The company secretary is a strategic position of considerable influence at the heart of governance operations within an organisation.
Governance describes the way that an organisation is directed and controlled, which includes a company's strategy and decision making, how it achieves its aims, and ensuring that all activities undertaken comply with legal, ethical and regulatory requirements.
Company secretaries have a broad skill set – corporate law, finance, governance, strategy and corporate secretarial practice – and they advise a company's board in these key areas, providing support to the Chair, CEO and non-executive directors.
By becoming a company secretary you will have:
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Company secretaries work across all sectors in a range of different organisations – in private companies, the public sector (e.g. local government organisations, the NHS) and the not-for-profit sector (e.g. charities and professional bodies.)
Some work for professional services firms or run their own businesses as sole practitioners or small partnerships, providing a range of clients with company secretarial services for a fee.
The specific responsibilities of a company secretary vary depending upon the level of the job role, the size of the organisation and the sector in which it operates. However, responsibilities typically include:
As with many jobs, salaries vary dependent on location, sector, and the size and type of organisation that you work for. Top company secretaries in FTSE firms can earn six figure salaries and five figure bonuses.
The tables below give you an indication of salaries at different levels within different regions*
Role | Region | Average base salary | Top 25% Earn Above |
---|---|---|---|
Group Company Secretary | London & Southeast | £143,000 - 201,000 | £311,000 |
|
Outside London & S/E | £139,000 - 198,000 | £280,000 |
Deputy Company Secretary | London & Southeast | £102,000 - £130,000 | £184,000 |
Outside London & S/E | £83,000 - £198,000 | £162,000 | |
Assistant Company Secretary | London & Southeast | £64,000 - £82,000 | £110,000 |
Outside London & S/E | £56,000 - £73,000 | £87,000 | |
Company Secretarial Assistant | London & Southeast | £39,000 - 47,000 | £51,000 |
Outside London & S/E | £39,000 - 43,000 | £46,000 |
*Salary information taken from The Core Partnership's 'The Company Secretary Market Survey 2018-19.
We think a career as a company secretary is a great choice for anyone who:
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