- The document discusses various career options and considerations for a practicing company secretary (PCS) in India. - It notes that a PCS can gain experience and learn all aspects of the profession by joining a small or medium sized firm first before starting their own practice. - The document also discusses the challenges of starting an independent practice without family experience in the field, but emphasizes gaining experience, networking, and focusing on building goodwill in the early years.

1. CS Lokesh Sharma
(M Com, F.C.S., D.C.A, LL.B)
Cell :-9414683818, 8769543818

2. firms will not provide exposure in areas of
small and medium practicing firm. Ideally a person
should join small and medium size firm where he
learns everything from audit to taxation from
executing to handling client.
Even before you start your
article ship one has to decide
the career in terms of joining
job or starting your own
practice. The early you decide
it is better. If one is keen to join
practice then joining big four

3. In case your family members are already in
professional practice it becomes easier to
carry on legacy, as you get years of
experience and ready clients to serve.
Starting your own practice without any
family background is challenging and that too
if your area of expertise in article ship is
different from area you chose in practice.

4.  While different professionals may have
different areas of expertise, most practicing
company secretaries render company
secretarial services – such as taking care of
corporate law compliances, handling
company law matters, and so on.
 Can a practicing company secretary (PCS)
appear before a court? No. That power is
reserved with legal professionals. However,
PCSs do provide back support in corporate
law litigation.

5.  Can a PCS give legal opinions on company
law matters – certainly yes. Not just in
company law matters but in matters
pertaining to securities laws, foreign
exchange laws, competition laws, etc. Much
would depend on the proficiency of the
individual concerned.
 Can a PCS handle corporate law litigation in
quasi-judicial bodies, say, Company Law
Board? – Certainly yes.

6.  Open CS Firm as
Proprietor/Partnership/Consultancy Company
 Work in law firm/CS Firm, CA Firm, and
Consultancy Firm as COP holder
 After experience of 15 years PCS can become
Member of NCLT and NCLAT.

7. Positives
 Collaboration – Using your collective knowledge and
judgment can make yours a stronger practice
 Support – You can cover holidays, sickness, etc. between
you
 Companionship – It’s natural for humans to want to share
experiences with others
 Costs – Economies of scale from shared resources
 Image – The public may view a partnership better than a
solo practice
 Different strengths – Beyond the technical, think about
business development and client and staff management.

8. Negatives
 Compromise will be required from time to time – you are
not simply your own boss
 Differing levels of competence and motivation could lead
to frustration
 Conflict – some partnerships don’t last, and the end may
not be amicable.
 Different time frames and objectives – Compromise will
help but sometimes these need careful negotiation to
resolve
 Risk – Your partner’s actions expose you to risk.

9.  You have a comfortable office
space where you and your
client feel a good atmosphere
 Basic Infrastructure
 Competent/Necessary Staff
 Supportive Hands
 Financial competence- Calculate the fixed
investment and recurring expenses than plan
how to meet out the source of funds, making
a cash flow statement as given below

10.  If you have decided to practice, start preparation of
statutory records, registers, MCA e-filling, IT returns,
GST returns, TDS returns even at the time of your
articles, on your own, for your friends, relatives,
neighbors. That is the first circle of your professional
work. First you need to get out of the fear of doing
works on your own.
 Then slowly the above people will start referring
more people for you. First recognize yourself as a PCS
in your area Whatever work comes to you , be it,
getting Company Profile, MOA/AOA, do simple e
filling , take that and do it in a sincere manner.

11.  In early stages don’t expect too much fees
but always demand for quality of work, you
have to convince that I am charging the fees
of time given on your work only. Don’t go for
work done at lowest price because if you
start your work with lesser price than entire
clientage will come on the same price and
after some time you feel that I have lot of
work but my earning is so less.

12.  If you want to be prudent, join in a practicing
firm as an employee after you have become a CS
so that a regular income is assured, then start
doing the above activities parallely. But you
should manage both parallely.
 Always try to added value to clients. As much as
possible advice your client-
1.As to how to run business effectively,
2.How to manage funds effectively.
3.If possible arrange him some loans and tell
him that he can claim interest as an expense
(tax savings on that) instead of running
business on his own funds. Like that I say.

13.  If you want to establish the name of your firm or
proprietorship in the society, just put an article
assistant under you. He will take care of the
rest. The moment he starts learning, he will tell
his friends about his office and in many cases he
recommends people for professional works to
your office.
 Wherever you go, whomsoever you meet, shake
your hands confidentially and give your visiting
card.
 Attend as many social functions as possible.
Don’t speak unnecessarily anywhere and try to
make as many new friends as possible. Never
underestimate anyone. Even a car driver could
bring his wealthy boss as client to you.

