I first came across the role of Company Secretary when studying company law at University. The huge variety of prospective employers and the variety of work available made the prospect of becoming a Chartered Secretary very attractive.

My current role really embodies how I see the Chartered Secretary's role - it affords real responsibility at an early stage and facilitates a ‘hands on approach'. My day-to-day working life varies hugely. I have very little routine work and, with only a relatively small portfolio of companies to manage, so filing forms at Companies House is something I rarely have to do. Fundamentally my duties can be defined as risk awareness, management and resolution. For example, I have been involved in:

• the formation of a joint venture company in the UK and subsidiary companies in Moscow and Iran;
• liaising with insurance brokers for renewal of annual policies, claim handling and procurement of marine insurance;
• reviewing and qualifying both standard form and bespoke offshore and onshore construction contracts;
• drafting a variety of contracts, agreements, deeds, guarantees and warranties;
• reviewing leases and licences;
• statutory compliance and share issues and redemptions;
• review and drafting of company procedures;
• dealing with a variety of disputes both in and out of the courts.

As the group has continued to grow I have been appointed as Company Secretary of two of the new subsidiaries. I also have significant exposure to the activities of the main operating company of the group and tend to collect responsibilities like there is no tomorrow.

My background in law has meant that there has been a strong legal flavour to the work I do. Most notable is my involvement in all disputes and litigation involving any group company. It is all very well having external lawyers representing you, but it is of fundamental importance to have someone inside the company who can liaise with personnel and external advisors alike.

Essential skills in my job are lateral thinking, tenacity, attention to detail, knowledge of how the company works, the ability to deal with people at all levels and the willingness to work as hard as it takes.

I studied for the ICSA exams by simply buying the study texts and working through them myself. Although not always easy when working full time and dealing with the other demands of life, the modularised nature allows each subject to be studied in a manageable chunk. There is no doubting the benefits to a company of having key personnel who have studied the ICSA Qualifying Scheme and I expect that these will become more important as I continue to develop with the company.