ICSAN Secretarial Practice study plan

Map the full statutory sequence for convening and holding a general meeting (notice, quorum, chairman, voting, poll, adjournment) into a single one-page flow you can reproduce from memory.

Classify each type of resolution (ordinary, special, extraordinary where applicable) by the required majority and the situations that mandate each, and state the practical consequences of procedural defects.

Draft a model set of notice, agenda and minutes for a fictional company, applying the correct content requirements and the distinction between minutes of proceedings and records of resolutions.

Distinguish the statutory and code-based duties of directors from the office and functions of the company secretary, and identify where governance codes supplement the statute.

Explain the appointment, removal, resignation and disqualification routes for directors and the corresponding notification obligations.

Compare the principal company types (private, public, limited by guarantee, unlimited and foreign-involved structures) on incorporation, membership limits, capital, disclosure and transferability.

Reconstruct the constitutional documents (memorandum and articles, or their equivalents) and state the legal effect of each clause and the procedure for alteration.

Trace the incorporation and post-incorporation filing sequence with the Corporate Affairs Commission, listing each form and the trigger event that requires it.

Explain share capital classes, rights attaching to shares, allotment, transfer and transmission, and the difference between shares and debentures.

Analyse how membership is acquired, evidenced and terminated, and the legal consequences of a share transfer on the register of members.

Build a register inventory: list every statutory book and register a company must keep, stating who may inspect it and what must be filed with the Commission.

Draft a compliance calendar mapping recurring filings to their deadlines and the consequences of late filing.

Explain the components of a statutory financial reporting pack and the respective roles of directors, the auditor and the company secretary in producing and approving it.

Apply the audit exemption and appointment rules to short scenarios and justify the outcome.

Distinguish the secretary's record-keeping obligations from the auditor's reporting obligations.

Outline the methods of raising capital (equity, debt, rights issues, private placements) and the procedural steps and approvals each requires.

Describe the merger and acquisition lifecycle from board approval through shareholder and regulatory consent to completion and post-completion filings.

Sequence the winding-up routes (members' voluntary, creditors' voluntary, compulsory) and the corporate rescue alternatives, identifying the trigger, the key actors and the effect on contracts and employees.

Explain the office-holder's duties in insolvency and the priority order for distributing assets.

Solve two short scenarios choosing the most appropriate restructuring or rescue route and defending the choice.

State the ethical duties of the corporate secretary, including confidentiality, conflicts of interest, whistleblowing and the boundary between advising and executing instructions.

Apply the principles of contract formation, consideration, capacity, and the rules on agency authority to company transactions.

Explain employment law fundamentals relevant to the secretary (contracts of employment, termination, statutory protections) and the regulatory compliance obligations that fall on the company.

Identify professional misconduct scenarios and the correct course of action for each.

Summarise the business law framework in a single reference sheet linking contracts, agency, employment and regulation.

Revisit the meeting procedure and resolutions framework, now applying it to board meetings, committees and written resolutions.

Analyse governance failures in hypothetical fact patterns and identify the specific breach, the responsible officer and the remedy.

Explain the secretary's role in board support, induction, board evaluation and stakeholder communication.

Practise drafting a board minute that correctly records dissent, conflicts of interest and decisions taken.

Test recall of the director and secretary provisions through timed self-questioning.

Revise share capital, membership and statutory records together, solving problems that require cross-referencing registers, share transfers and filings.

Complete a full mock filing exercise: given a corporate event, identify every register update, resolution and Commission filing it triggers.

Review accounts and audit requirements by answering past-paper-style questions under time pressure.

Identify and close your three weakest recall areas from weeks one to six.

Practise explaining technical points concisely in writing, as required by scenario questions.

Consolidate the lighter domains through rapid recall drills and short-answer practice.

Sit at least two full-length timed mock examinations under exam conditions and mark them against the syllabus weightings.

Rework every incorrect mock answer into a corrected note explaining the principle, not just the answer.

Rehearse concise written answers for scenario questions in meeting, governance and winding-up topics.

Finalise a one-page pre-exam summary sheet covering statutes, procedures and key definitions.