ePolitix.com speaks to Roger Dickinson, Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators' chief executive, about government affairs issues.

Question: As a chartered body charged with maintaining standards, how do you see the role of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators for promoting and training company secretaries and generally promoting the position of the company secretary as a whole?

Roger Dickinson: I see our organisation as a benchmark standard. If a secretary becomes qualified through us, they can hold out a particular standard to the organisations that they work with and they can also introduce that standard within their organisation.

We also help company secretaries keep abreast of the legislation that comes in, like the new Companies Act 2006, from which there has had to be a lot of work at ground level with companies across the country trying to put in place all the new requirements that that act has.

A company secretarial qualification shows a broad breadth of administrative experience. A company secretary is often the chief administrator of an organisation.

Question: The whole raison d'etre for the new Companies Act was 'think small', how does the ICSA plan to support this aim?

Roger Dickinson: We will support the aim by providing a lot of training, guidance notes, conferences and software to assist company secretaries when getting to grips with the new Companies Act.

We also work closely with the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, so as they set the regulations on new legislation, we shape it to be very practical in its application.

We also provide our members with a consultancy service.

Question: What do you think are the hot topics for today's company secretary?

Roger Dickinson: Company secretaries through the ages have had to deal with issues of corporate governance, ethics and risk management.

On top of that, you now get corporate social responsibility, such as discouraging sweat shop labour, and also interest in sustainability and green issues.

Company secretaries tend to operate as a conscience for their organisation and help maintain standards.

Question: Why should employers consider recruiting a chartered secretary?

Roger Dickinson: Because they help maintain standards and ethics within the organisation, they understand the risks a company faces and can manage them effectively, and they act as a lubricant in the wheels of business.

They are also able to deal with issues and talk to people inside and outside the organisation to ensure what the organisation needs to have in place is recognised and achieved.

Question: How do you see ICSA's ethical standards playing a part in the charity sector?

Roger Dickinson: We feel we have a lot to offer in this sector for NGO's generally.

There is much greater public scrutiny of what they are doing with the money entrusted from the public and we are able to help them with a steadying hand of ethical standards from which they can be measured.

Question: ICSA is one of the leading exponents of corporate governance, is it a role you wish to expand on?

Roger Dickinson: Definitely. I think we can expand globally. We're represented in over 70 countries and we talk through work with supranational bodies such as the EU and the World Trade Organisation all the time.

This helps us and helps them in setting ethical corporate governance standards in some of the less developed parts of the world.

Question: ICSA has a number of subsidiary companies, what plans do you have for their development?

Roger Dickinson: We provide the company secretarial software that underpins the work of some 76 per cent of FTSE 100 companies.

So if a shareholder calls, all the details relating to his holding and AGM matters are handled through our software systems.

We also publish a number of books in the general administration field and also provide training courses and seminars in that area.

Question: What do you think are the key challenges facing membership bodies in the 21st century?

Roger Dickinson: Understanding their members' requirements and also the requirements of the market our members serve.

It's not just about understanding what our members want out of us, it's also about understanding what the companies and charities want from our members.

Question: Where would you like the institute to be in five years?

Roger Dickinson: We'd like to have more members, secure revenues and to be able to influence and work closely with government and supranational bodies.

Question: Do you have any more messages for ePolitix.com readers?

Roger Dickinson: Watch this space. We are going to develop the organisation quite strongly over the next few years and we want to become the first port of call when your readership have any queries on corporate governance issues.