- Companies Act, Penal provisions, Secretarial audit, Compliance management, Implementation
Abstract
Secretarial Audit is a compliance audit. It is a part of total compliance management in an organization. The Secretarial Audit is an effective tool for corporate compliance management. It helps ensure timely corrective measures when non-compliance is detected. The Companies Act, 2013, seems to revolve around this concept of compliance and the ways to ensure its implementation. The enforcement mechanism is also well incorporated in the Act itself providing the requisite arms to strike home the point. The corporate sector as well as the professional community is required to be extra vigilant in discharging their functions to ensure that they are compliant in their approach. Over abundance of provisions spread over the Act and the rules coupled with enhanced penal provisions, inflated additional filing fees and fraud related provisions make the situation look more frightening. Audit is perhaps the only mechanism which provides some sort of comfort and assurance that controls and checks are in place. An audit helps to ensure that the company is following the right principles and procedures and also highlights areas which require attention to make timely corrections. The study focuses on the importance and various aspects of Secretarial Audit under the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.