14.  To the extent possible wear dress formally.
That adds value as a professional.
 Approach banks/Financial Institutions for
Search Reports, Charge Registration work,
other MCA services, start registering in
empanelment sites for banks etc.
“Remember one thing; 10 years down the
line, your one month earning will be equal
to your one year earnings at the initial
stages.”

15.  Being updated: You aren’t required to know
everything but make sure that you are
updated at least for the sake of conversation
with your clients or to be clients.
 Networking: I will be joining Rotary club and
Lions club of my town for the purpose of
networking so that I can meet new people,
get new clients and improve my overall
personality.

16.  Collaboration: You need to understand that you
can’t be an expert in everything when you are
into practice. You should try for collaborations
with other professionals so that faster services
are provided to your clients.
 Try to understand client’s mentality: You can’t
be strict at each and everything whenever you
are into practice. So if there is any mistake from
client’s end you need to understand the issues
and solve them.
“We as professionals first need to focus on
building goodwill for 1st 5 years rather than
just earning money.”

18.  Lawyer and Tax Consultants Our profession
provides better opportunities in practice than
that of Chartered Accountants, Lawyers and Tax
Consultants. In case of Legal professional though
areas of practice is huge, however if we see
number of Lawyers in India are more than 17
Lakhs. In CA the area of practice is very huge
and they are engaged in so many practices like
Taxation, Bank Audits, Project Financing so they
don’t have time to look after the day to day
compliance in relation to MCA, however most of
it can be even done by CA barring few
certification which is mandatory by CS but now a
day’s every practicing chartered accountants
need

19.  Creating Expertise Vs General Practice
Initially it is advisable to go for general
practice, so that you learn and explore each
area. No point when you are jack of all but
master of none. So in long run it is always
better to specialize in some area. However it
comes with its own risk. Imagine government
to abolish Income Tax Act! Then all those
who has specialize in Income Tax Field will
find it difficult to start something new.

20.  Pursuing your dreams
Do not forget in practice you are your own boss.
You can always have a work life balance. You can
always fulfill your dreams. Yes in beginning you
have cash flow issues and may have to take
monetary hit, however the self-satisfaction you
get is immeasurable. I personally had that
opportunities to explore many new desires which
would have been difficult if I would have been
employed, as you have to give at least 10 to 12
hours to job. In summary there are challenges to
start your own practice but the real fruits you
get only with patience and trusting oneself.

21. Legal, Secretarial and Corporate Governance
 Incorporation of companies
 Incorporation of special object companies
 Section 25 company
 Producer company
 Guarantee company
 Mutual benefit company
 Change of name/objects of a company
 Shifting of registered office from one state to
another
 Petition with CLB
 Representation before Regional Director

22.  Conversion of companies
 Struck off /Reinstatement of Companies
under CA 2013
 Annual return certification
 Filling and filing of various forms and returns
etc with MCA
 Maintenance of statutory records and
minutes book under companies act, 2013

23. Corporate Restructuring
The process involved in changing the
organization of a business. Corporate
restructuring can involve making dramatic
changes to a business by cutting out or
merging departments that often has the
effect of displacing staff members.
Merger and/or Amalgamation of Companies

24. Foreign Collaborations and Joint Ventures
In joint venture, a business enterprise is formed for
profit in which parties of joint venture share
responsibilities in an agreed manner, by providing
risk capital, technology, trade mark & access to
market, etc. Example: UNITECH and TELENOR by
joint venture make a new company called UNINOR.
A Joint Venture Agreement should be as such which
shall deal with all the points mentioned under the
MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) so that the
venture shall not take the form of a bad
experience. Hence everything from the MOU point
of view as well as the legality point of view the
document shall be included.

25. Arbitration and Conciliation
The primary difference
between arbitration and
conciliation is that
arbitration is the process by
which parties select an
independent person, who
renders a decision regarding
the case. Conversely,
conciliation attempts to
make parties come to an
agreement, about the
problem at hand

26.  Industrial Disputes are always harmful to all
stakeholders – employees, society,
management, government, etc. resulting in
loss of revenue, production, profit and much
more. However, it is the employees who are
worst affected by the industrial disputes, as
the consequences would be a lockout which
may lead to loss of wages and even jobs.
Industries are the backbone of the economy,
and if the strife may continue for long, the
whole economy may collapse. So, the
settlement of industrial disputes should be
done as soon as possible.

27. Financial Management
Financial management focuses on ratios,
equities and debts. It is useful for portfolio
management, distribution of dividend, capital
raising, hedging and looking after fluctuations in
foreign currency and product cycles. Financial
managers are the people who will do research
and based on the research, decide what sort of
capital to obtain in order to fund the company's
assets as well as maximizing the value of the
firm for all the stakeholders. It also refers to the
efficient and effective management of money
(funds) in such a manner as to accomplish the
objectives of the organization.

