ICSAN Secretarial Practice

It is aimed at candidates on the ICSAN professional route who intend to practise as chartered secretaries or governance professionals, and at company secretaries, legal officers and compliance staff who want formal Nigerian qualification. Expect to need prior knowledge of company law and management before attempting it.

ICSAN papers typically combine objective (multiple choice) questions with written short-answer and essay-style questions, and scenario or case-study items that test application. The institute publishes the current structure and instructions in its syllabus and examination regulations; check those rather than relying on second-hand descriptions.

Duration, fees and entry deadlines are set by ICSAN each examination diet and are published on its website and in the examination regulations. Confirm the current figures with the institute before you plan your study timetable or budget, because they are revised periodically.

The passing score is determined by ICSAN and published in its regulations. Difficulty comes less from obscure facts than from weak application: candidates who memorise sections but cannot apply them to a scenario lose marks. Those who practise structured, well-cited answers under time pressure generally cope well.

ICSAN normally runs examinations on scheduled diets through the year and allows candidates to re-enter papers they have not passed, subject to its regulations and any attempt limits. Check the current retake rules, entry windows and any fees with the institute.

Allow roughly three to four months of steady preparation. Start with company formation and constitutional documents, then meetings and resolutions, then directors and governance. Layer in share capital, statutory filings, accounts and audit, restructuring, insolvency and ethics, and finish with timed scenario practice.

Running out of time because the candidate writes everything on question one; answering in generalities without citing the CAMA rule; confusing the duties of directors with those of the secretary; ignoring the practical follow-up, such as the register entry or CAC filing; and skipping case-study practice entirely.

Use the ICSAN syllabus and recommended reading list as your spine, read the Companies and Allied Matters Act alongside a current annotated text, and follow the Corporate Affairs Commission for filing practice. Supplement with governance codes and the institute's own study packs. Avoid any single commercial question bank as your only source.

Use a four-step structure: identify the legal issue, state the applicable rule and its source, apply it to the given facts, then recommend the action and the consequential register entry, notice or CAC filing. Short headings and precise statutory references score better than long narrative paragraphs.

No. This is independent study material prepared for candidates revising for the paper. It is not endorsed by, affiliated with or issued by ICSAN. Always treat the institute's official syllabus, regulations and notices as authoritative for syllabus scope, dates, fees and results.