| The IFCS envisages to 'be a global apostle of good corporate governance by uniting, inspiring and empowering company secretaries the world over to be the leading professionals of 21st century'. |
| Speaking to Rayana Pandey, NK Jain, secretary and chief executive officer, ICSI, outlines the agenda of IFCS for this year. |
| What was the rationale behind IFCS? |
| In an effort to integrate the profession of company secretaries globally, ICSI mooted the idea of IFCS. It subsequently came into existence in July 2004. It now has four members namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Kenya but the fourth meeting will see participation from around ten members. |
| Also, many countries have expressed the willingness to join IFCS. The meeting will also see representatives of other institutes invited as observers so that they are convinced of the rationale behind IFCS and consequently join the federation. |
| What is the agenda for the fourth meeting of IFCS scheduled in Kenya in August this year? |
| The fourth meeting will crystallise the role of IFCS further. Through IFCS we have forwarded a proposal to World Trade Organisation (WTO) to keep secretarial services and corporate governance as a separate service sectoral classification because currently it is a fragmented profession and lacks focused entry. |
| We have moved our respective governments and though the governments the WTO secretariat for focused entry. |
| Other issues include mutual recognition of company secretaries, secretarial standards and others. We also came up with the logo of IFCS in the third meeting. The registration of this logo is taking place at various regions around the world. |
| What stand has the IFCS taken on mutual recognition of company secretaries? |
| IFCS believes in strengthening of the educational, training and professional standards among the member institutes. |
| For this profession to spread across borders, it is necessary that a qualified company secretary from one institute gets an opportunity to have the requisite equivalent professional qualification in other countries. |
| For this purpose, a working group has been set up to work out an appropriate scheme for mutual recognition of qualifications. Multinational firms of company secretaries in public practice working either in partnership or in limited liability partnership with other professionals will then become a reality. |
| What has the IFCS decided on the proposal for International Secretarial Standards? |
| In its third meeting, the governing body of IFCS decided to conduct research at the ICSI-Centre for Corporate Research and Training, Mumbai for formulation of International Secretarial Standards. |
| It is also necessary that standards created for education, qualification, training, mutual recognition and code of ethics be observed by the company secretary's profession globally. The formulation of such standards comparable with those prescribed by the International Federation of Accountants will be discussed in the fourth meeting. |
| What role would the IFCS play in future? |
| The IFCS will create a framework for standard practices for education, qualification, training and code of conduct for company secretaries working internationally. |
| The work of the IFCS on this front will enable the spread of this profession through the economic cooperation and partnership agreements among governments of the world.We were just trying to get the law implemented. If it is implemented regulary, then it can discourage most of the illegal activities. |
| We will also undertake research work on what role the IFCS can play in the policy making process of the regulator. Whether or not a particular law or amendment will benefit businesses. |
| For instance, winding up or liquidation process in India is very tedious. We through IFCS would ensure that the best possible method is devised which takes care of all stakeholders as well as save time. |
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