The difference between a company secretary and a certified management accountant can mislead a lot of people. Read on to know the difference between the two!

While there are many similarities between both, a company secretary & certified management accountant nonetheless have observable and practical differences. These job profiles are well known to be in high demand among students.

Many people enroll themselves each year to pursue these profiles. It is common to assume that the course material and professional job profiles are related to one another.

However, despite their apparent similarity, they are different positions that give attention to certain divisions or aspects of a company.

What is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA)?

The distribution, administration, and control of financial resources within a commercial entity are under the purview of a CMA, or cost and management accountant. Additionally, in order to provide the tools for business improvements, he or she analyses data from numerous sources (internal and external, or both).

CMAs perform the role of cost accountants and help in calculating costs to determine the pricing of any company entity’s products. Additionally, all of an entity’s budgets, including the cash budget, buy budget, and sales budget, are prepared using their expertise and knowledge of Cost Centres.

As a result, they indirectly contribute to strategic decisions by working together with various managers, strategists, and advisers of the Organisation to Analyse financial budgets internally. This enables them to recommend improvements for the companies’ cost control.

Additionally, they manage costs, cut costs, and conduct expense audits for their own business or for other notified businesses. Simply said, CMAs can work for any type of company entity.

What is a Company Secretary (CS)?

An individual hired by businesses to manage effective administration and ensure that the organization complies with legislative, regulatory, and legal obligations is known as a company secretary or corporate secretary. Therefore, one of the fundamental requirements for any Company Secretary is having a thorough awareness of legal matters.

Because he or she acts in the best interests of shareholders and the firm as a whole, the Company Secretary is frequently referred to as a company’s internal advisor.

In addition to this, he or she assists management with a number of tasks relating to company incorporation, annual ROC compliances, calling board meetings, composing minutes, maintaining company records, and so forth.

Among other things, a company secretary’s duties include keeping track of corporate records, interacting with shareholders and directors, and making sure that lower, middle, and senior management follows the law.

Additionally, a CS is in charge of making sure that all board decisions are successfully carried out inside the organisation. In a sense, we may say that the Companies Act and labour legislation are more of a focus in the CS course.

Company Secretary Vs. Certified Management Accountant

 

Section	CMA		CS
Organizing Body	The Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), a US organisation, organises these exams.		The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), an organisation in India, oversees these examinations.
Pattern	The course is divided into two parts Financial Planning, Performance & Analytics Strategic Financial Management		The course is divided into three parts  Foundation course Executive program Professional program
Duration of course	The candidates have three years to finish the curriculum.		In 2 to 3 years, most candidates finish the program.
Syllabus	The syllabus covers the following topics Financial Reporting Decisions Financial Statement Analysis Corporate Finance Planning, Budgeting & Forecasting Cost Management Internal Controls Performance Management Decision Analysis Risk Management Investment Decisions Technology & Analytics Professional Ethics		The syllabus covers the following topics. Basic Economics & Business Environment General & Commercial Laws Company Law Tax Laws Economic Labour & Industrial Laws Banking & Insurance – Law & Practice
Jobs	Some of the common profiles include Financial Consultant Financial Analyst Financial Risk Manager Cost Accountant Internal auditor		Some of the common profiles include Chief Advisor to Board Strategic Manager Corporate Planner Executive Secretary to MD/ CEO
Difficulty	The exams are moderately difficult. During January-February 2020, the overall pass rate was 45% for both Parts I and Part II exams.		The exams are quite difficult. During June 2019, the pass rates for the Executive program and Professional program were in the range of 24% to 33% and 8% to 17%, respectively.
Exam Date	Every year, the exams are held in January – February, May – June, and September- October.		Every year, the exams are held in June and December.

Conclusion:-

Given the similarities and contrasts between the two professions, it is advised to learn more about each one’s responsibilities and functions in order to have a better understanding of what to anticipate from the industry before making a choice. It is also advised to seek guidance and consult with experts to gain a greater understanding of the situation so that a good decision can be made in the future.

If you are someone looking for a qualified company secretary services or certified management accountant for your business, then our legal advisors at Vakilsearch can be your best bet. Our team of will provide you with 100% assistance based on all your needs and make the entire procedure is very smooth and hassle free.