Dear Professional Colleagues,
With vision there is no room to be frightened. No reason for intimidation. It™s time to march forward! Let™s be confident and positive!
– Charles R Swindoll (American Writer and Clergyman)
ICSI Vision Plan 2020
Globalisation is here to stay and the opportunities can be best capitalized only through engagement, not exclusion and by identifying and building on competitive advantages. It is true for corporates as well as corporate professionals like us. In our quest for sustainable competitive advantage, we have to focus more on networking and leaner structures to have higher levels of client focus and to remain in sync with a new dynamic world of opportunities.
The maturity of a profession is measured by its continual capacity to remain in sync with new and emerging dynamic realities. As the Indian businesses today traverse beyond geographical boundaries, we should also expand our horizon to guide businesses in creating absolute value to society through prosperity and services.
Futuristic planning has now come to stay as a hallmark of modern thinking and building future of our profession need a clear vision and unqualified commitment on the part of all of us. It is a formidable challenge to envision the future, to action-plan the desired future events and design the required professional positioning. Extensive and intensive futuristic research complemented by experiential richness and astute planning skills has been going into formulating the ICSI-Vision Plan 2020. I am pleased to inform you that Dr. M B Athreya, a leading Management Consultant has agreed to be the Honorary Advisor to the Core Group on ICSI Vision Plan 2020. I am sure with his wisdom, experience and wider perspective, the ICSI Vision Plan 2020 will articulate far sighted strategies and action plan to position our profession in a leadership role.
Collaborative Programmes
As a prelude to prepare our profession to assume leadership role in this new decade, the Institute has decided to focus on strengthening the capacities and skills of members in the existing areas and to equip them with adequate professional and technical skills to efficiently venture into newer areas. It is with the thought process that opportunities thrown open by globalization can only be capitalized by engagement, the Institute has decided to focus on organizing programmes jointly with the Organizations/Industry Federations and Chambers of Commerce. I am pleased to inform you that the Institute jointly with Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) is organizing chain workshops on Limited Liability Partnership for small and medium enterprises. Similarly, the Institute is also organizing joint chain programmes with ICRA on Corporate Governance, Capital Market and Credit Rating.
Stakeholder Consultation on Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability reporting is the practice of measuring, disclosing, and being accountable to internal and external stakeholders for organizational performance towards the goal of sustainable development. Sustainability Reporting is gaining importance worldwide. In terms of attracting investment, benefits of reporting are clear: companies can use the sustainability report to prove that the company is well governed and worthy of investment by being transparent about the risks and opportunities related to sustainability. In India, the concept has still to gain roots. Further, Company Secretaries can play a key role in increasing awareness amongst corporates about sustainability reporting and ensuring that these reports form part of Annual Report.
The IICA-GIZ CSR Initiative is a bilateral project between the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. The Project aims to develop and foster an understanding of Responsible Business in India in terms of social, environmental and economic aspects. The IICA-GIZ CSR Initiative in collaboration with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Focal Point India and the ICSI is organising a half day multi stakeholder consultation on May 10, 2011 at Kolkata, to discuss the National Voluntary Guidelines on Social, Environment and Economic Responsibilities of Business and GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. The objective of the workshop is to facilitate dialogue among stakeholders, including companies, chambers, industrial associations and MSMEs on adopting Responsible Business practices and its subsequent disclosure through reporting.
ICSI Corporate Governance Week
You are aware the Institute is actively engaged in promoting corporate governance and corporate social responsibility amongst businesses in India. The Institute celebrated a decade of promoting excellence in Corporate Governance in the year, 2010. Furthering this cause, the Institute has decided to observe ICSI Corporate Governance Week, each year during which it is proposed to organise programmes on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility through the length and breadth of the country through the Regional Councils and Chapters. The Corporate Governance Week would culminate into ICSI Corporate Governance Conclave.
Online Certificate Course in Intellectual Property Rights
The Intellectual Property, one of the important assets of commercial transactions, has become an important measure for corporate viability, competitive edge and sustainable performance. Realizing the importance of IPRs in knowledge era and with a view to equip our members on legal and technical skills in various aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, the Institute has decided to introduce online short term certificate course for its members and students. The course would enable our members and students to gain an appreciation of intellectual property as a tool for corporate advisory and development. The course would combine online study with instructor led training. The course would be launched shortly.
