TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The new Companies Act 2013, which was passed in the Rajya Sabha last month, would change the way every stakeholder in a corporation has to think, act and perform, said S N Ananthasubramanian, President, Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI).
Welcoming the growth oriented law, the president felt that the said profession would be‘re-rated’ by the society with more and more people joining the profession.
Addressing media persons in Panjim, Ananthasubramanian said that the key significance of the new law is emphasis on their governance and accountability. This balances the interests of various stakeholders, holds the companies accountable to them and strengthens shareholder democracy, he added.
ICSI is the apex body of professionals who are in charge of compliance of the key economic legislation across a million companies in the country. On getting the assent of the President of India and notification in the gazette, the Act will replace the existing statute for governance of companies in the country, ie, the Companies Act, 1956.
The president said that the new Act is a significant move is the change in discourse from control to self regulation. “It presents a paradigm shift in the way every stakeholder in a corporation has to think, act and perform. This transports India into the big league as far as corporate democracy is concerned,” he said.
Speaking about the silent features of the Act, Ananthasubramanian said that the new Act accelerate the transformation of company secretaries to corporate governance professional by recognizing them as ‘key Managerial Personnel’ in a company along with CEO, MD and other board of directors of the company.
“With increasing scope and growth, the Act has opened up new avenues for a great and rewarding career as a company secretary. We hope more and more people will join us,” he said adding there are currently ICSI has 3.85 lakh students.
