What are the differences between chartered accountants and chartered secretaries?

A Company Secretary is a senior position in a private company or public organisation. In the United States it is known as a Corporate Secretary.

Despite the name, the role is not a clerical or secretarial one in the usual sense. The company secretary ensures that an organisation complies with relevant legislation and regulation, and keeps board members informed of their legal responsibilities. Company Secretaries are the company鈥檚 named representative on legal documents, and it is their responsibility to ensure that the company and its directors operate within the law. It is also their responsibility to register and communicate with shareholders, to ensure that dividends are paid and to maintain company records, such as lists of directors and shareholders, and annual accounts.

The Company Secretary may be qualified by virtue of examination and membership (ACIS, or FCIS) of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), which is the only qualification specifically for Company Secretaries. Only a person thus qualified is entitled to be designated a 'Chartered Secretary'.

Chartered Secretaries are employed as chairs, chief executives and non-executive directors, as well as executives and company secretaries.

Chartered Accountant (CA) is the title used by members of certain professional accountancy associations in the British Commonwealth countries and Ireland.

Chartered Accountants work in all fields of business and finance. Some are engaged in public practice work, others work in the private sector and some are employed by government bodies.