Certificate Course on Corporate Valuation
As the business activities are expanding within and beyond the borders, new opportunities are knocking the Company Secretaries. Valuation is one such opportunity for Company Secretaries. As part of its capacity building initiatives, the Institute has decided to introduce a short term course on valuation for members of the Institute. The process of developing the course contents has been started and I am sure the same would be finalized and launched shortly.
Programmes on XBRL
You are aware that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has mandated all companies listed in India and their subsidiaries, including overseas subsidiaries and all those companies having a paid up capital of Rs. 5 crore and above or a turnover of Rs. 100 crore or above, to file balance sheets and profit and loss account for the year 2010-11 onward using XBRL Taxonomy. Keeping in view the importance of knowledge, understanding and application of XBRL for Company Secretaries, the Institute has decided to Webcast a Nationwide programme on XBRL, besides organizing programmes on XBRL through Regional Councils in the month of May, 2011.
Discontinuation of Issue of Admit Cards and Marks Sheets in physical form
The Institute, as part of its Go Green Initiative, has decided to discontinue the system of dispatch of Admit Cards in physical form with effect from June, 2011 Session. E-Admit Cards would be uploaded on the website of the Institute and the students would be able to access/download the Admit Card from the Institute™s website viz. www.icsi.edu and student portal www.icsi.in. Similarly, the Institute has decided to discontinue the dispatch of Mark Sheet for Foundation and Executive Programmes in physical form w.e.f. June, 2011 Session. E-Mark Sheets would be uploaded on the student portal www.icsi.in, which may be downloaded by the students for reference and records. However, the Mark Sheets of Professional Programme would continue to be issued in physical form.
I strongly feel that this initiative will definitely be very much convenient to students.
Chartered Secretary
Chartered Secretary, a prestigious monthly journal of the Institute continues to maintain its leading position among the professionals and readers. The journal being rich in applied contents and information has been enjoying the patronage of professionals over the years. There is always scope for further improvement in such journals, to keep them in sync with changing trends and perspective of readers. I invite all of you to suggest improvement in the Chartered Secretary in terms of contents, information, design or positioning.
Earth Day Celebrations
Corporate Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainability are the essence of the vision and mission of the ICSI. With the number of natural disasters growing everyday, all of us are concerned about the future of our planet. Being socially responsible organisation, the ICSI started the year 2010 with a pledge to ˜Go Green™ and decided to initiate measures to conserve and make prudent use of natural resources.
As part of Go Green Initiatives, the ICSI celebrated Earth Day and to mark the occasion, the Institute collected e-waste from its employees, and handed over the same to a licensed e-waste management company for recycling. In tune with pledge to reduce paper consumption, Earth Day -2011 was observed Zero Print Day.
The ICSI has also launched a ˜Green pop-up™ on the Cosmic portal to share views/steps relating to environment protection and is planning to install solar panels to reduce electricity consumption.
I am pleased to inform you that with a view to institutionalize its Go Green Initiatives in earnest way, the Institute is formulating its CSR Policy, to guide its CSR activities in a well defined manner.
12th PCS Conference
Please note that the 12th National Conference of Practising Company Secretaries will be held on July 14-16, 2011 at Ooty, Tamil Nadu on the theme PCS : Strategic Options in the New Decade. The Conference will focus on Capital Market and Opportunities for Practising Company Secretary, FEMA, Foreign Direct Investment, External Commercial Borrowings, Emerging Opportunities in other laws with emphasis on SME, Opportunities for appearances before various tribunals / quasi judicial authorities/Core legislations, i.e., Companies Act as well as Companies Bill and emerging role of PCS which would include Secretarial Audit, insolvency practice, valuation, etc., professional Code of Conduct and ethical practice, Corporate Governance, CSR and Business Sustainability. The members willing to contribute articles for publication in the backgrounder are requested to start the process of authoring well researched and practical oriented articles and send the same to the Institute on or before June 15, 2011. I invite all members to attend and participate in the Conference in large numbers and extend their support and cooperation to make this Conference a grand success. An announcement containing details of the Conference, viz. delegate fee, advertisement tariff, must see attractions of Ooty and delegate registration form, is being published elsewhere in this issue.
With kind regards,
New Delhi
April 27, 2011
(CS ANIL MURARKA)
