CA or CS: who does what for your company?

A Chartered Accountant (CA) looks after a company's money side — accounts, audit and tax — while a Company Secretary (CS) looks after its legal and governance side — board meetings, minutes, MCA filings and company-law compliance. Some work overlaps, such as certifying MCA forms, but certain tasks can legally be done only by one of them: a statutory audit only by a CA, and a secretarial audit only by a CS in practice.

This explainer is for founders who keep hearing both titles and are not sure who to ask for what. It is purely educational: this site and its author are not Chartered Accountants or Company Secretaries and do not offer those services. The aim is to help you understand what each professional does, when a business needs one, and how to check that the person you engage is genuinely qualified.

What is a Chartered Accountant?

A Chartered Accountant is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), a statutory body set up under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. Members use the letters ACA (associate) or FCA (fellow). To sign audit reports and offer services to the public, a CA must also hold a Certificate of Practice from ICAI; a CA working as an employee of a company does not need one. CA firms have a Firm Registration Number (FRN).

What is a Company Secretary?

A Company Secretary is a member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), set up under the Company Secretaries Act, 1980. Members use ACS or FCS. Like CAs, a CS needs a Certificate of Practice to offer independent services; such a person is called a "Practicing Company Secretary" (PCS). A CS can also be an employee — larger companies are required by law to appoint a whole-time Company Secretary as a key managerial person.

CA vs CS: who does what?

Area of work	Chartered Accountant	Company Secretary
Bookkeeping and accounts	Main area of expertise	Not a core area
Statutory audit under the Companies Act	Only a CA in practice or CA firm can do it	Cannot do it
Income tax returns and tax audit	Core area; tax audit only by a CA	Not a core area
GST returns and advice	Commonly handled	Some CSs also advise
Board meetings, minutes, registers	Occasionally	Core area
ROC annual filings (AOC-4, MGT-7)	Often prepares financial statements	Often prepares and files; certifies the annual return of larger companies (MGT-8)
Secretarial audit (Section 204)	Cannot do it	Only a CS in practice can do it
Company and LLP incorporation	Can certify SPICe+ and FiLLiP	Can certify SPICe+ and FiLLiP
Share issues, FDI reporting (FC-GPR)	Valuation report	Company-law filings and the CS certificate for FC-GPR

Which work legally needs a CA, and which needs a CS?

Many tasks can be done by anyone competent, including the founders. But the law reserves some work for specific professionals:

Work reserved for a CA

• Statutory audit of every company's financial statements (Companies Act, 2013, sections 139 and 141).
• Tax audit under the Income-tax Act, 2025 (section 63; section 44AB of the old 1961 Act) — only an "accountant", which means a CA in practice.
• Various certificates under income tax law, and the audit of LLPs that cross the audit thresholds.

Work reserved for a CS in practice

• Secretarial audit under section 204 and Form MR-3, for companies that meet the thresholds.
• Certification of the annual return in Form MGT-8 for listed companies and companies with paid-up capital of ₹10 crore or more or turnover of ₹50 crore or more.
• Certain certificates for listed companies under SEBI rules.

Work either can certify

Many MCA e-forms, including SPICe+ for incorporation and FiLLiP for LLPs, must be certified by a professional in whole-time practice — a CA, a CS or a Cost Accountant (CMA). This is why you will see both CA Assisted Company Registration and CS Assisted Company Registration offered. For a plain incorporation, either professional is legally sufficient; the better choice depends on who has more hands-on experience with MCA portal filings and with your kind of business.

Should you hire a CA for a Private Limited Company, a CS, or both?

Every Private Limited Company needs a Chartered Accountant for the business, because its accounts must be audited every year, whatever the turnover. Most small companies also use a CA, or an accountant supervised by one, for bookkeeping, GST and income tax.

A small private company is not required to employ a whole-time CS. The requirement to appoint one applies to companies with paid-up capital of ₹10 crore or more, and to listed companies. Many small companies still engage a practising CS for MCA compliance and MCA portal filings — board minutes, annual filings, share allotments and changes in directors — because these carry penalties when missed. Others leave this work with their CA. Both arrangements are lawful; what matters is that someone is clearly responsible for each deadline.

Is a tax consultant the same as a CA firm?

Not necessarily. "Tax consultant" is not a protected title — anyone can use it — whereas "Chartered Accountant" can be used only by ICAI members. A tax consultant and CA firm may sit side by side on the same street, and both may file your GST and income tax returns competently, but only the CA firm can sign a statutory audit or tax audit. Similarly, a CS firm for company incorporation is a firm of practising Company Secretaries registered with ICSI, while a general "corporate services" provider may or may not have a qualified member signing its filings. When a task legally needs a CA or CS, ask whose membership number will appear on it.

Does a CA or CS need to be "near me"?

Searches like Practicing Company Secretary near me or CA services near me are common, but almost all company work today is done on online portals: the MCA portal, the income tax portal and the GST portal. Documents are signed with Digital Signature Certificates. A professional in another city can file your forms as well as one down the road. Location still helps when you want regular in-person meetings or local knowledge of state rules such as professional tax.

The same applies to online CA consultants in India and to any online CS advisory portal. Many are run by qualified members, but the website itself is not regulated by ICAI or ICSI — the individual professional is. Always identify the actual CA or CS who will sign your documents.

How do you verify a CA or CS on ICAI and ICSI?

1. Get the membership number. Ask for the full name and membership number, and the firm's Registration number for a CA firm.
2. Check the institute directory. ICAI's website has a member and firm search; ICSI's website has a member search. Confirm the name, status and whether the person holds a Certificate of Practice.
3. Check UDIN on certificates. Both institutes require members to generate a Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) for many certificates and reports they sign. You can verify a CA's UDIN at udin.icai.org and a CS's UDIN through ICSI's UDIN portal.
4. See the DSC and filing details. On MCA forms, the certifying professional's name and membership number appear in the form; ask for a copy of what was filed.

Questions to ask before choosing a CA or CS

• Which tasks are included, and which are charged separately? Is annual ROC compliance part of it, or only incorporation?
• Who will actually do and sign the work — the member, or staff?
• Will you get login access and copies of every filing, challan and acknowledgement?
• How will deadlines be tracked, and who tells you about penalties if something is late?
• How many companies of your size and sector do they handle?

For a deeper look at each role, read What a Chartered Accountant does for a business and What a Company Secretary does. The Life After Registration lessons list the filings both of them help with.

Key takeaways

• A CA handles accounts, audit and tax; a CS handles governance, board processes and company-law filings.
• Statutory audit and tax audit can be signed only by a CA in practice; secretarial audit and MGT-8 only by a CS in practice.
• SPICe+ and many MCA forms can be certified by a practising CA, CS or Cost Accountant.
• Small companies need a CA every year for the audit; a whole-time CS is compulsory from ₹10 crore paid-up capital.
• Verify any professional on the ICAI or ICSI website and check UDINs on signed documents.