then you can directly enroll in the executive program while skipping the foundation program. Let us now check out the CS course details after 12th completion.
CS Course Duration
For the three levels in the CS course, the duration is as follows:
- CS Foundation Courses: 8 months
- CS Executive Course: 9 months
- CS Professional Course: 15 months
CS Course Fees
For the three CS courses, you will have to pay the fee separately.
- CS Foundation Course Fee: ₹ 3600
- CS Executive Course Fee: ₹ 7000
- CS Professional Course Fee: ₹ 12,000
CS Course Eligibility
The eligibility for Company Secretary courses is as follows:
- Foundation programme: 10 + 2 or equivalent students from any stream (except Fine arts) can enroll in this programme.
- Executive programme: Graduates from any stream (except Fine arts) can enroll in this programme.
- Professional programme: Only those who have cleared the executive programme can enter this level.
CS Examination Date: The CS exam takes place twice in the year in June and December.
Qualifying marks: At least 40% in each paper and 50% aggregate in all subjects
CS Course Syllabus
| Level | Topics |
| Foundation | 1. Business environment and law 2. Fundamentals of accounting and auditing 3. Business management, ethics, and entrepreneurship 4. Business economics |
| Executive | 1. Jurisprudence, interpretation, and general laws 2. Company law 3. Setting up business entities & closure 4. Tax law 5. Securities laws and capital markets 6. Economic, business, and commercial laws 7. Corporate and management accounting 8. Financial and strategic management |
| Professional | 1. Governance, risk management, compliances, and ethics 2. Drafting, pleadings, and appearances 3. Advanced tax laws 4. Secretarial audit 5. Corporate restructuring 6. Resolution of corporate disputes 7. Corporate funding & listings in stock exchanges 8. Multidisciplinary case studies Electives 1 out of the following 8 subjects (open book examination) 1. Banking law and practice 2. Intellectual property rights– laws and practices 3. Insurance law and practice 4. Forensic audit 5. Direct tax law and practice 6. Labor laws and practice 7. Valuations and business modeling 8. Insolvency: law and practices |
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Online CS Courses
You may opt for additional online CS courses that will help you during the CS program at ICSI.
1. Diploma in Financial Accounting, Auditing & Taxation
CS students can enroll in this course since they are involved in auditing and advance tax laws. The course offers expert training with theoretical and practical classes. It focuses on GST, income tax, e-filing, and TDS. You will be able to analyze the balance sheet and make decisions accordingly.
- Course Provider: NIFM
- CS Courses Duration: 6 months
- Course Fee: to be enquired
- Suitable For: Those who have completed graduation and are well versed with the MS Office
2. Online Certificate Course on Intellectual Property (IPPro)
This online course helps in learning about Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in detail. Through this course, you will learn about copyright, trademarks, patents, and their protection. The course helps in understanding the difference between patent rights and industrial design rights.
- Course Provider: FICCI
- CS Courses Duration: 2 months
- Course Fee: ₹ 5,500
- Suitable For: legal and CS students/professionals
3. Business Management and Leadership
This course helps you in learning the skills of business management and leadership. You will learn about leadership, organization, and international management through this course. This course is self-paced which allows flexibility in learning while working.
- Course Provider: Future Learn
- CS Courses Duration: 2 weeks
- Course Fee: to be enquired
- Suitable For: beginners
4. Certificate Programme in “Business Management”
Through this course, you will learn the concepts, frameworks, and strategies utilized in business management. This certification covers principles of management, leadership skills, and functional concepts in finance. The course also covers financial accounting.
- Course Provider: IIT Delhi
- CS Courses Duration: 6 months
- Course Fee: ₹ 80,000
- Suitable For: graduates or diploma holders
5. Introduction to Corporate Law Practice
This course helps you in learning the concepts and principles of corporate law in detail. Contract drafting, M&A, and investment transactions are part of this certification. Exercises ensure that you have learned the concepts clearly. The online classroom course comes with live classes and study material. The course curriculum is suitable for those who are involved in legal aspects of the business.
