Simmi Singh Bisht, CS, Balaji Telefilms: Next five years will see CS playing prominent role in corporate affairs

Simmi Singh Bisht, CS, Balaji Telefilms: Next five years will see CS playing prominent role in corporate affairs

FPJ BureauUpdated: Saturday, June 01, 2019, 02:37 AM IST
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Simmi Singh Bisht, Company Secretary, Balaji Telefilms Limited, is glad the Secretarial field is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Underlining the varied roles Company Secretaries have been playing in any organisation, she shares her hopes and expectations for the future of her profession with Dipta Joshi.

When Simmi Singh Bisht, Company Secretary, Balaji Telefilms Limited exclaims, “I took it up, fell in love and knew this was ‘the One’ for me,” make no mistake. She is simply referring to the Secretarial field that she has been a part of, for the past nine years. Happily for Simmi, she is still smitten by her profession.

“A Company Secretary (CS) is not constrained to a particular role or responsibility. Besides, the field gives you the opportunity to interact with some of the best people in the industry. For a good CS, the sky is the limit as far as achievements are concerned,” says she.

An active participant in extra-curricular activities during her college years, Simmi was always good at planning, had an eye for details and was blessed with people skills. Later these skills worked to her advantage when she opted for the Secretarial field. The CS profession is as much about people management as it is about adhering to laws and regulations, observes Simmi. “More than 50 percent of our role consists of getting people from various departments to follow and submit reports based on the relevant norms. Dealing with them to get the work done on time demands certain skills,” says she.

Simmi took up the Secretarial Course and also did her LLB. She went on to complete her LLM with a specialisation in Corporate Law. Her journey as a whole-time CS began once she finished her management training with Ventura Textiles Limited. She has been associated with Pearls Dhanshree Infrastructure Private Limited, IITL Projects Limited, Elpro International Limited and Huntsman International Private Limited before joining Balaji Telefilms Limited.

Simmi’s associations have all proved to be great learning experiences for her. Take for instance, the handling of compliance issues for Ventura Textiles limited. It remains a novel experience, since the company was under the supervision of the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). Other opportunities like handling private placements, doing the due diligence for amalgamations, company acquisitions, legal issues, handling a rights issue and incorporating companies under the old as well as the new Companies Act, have also come her way. Simmi strongly believes her varied work experience has helped her gain a larger perspective of the CS field.

Fortunately for Simmi, the excitement of facing new challenges still continues at Balaji Telefilms too. A listed media company, it has diversified into film production too after making some of the most popular television serials. “So much is always happening here as far as growth is concerned. In the process I too am exposed to learning new things each day. This makes my job very satisfying,” says she.

At the industry level, stricter penalties are in place after the Companies Act 2013 and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have ushered in tighter corporate governance norms. This has meant that CS professionals are required to remain updated about changes in law besides keeping in mind how these laws impact their industry and businesses. Simmi admits these changes have increased a CS’ responsibilities but appreciates the fact, that they have also helped a CS finally get his due in the corporate world.

“A CS has always been an advisor, coordinator, regulator, manager and torch bearer of corporate governance in an organisation. A CS rightly deserves to be key managerial personnel (KMP). However, in reality, Chartered Accountants and business management personnel were always been given more prominence. Now with the new Act conferring the KMP status, our roles are finally being recognized,” says Simmi. She believes, the next five years will see Company Secretaries having a greater say in the company’s affairs.

Simmi believes the current business environment is still in a transition phase where businesses are guided by a certain fear of the unseen, considering the new Act has brought about a “few good and few not so good” changes. According to her, “While higher responsibilities have kept us on our toes, we end up doing repetitive compliance processes at times.” She also thinks while a few sections are little vague and require more regulatory clarity, there are still others that are rigid. There is a call for more flexibility keeping in mind the practical difficulties faced by the companies today.

But Simmi is full of hope and has many expectations for an industry that is slowly but surely coming into its own. She believes, the wide ranging flexibility and adaptability it offers its professionals, is bound to attract more talent. However, she would like to caution fresh recruits about the hazards of becoming complacent. “A CS has to be a ‘Master of All Trades’. He is required to point out the discrepancies and get them rectified. Thus he has to keep upping his knowledge quotient all along,” says she.

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