Introduction to Secretarial Audit
A Secretarial Audit is a form of compliance audit which is an effective tool for corporate compliance management. It is a part of the total compliance management of an entity which helps on the detection of non-compliances and helps in to take the corrective measures of the organisation. The pROCess of Secretarial Auditing is done by an independent professional and is a mechanism which monitors the compliances with requirements of the laws which have been stated.
Objectives of Secretarial Audit
The following are the list of objectives of the Secretarial Audit:
- It verifies and reports on all the compliances of the applicable laws and Secretarial Standards
- It helps in pointing out the compliances which are inadequate and non-compliances.
- Helps in protecting the interest of various stakeholders of the Company inclusive of the customers, employees, society etc
- It also helps in avoiding any kind of unwarranted legal actions or penalties by the law enforcing people and agencies
Need for a Secretarial Audit
The Secretarial Audit is needed for the following purpose:
- The audit is an effective mechanism which would make sure of the compliances with the legal and pROCedural elements.
- The Secretarial Audit helps to provide a level of assurance to the key people of the organisation such as Directors & Key Managerial Personnel etc.
- The Secretarial Audit allows the directors to concentrate on important business matters as it takes care of the legal and pROCedural requirements.
- It helps in strengthening the goodwill of a Company for its regulators as well as the stakeholders.
- The Secretarial Audit also refers to an effective compliance risk management tool and governance tool.
- It helps in increasing the reputation of the Company as it allows the investor to analyze the compliance level of the Company.