- Course Provider: LawSikho
- CS Courses Duration: 1 month
- Course Fee: ₹ 3,000
- Suitable For: Law and CS aspirants
5. Cost Accounting – A Comprehensive Study for CA/CMA/CS /ACCA/
This is an online CS course that helps you learn the basics of cost accounting and costing techniques through case studies. The course is useful for those who have the fundamental knowledge of accounting. It comes with lifetime access to downloadable resources. On the completion of the course, you will earn a certificate from Udemy.
- Course Provider: Udemy
- CS Courses Duration: 38 hours
- Course Fee: ₹ 490
- Suitable For: For accounting and finance students (B.Com., BBA, MBA, CA, CS, CMA, CPA, CFA, CIMA)
Read Later
Free CS Courses
1. Introduction to Contracts in Law
This online certification helps in understanding contracts and what elements are essential in a contract. You will also learn about ways of communicating contracts in the common law. Through this course, you will gain an understanding of defenses to a contract and how to fix a contract. In the end, an assessment will help you track your learning progress.
- Course Provider: Alison
- CS Courses Duration: 3 hours
- Course Fee: Free
- Suitable For: Law and CS aspirants
2. FinTech Law and Policy
The online CS course develops an understanding of business laws and regulations. You will learn about how new technologies work. The course is complemented with graded lesson quizzes and a final course exam. It is a self-paced course available in multiple languages.
- Course Provider: Coursera
- CS Courses Duration: 11 hours
- Course Fee: Free
- Suitable For: Finance professionals
3. Financial Accounting Fundamentals
The course is useful for those who want to learn the fundamentals of financial accounting from scratch. You will start from learning to journal entries to prepare financial statements based on recorded transactions. In the end, you will have the understanding to draw a basic level conclusion on the company’s financial status.
- Course Provider: Coursera
- CS Courses Duration: 19 hours
- Course Fee: Free
- Suitable For: Finance students
4. Legal Contracts and Agreements for Entrepreneurs
Through this course, you will learn the impact of legal contracts on entrepreneurs. This course helps you learn about the types of legal contract, their creation, evaluation, and negotiation. The course covers legal contracts, sales agreements and warranties, and risk management.
- Course Provider: Coursera
- CS Courses Duration: 10 hours
- Course Fee: Free
- Suitable For: Law and CS students
Top Vendors For CS Courses
| Course Provider | Description |
| Coursera | It is one of the largest course providers in the world with more than 7000 online courses, certifications, and degrees. The vendor offers multiple courses in association with 150 universities through its platform. It offers financial aid to students in need through scholarships and sponsorship programs. |
| FutureLearn | It is a British education provider that offers courses in collaboration with over 250 industry and government partners. This digital platform offers courses in multiple languages to facilitate learning at a global level. |
| Alison | It is an Irish online education platform that offers courses to build workplace skills. More than 23 million learners across the globe are associated with this course provider. Learners have the access to 3500 degree and specialization courses in different subjects. |
Career Prospects and Salaries After CS Courses
After completing Company secretary courses, you can either directly plan a career in this profile. If you are looking for other career prospects after completing the CS course, then you have the following options:
| Profile | Job Description | Average Salary (As Per AmbitionBox) |
| Compliance Officer | These individuals ensure that the company is in compliance with the mandatory legal and regulatory requirements. They are responsible to monitor that everyone in the organization is capable of identifying and managing regulatory risks. | ₹ 5.0 Lakhs |
| Corporate planners | Corporate planners plan and implement policies to ensure that the business continues to operate smoothly. They work on policies that can increase productivity that can in turn maximize returns on investments. These professionals appoint professionals and delegate their responsibilities. | ₹ 17.0 Lakhs |
| Strategic Manager | Strategic managers help in the development of corporate strategies to facilitate the growth of the business. They work with various departments to identify challenges and decide on production, financial, and marketing goals. | ₹ 20.0 Lakhs |
Conclusion
Those who want to pursue CS courses must work on learning each concept in detail. Add-on courses can help expedite the learning curve while improving your grasp of the fundamental concepts.
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