Company Secretary (CS) Exam New Syllabus
- Exam|CS|
- 6 Min Read
- By Taxmann
- |
- Last Updated on 29 May, 2024
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The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) has introduced a new syllabus for the Company Secretary (CS) examination to ensure that candidates are well-equipped with the latest knowledge and skills required in the field. The new syllabus is structured to provide comprehensive coverage of various subjects necessary for a career as a Company Secretary. The new syllabus aims to enhance the professional competence of candidates and ensure they are well-prepared to handle the responsibilities of a Company Secretary effectively. It incorporates current industry practices, laws, and regulations to provide a robust educational foundation.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
Company Secretary (CS) is one of the most respected, prestigious and in-demand professional qualifications in the country governed by the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI). The course is for the aspirants who wish to become Company Secretaries aiding in filing, registering, presenting, verifying or attesting any documents on behalf of the companies. ICSI has approved the New Syllabus for CS course applicable from the year 2023. The details of new syllabus in comparison with the existing syllabus are as provided.
| Program | First Exam under ICSI Syllabus 2022 | Last attempt to appear under ICSI Syllabus 2017 |
| Professional Program | June 2024 | December 2024 |
| Executive Program | November 2023 | June 2024 |
| CSEET | November 2023 | – |
2. Number of Papers
The new scheme consists of all the levels as in the old scheme viz. CSEET, Executive Programme and Professional Programme; however in the new scheme, following changes have been made in the number of papers where some papers have been merged and some removed.
| CS Level | Changes in Papers |
| CSEET (4 papers) | Viva Voce of 15 minutes on “Presentation & Communication Skills” of old syllabus has been removed and Quantitative Aptitude has been added in Part 2: Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. |
| Executive Programme (7 papers) | Paper 5 Corporate & Management Accounting and Paper 8 Financial and Strategic Management of old syllabus have been clubbed into a single subject named Corporate Accounting and Financial Management making the total number of subjects to 7 in this level.
In the old syllabus, 3 out of 8 papers involved objective-type questions. Now, in the new syllabus, all papers except Paper 4 Corporate Accounting and Financial Management involve 20% case-based objective-type questions and 80% descriptive questions. |
| Professional Programme (7 papers) | Paper 2 Advanced Tax Laws and Paper 8 Multi-disciplinary Case Studies have been removed and in place of 1 elective paper, 2 elective papers have been introduced with new subjects like Internal and Forensic Audit, CSR & Social governance, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Cyber Security – Laws & Practice, Arbitration, Mediation & Conciliation.
Hence, there are now total 7 subjects in this programme also. Further, there are only 2 groups in the new syllabus instead of 3 groups as in the old syllabus. |
3. Course Subjects – Old Syllabus vs. New Syllabus
The subjects/papers at each level of CS Course in the old syllabus and equivalent change in new syllabus is presented below:
| CSEET | |||
| Old Syllabus | New Syllabus | ||
| Subjects | Manner of exam | Subjects | Manner of exam |
| Part 1: Business Communication | MCQ based | Part 1: Business Communication | MCQ based |
| Part 2: Legal Aptitude, Logical Reasoning | Part 2: Legal Aptitude, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude | ||
| Part 3: Economic and Business Environment | Part 3: Economic and Business Environment | ||
| Part 4: Current Affairs | Part 4: Current Affairs | ||
| Viva voce on Presentation & Communication Skills | – | ||
|
Executive Programme |
|||
|
Old Syllabus |
New Syllabus |
||
| Subjects | Manner of exam | Subjects | Manner of exam |
| Module – I | Group – 1 | ||
| Paper 1: Jurisprudence, Interpretation and General Laws | Subjective | Paper 1: Jurisprudence, Interpretation & General Laws | 20% objective and 80% subjective |
| Paper 2: Company Law | Subjective | Paper 2: Company Law & Practice
Part I – Company Law: Principles and Concepts (60 Marks) Part II – Company Administration & Meetings (40 Marks) |
|
