Company Secretaries Focus on Compliance, Not Management: VP Dhankhar

Varanasi, Nov 2 (PTI) Company secretaries are custodians of corporate governance and they should detach themselves from management objectives and focus on statutory compliance, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Thursday.

Addressing the 51st National Convention of company secretaries on the theme 'India@G-20: Empowering sustainable future through governance & technology' here, he also said that 'less governance, more governance' has catalysed the growth trajectory and that India is on the way of becoming the third largest economy by 2030.

He mentioned about the critical role of economic nationalism in the nation's progress and underscored that adding value to raw materials is pivotal for economic growth, which, in turn, leads to taxation benefits and the generation of employment opportunities, according to an official release.

Recalling the evolution of the role of company secretaries from "mere record-keepers" to "custodians of corporate governance", Dhankhar said they have now transformed into key pillars of governance and compliance within organizations, upholding the principles of transparency, ethics and accountability in corporate India.

The vice president stressed the need for company secretaries to detach themselves from management objectives and focus on statutory compliance.

Commending the introduction of GST as the 'tryst with modernity', Dhankhar said the country has come a long way from 'tryst with destiny' and that affirmative government policies have led to transparency, accountability and efficient governance becoming the new norm.

Further, he said that 'adversarial relationship' is an impediment to the growth of trade and businesses.

According to him, an amicable dispute resolution mechanism should be developed for the swift resolution of problems as an alternative to the existing dispute redressal mechanism.