Secretary is a person who assists the management in achieving the objectives of the organization.

Concept of Secretary:

• In ancient times, a secretary was appointed by the King, Emperor or a person holding an important position in the society to look after their routine work. However, the work of a secretary was limited to writing letters, doing confidential work and providing advice, as and when required.
• In the modern times, due to expansion of business, the secretary is required to perform a number of functions and duties.
• The secretary is required to:

Possess knowledge relating to the recording of financial reports and statements,

Possess professional skills, 

Maintain public relations,

Possess  knowledge  about  various  legal  Acts  and  provisions  which  are  applicable  to  the  business organization etc.

• The secretary works as a backbone for the organizational structure.
• This resulted in the change of the concept of profession of a secretary from that of a personal secretary to an institutional secretary. Such changes led to the change in his duties from a clerical level to a ministerial level.

Importance of a Secretary:

Irrespective of the size of an organization, a secretary performs various important duties and functions. He performs routine administrative duties, keeps records, statutory books and accounts, meets visitors and maintains communication with interested parties. Thus, he has an important role to play in trading, industrial and commercial activities.  

The importance of a secretary is as follows:

i. Administrator: 

• The basic work of a secretary is to look into the routine office administration of the organization.
• Office administration includes documentation related to important issues, replying to official mails, answering phone calls, meeting visitors, arranging meetings etc. 
• This in turn, facilitates the top level management i.e. president, vice‐president, managing director etc. to concentrate on important matters such as framing policies, drawing plans, supervision on implementation of plans and overall control.
• This can be done only when the routine jobs are taken care of by the secretary.

ii. Custodian of Secret Information:

• The secretary acts as a confidential and a trustworthy person of the organization.
• The secretary conducts meetings as per the order/directions of the directors and also attends the meetings to assist the management and draft minutes.
• Since, the secretary attends the meeting, he is aware of all the confidential decisions taken. 
• As a trusted employee, the secretary is expected to maintain utmost business secrecy as he is closely connected with the top level management.  

iii. Correspondent:

• The secretary conducts timely correspondence with the members, directors, shareholders, banks, lenders, creditors, customers, registrar, insurance companies, government authorities etc.
• He communicates through the medium of letters, telephone, e‐mails etc.  
• He looks after the inward as well as the outward correspondence.
• The secretary is required to maintain public relations and create good image of the business among the public through proper correspondence. For this, he has to draft letters, e‐mails etc. skillfully.

iv. Legality:

• One of the most important duties of the secretary is to comply with all the legal requirements on behalf of his organization.
• The secretary is required to maintain statutory books and registers in accordance with the provisions of applicable laws.
• Moreover, he has to file returns and statements with the government authorities within the stipulated time, as laid down by the applicable Act.

v. Chief Executive Officer:

• In a business organization, whether small, medium or large, the secretary is the channel or connecting link through which the management and staff communicate with each other.  
• The secretary is required to establish an effective communication channel and co‐ ordinate between the management and staff at various levels.
•  This facilitates smooth conduct of business operations and ensures continuity in work. 
• Being a Chief Executive Officer, the secretary has to implement the policy decisions of the management.  
•  Also, he has to implement the Central and State Government policies applicable to the business organization from time to time.

vi. Advisor:

• The secretary is connected closely not only with the top level management but also with various aspects of the business organization.
• Thus, his views, suggestions and observations are taken into consideration by the management while taking crucial decisions and formulating plans and policies.
• The secretary performs the role of an advisor to the management and helps in taking correct and timely policy decisions.
• These policy decisions are often crucial to achieve and maintain growth of the organization.

vii. Vital Role in Conducting Meetings:

• It is the duty of the Secretary to arrange and conduct various meetings as per the directives of the Board of Directors.
• He has to adhere to all the legal provisions of conducting a meeting. The secretary has to perform all the necessary duties before, during and after the meeting.