| Paper 3: Setting up of Business Entities and Closure | Subjective | Paper 3: Setting Up of Business, Industrial & Labour Laws
Part I – Setting Up of Business (60 Marks) Part II – Industrial & Labour Laws (40 Marks) |
|
| Paper 4: Tax Laws (Equivalent to Paper 7 of New Syllabus) | Objective | Paper 4: Corporate Accounting and Financial Management
Part I – Corporate Accounting (60 Marks) Part II – Financial Management (40 Marks) |
100% descriptive |
| Module – II | Group – 2 | ||
| Paper 5: Corporate & Management Accounting (Equivalent to Paper 4 of New Syllabus) | Objective | Paper 5: Capital Market & Securities Laws
Part I – Capital Market (40 Marks) Part II – Securities Laws (60 Marks) |
20% objective and 80% subjective
|
| Paper 6: Securities Laws & Capital Markets (Equivalent to Paper 5 of New Syllabus) | Subjective | Paper 6: Economic, Commercial and Intellectual Property Laws
Part I – Economic & Commercial Laws (60 Marks) Part II – Intellectual Property Laws (40 Marks) |
|
| Paper 7: Economic, Business and Commercial Laws (Equivalent to Paper 6 of New Syllabus) | Subjective | Paper 7: Tax Laws & Practice
Part I – Direct Tax (60marks) Part II – Indirect Tax (40marks)
|
|
| Paper 8: Financial and Strategic Management (Clubbed with Paper 4) | Objective | – | |
| Professional Programme | |
| Old Syllabus – Subjects | New Syllabus – Subjects |
| Module – I | Group – 1 |
| Paper 1: Governance, Risk Management, Compliances and Ethics | Paper 1: Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) – Principles & Practice Part I – Governance and Sustainability (65 Marks) Part II – Risk Management (20 Marks) Part III- Environment & Sustainability Reporting (15 Marks) |
| Paper 2: Advanced Tax Laws (Clubbed in Paper 7: Elective 2 of New Syllabus) | Paper 2: Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances
Part I – Drafting and Conveyancing (70 Marks) Part II – Pleadings and Appearances (30 Marks) |
| Paper 3: Drafting, Pleadings and Appearances (Equivalent to Paper 2 of New Syllabus) | Paper 3: Compliance Management, Audit & Due Diligence
Part I – Compliance Management (40 Marks) Part II – Audit & Due Diligence (60 Marks) |
| Module – II | |
| Paper 4: Secretarial Audit, Compliance Management and Due Diligence (Equivalent to Paper 3 of New Syllabus) | Paper 4: Elective (Choose 1 out of 4 papers)
Elective 1: CSR & Social Governance Part I – Corporate Social Responsibility (50 Marks) Part II – Social Governance (50 Marks) Elective 2: Internal and Forensic Audit Part I – Internal Audit (60 Marks) Part II – Forensic Audit (40 Marks) Elective 3: Intellectual Property Rights – Law & Practice Elective 4: Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Cyber Security – Laws & Practice |
| Group – 2 | |
| Paper 5: Corporate Restructuring, Insolvency, Liquidation & Winding-up (Equivalent to Paper 6 of New Syllabus) | Paper 5: Strategic Management & Corporate Finance
Part I – Strategic Management (40 Marks) Part II – Corporate Finance (60 Marks) |
| Paper 6: Resolution of Corporate Disputes, Non-Compliances & Remedies (Removed from New Syllabus) | Paper 6: Corporate Restructuring, Valuation and Insolvency
Part I – Corporate Restructuring (40 Marks) Part II – Valuation (20 Marks) Part III – Insolvency, Liquidation & Winding up (40 Marks) |
| Module – III | |
| Paper 7: Corporate Funding & Listings in Stock Exchanges | Paper 7: Elective (Choose 1 out of 5 papers)
Elective 1: Arbitration, Mediation & Conciliation Elective 2: Goods and Services Tax (GST) & Corporate Tax Planning Elective 3: Labour Laws & Practice Elective 4: Banking & Insurance – Laws & Practice Elective 5: Insolvency and Bankruptcy – Law & Practice |
| Paper 8: Multi-disciplinary Case Studies (Removed in New Syllabus) |
|
Paper 9: Electives (choose 1 out of 5 papers)
|
|
| Manner of Exam | |
| All papers descriptive. Paper 8 & 9 will be open book examination. | All papers descriptive. Paper 4 & 7 will be open book examination. |
Thus, the new syllabus tries to bring in new age relevant topics and working towards making Company Secretaries future ready to cope up with the ever-changing legal framework and financial markets. It also tries to give a grip on topics like Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, etc. which can open up new horizons of work profiles for the professionals.
For more details about the New Syllabus, refer to https://www.icsi.edu/media/webmodules/ICSI%20New%20Syllabus%202022.pdf
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