The Secretary as a Communication Link

7. The Secretary as a Communication Link

An earlier chapter of this syllabus established that a Secretary, of any kind, is fundamentally 'an official appointed to conduct correspondence... acting as a communication link.' This section applies that idea specifically to the Company Secretary, drawing on everything covered in this chapter so far.

The Secretary connects several distinct parties, simultaneously:

1. The Board of Directors and the company's members (shareholders). The Secretary drafts and issues notices of general meetings, circulates the Annual Report, records and communicates resolutions passed, and conveys members' questions or grievances back to the Board.
2. The Board and the company's own departments/employees. Decisions taken by the Board are communicated downward to management and staff through circulars, memos, and notices; in turn, departmental reports and concerns are communicated upward to the Board through the Secretary.
3. The company and outside statutory authorities. The Secretary corresponds with the Registrar of Companies, tax authorities, SEBI, and stock exchanges (for a listed company), ensuring the company's compliance communications reach the right authority, in the right form, on time.
4. The company and the general public/other outside parties. Banks, suppliers, and other companies are all party to correspondence the Secretary typically drafts or oversees on the company's behalf.

Why the Secretary's own communication skill matters so directly. Because the Secretary sits at the intersection of all these relationships, the specific skills developed in this chapter are not abstract theory for a Company Secretary — they are the daily working tools of the post:

• Drafting ability, so that notices, letters, and minutes are clear, complete, correct, and courteous (Section 6's Seven C's).
• Choosing the right medium for each communication (Section 4) — a formal signed letter for a statutory notice, an e-mail for a routine internal query, a public notice-board display for a general staff announcement.
• Active listening and tact, particularly in handling upward communication such as shareholder or employee grievances.
• Confidentiality, given that a Secretary routinely handles sensitive Board-level and company information. …