What We Do
The ICSA promotes best practice in corporate governance, liaising with governments and regulatory bodies worldwide. We publish guidance notes and best practice guides and through our subsidiaries provide information and training, boardroom performance evaluation and dedicated software. The ICSA has 36,000 members worldwide and is represented in over 70 countries.
Why choose us
Chartered Secretaries are highly valued by employers and benefit from a career that is well remunerated and flexible. Once qualified, Chartered Secretaries can choose to work in the public, private or not-for-profit or set up their own business. Welcome to the profession with a world of possibilities.
Who we support
The ICSA supports its members and students and those seeking advice and guidance on corporate governance and regulatory issues.
Our mission: Growing the Chartered Secretary profession through standards, training, revenues and reputation.
Why ICSA is Different
The ICSA's International Qualifying Scheme is unique. No other professional body provides a post graduate qualification that is as broad based as the ICSA's. Chartered Secretaries are trained in business, company law, corporate governance, management, finance, administration and company secretaryship.
Our History
The word ‘secretary' originates from the Latin word secretarius and the concept of keeping secrets, reflecting the confidentiality of the role and the trust placed on its holder; it is no accident that senior government ministers are called ‘Secretaries of State’. Certainly the Bank of England had a secretary when it was formed in 1684. The Institute of Secretaries was established in 1891 to develop the profession of company secretary. Membership was limited to those successful in the examinations and who demonstrated the standard of experience set by the Institute.
Our Patron is Her Majesty the Queen and when we were incorporated under Royal Charter in 1902, the Institute changed its name to the Chartered Institute of Secretaries of Joint Stock Companies and Other Public Bodies. In practice, as ICSA grew, its membership has reflected the administrative function in many types of corporate body such as educational institutions, charities and hospitals. This wider role was recognised formally by an amendment to the Institute’s Charter in 1971 which gave it the name of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators.
company secretaries - critical to commercial success
Company law in the UK stipulates that all Plcs must appoint a company secretary. And, with approaches to sound management, compliance and strict financial controls under more scrutiny than ever, the role that Chartered Secretaries play as guardians of corporate governance is increasingly critical to an organisation's reputation and success. This fact is recognised by the Cadbury Report, published in 1992, which set out to review approaches to corporate governance and promote best practice in the management of businesses. It states: ‘All directors should have access to the advice and services of the company secretary, who is responsible to the board for ensuring that board procedures are followed and that applicable rules and regulations are complied with. Any question of the removal of the company secretary should be a matter for the board as a whole’.
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