28. Project Planning
 Initially, the project scope is defined and the
appropriate methods for completing the project
are determined. Following this step,
the duration for the various tasks necessary to
complete the work are listed and grouped into
a work breakdown structure. Project planning is
often used to organize different areas of a
project, including project palns, work loads and
the management of teams and individuals. The
logical dependencies between tasks are defined
using an activity network diagram that enables
identification of the critical path.

29. Project planning is inherently uncertain as it
must be done before the project is actually
started. Therefore the duration of the tasks
is often estimated through a weighted
average of optimistic, normal, and
pessimistic cases. The critical chain method
adds "buffers" in the planning to anticipate
potential delays in project execution.
 Float or slack time in the schedule can be
calculated using project management
software.

30.  Then the necessary resources can
be estimated and costs for each activity can be
allocated to each resource, giving the total
project cost. At this stage, the project
schedule may be optimized to achieve the
appropriate balance between resource
usages and project duration to comply with the
project objectives. Once established and agreed,
the project schedule becomes what is known as
the baseline schedule. Progress will be measured
against the baseline schedule throughout the life
of the project. Analyzing progress compared to
the baseline schedule is known as earned value
management.

31.  The inputs of the project planning phase 2
include the project chapter and the concept
proposal. The outputs of the project planning
phase include the project requirements, the
project schedule, and the project
management plan.

32. Capital Market and Investor Relations
Investor relations (IR) is a strategic management
responsibility that is capable of integrating
finance, communication, marketing and
securities law compliance to enable the most
effective two-way communication between a
company, the financial community, and other
constituencies, which ultimately contributes to a
company's securities achieving fair valuation.
The term describes the department of a
company devoted to handling inquiries from
shareholders and investors, as well as others who
might be interested in a company's stock or
financial stability.

33. Due Diligence
Due diligence is the investigation or exercise
of care that a reasonable business or person
is expected to take before entering into an
agreement or contract with another party, or
an act with a certain standard of care.
It can be a legal obligation, but the term will
more commonly apply to voluntary
investigations. A common example of due
diligence in various industries is the process
through which a potential acquirer evaluates
a target company or its assets for
an acquisition.

34.  The theory behind due diligence holds that
performing this type of investigation
contributes significantly to informed decision
making by enhancing the amount and quality
of information available to decision makers
and by ensuring that this information is
systematically used to deliberate in a
reflexive manner on the decision at hand and
all its costs, benefits, and risks.

35. Corporate Advisory Services
Corporate Advisory Services is an umbrella
term that encompasses specialized advice’s
rendered to corporate houses by professional
advisors such as accountants, investment
banks, law practitioners and host of similar
service providers. Mainly the following
services are covered:-
 Making of public issue and Issue Management
 Project counseling and pre-investment
studies

36.  Corporate restructuring
 Capital structuring and restructuring
 Loan syndication
 Liaison with foreign collaborators and making
preparation for joint ventures
 Raising foreign currency loans Euro issues,
FCCB’s etc
 Merger and acquisitions
 Making valuation and re-valuation of assets
 Consultancy for rehabilitation of sick
industrial units

37. Taxation- Direct/Indirect Taxes
 PCS also getting involved in practice of
Income Tax, Wealth Tax, Luxury Tax, Goods
and Service Tax (GST) as consultant or do
whole time practice, In small and medium
cities it is more effective and income rising
source for settle your practice.
 So many PCS are doing practice of Income
tax, Service Tax, GST in India with very good
expertise and they are presenting a strong
professional image in front of Tax
authorities.

38. The Council of the Institute of Company
Secretaries of India at its 178th meeting
held on 29th December, 2007 approved the
following Guidelines for Advertisement by
Company Secretary in Practice.
 Write ups in Newspapers and Magazines
 Appearing on local radio or television giving
advice on appropriate topics
 Giving speeches/lectures at any platform
including Seminars, Conferences, Workshops,
Conventions, etc. on issues of
public importance

39.  Holding seminars for clients
 Briefing clients/ prospective clients
individually on issues in which the PCS can
help with their businesses
 Sponsoring a local event or Helping with
community programmes or doing voluntary
work as a professional for
charitable organizations
 Own website and other portals of
professional importance
 Creating a visual identity

40.  Location and décor of the workplace,
meeting rooms, etc.
 Display of Firm name, Logo or any other
identity on Uniform, Ofice/s, office
stationary & equipments/material and
providing Training to Staff.
 Use of social media like Facebook and
Whatsapp for advertising the range of
professional services and sharing of relevant
information.
 Newsletters, direct mails, postcards, emails,
etc.

41. “Conclusion- at last we are on this conclusion
that we have to decide at the time of study
“what should we do either we go for
employment or for doing practice” an early
stage decision will gives us better
understanding and success in our field. So at
the time of your practical and management
training you go for suitable place where you
learn according to your choice.”