ICSA (Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators)

Welcome to ICSA

ICSA is the international qualifying and Membership body for the Chartered Secretary profession. With a global community of 37,000 Members, we provide Chartered Membership, training and a professional qualifying scheme to set you on the path to a diverse, challenging and rewarded career.

What is a Chartered Secretary?

Chartered Secretaries are high-ranking professionals who advise on the conduct of business, governance and compliance. Their responsibilities may include advising the board on effective decision-making and managing strategies to ensure compliance with legal and statutory requirements. They also lead on issues essential to business performance and advise on financial reporting.

Chartered Secretaries work in a number of different areas of the business world including corporate, charity and the NHS. Many work as company secretaries. Others have roles such as chief executive, director of legal services, chief accountant or in-house counsel. Some also work in practice offering business, legal and company secretarial services to clients.

Qualifying as a Chartered Secretary

Our Chartered Secretaries Qualifying Scheme (CSQS) is one of the most broad-based qualifying schemes available covering areas such as corporate governance, corporate law, strategy, finance / accounting and company secretarial practice. It comprises eight modules and students with relevant qualifications in law or accountancy may be exempt from some modules. With appropriate work experience, the qualification leads to Chartered Secretary status, one of the most varied, challenging and professional accreditations available.

Benefits include:

• access to a wide-variety of different job roles
• diversity of responsibilities
• a fast-track to top-level roles working with the board
• the option to move across different sectors
• stand out to potential employers
• the status of having a Chartered Profession
• top earning potential – averaging £160,000 for a FTSE 100 company in 2010
• an internationally recognised qualification
• the opportunity to work overseas
• law and accountancy students may be exempt from some modules.

Studying with ICSA

You can study full or part-time via a variety of routes:

- Self study
- Distance-learning delivered by one of our tuition providers
- Part-time attendance at classes delivered by independent tuition providers
- Full-time attendance on collaborative Masters courses at partner universities (for joint ICSA/university post-graduate masters awards only).

Anyone can register for the scheme but students who graduate in law or accountancy may be exempt from some modules.