Corporate secretary vs department secretary

The differences between corporate secretaries and department secretaries can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a corporate secretary and a department secretary. Additionally, a corporate secretary has an average salary of $88,550, which is higher than the $35,473 average annual salary of a department secretary.

The top three skills for a corporate secretary include corporate governance, proxy and meeting minutes. The most important skills for a department secretary are patients, customer service, and data entry.

Corporate secretary vs department secretary overview

	Corporate Secretary	Department Secretary
Yearly salary	$88,550	$35,473
Hourly rate	$42.57	$17.05
Growth rate	-8%	-8%
Number of jobs	16,480	80,303
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	50	50
Years of experience	2	2

What does a corporate secretary do?

A Corporate Secretary works in promoting corporate governance and regulatory compliance. They make certain that the board of directors is equipped with the necessary tools and information in fulfilling their shareholder obligations. They ensure the integrity of an enterprise's governance framework. It is their responsibility to ensure the efficiency of business administration in compliance with regulatory and statutory requirements. Corporate Secretaries also implement the decisions of the board.

What does a department secretary do?

A department secretary is responsible for providing administrative and clerical support to a specific department, ensuring smooth operations to maintain high-quality services to the customers and business partners. Department secretaries should have excellent knowledge of office management principles, especially on data processing procedures and customer service processes. They handle the scheduling of meetings and conferences, responding to customers' inquiries and concerns, directing visitors to the appropriate personnel and department, sorting files, and submitting business transactions and financial reports. A department secretary also recommends strategic procedures to generate more revenues and increase the company's profitability.

Corporate secretary vs department secretary salary

Corporate secretaries and department secretaries have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Corporate Secretary	Department Secretary
Average salary	$88,550	$35,473
Salary range	Between $59,000 And $132,000	Between $26,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	-	Oakland, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Brigham and Women's Hospital
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between corporate secretary and department secretary education

There are a few differences between a corporate secretary and a department secretary in terms of educational background:

	Corporate Secretary	Department Secretary
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 53%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Corporate secretary vs department secretary demographics

Here are the differences between corporate secretaries' and department secretaries' demographics:

	Corporate Secretary	Department Secretary
Average age	50	50
Gender ratio	Male, 24.5% Female, 75.5%	Male, 7.0% Female, 93.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 3.8% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 3.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between corporate secretary and department secretary duties and responsibilities

Corporate secretary example responsibilities.

Manage all mutual fund complex proxy solicitation matters and coordinate related shareholder meetings.
Purchase and manage investment portfolio, and supervise selling funds and investment securities.
Prepare annual proxy statement and other public disclosure statements require by federal securities laws.
Draft responses to subpoenas, interrogatories and other document requests.
Work with CFO and CPA in preparing annual tax reports.
Liaise with internal accountant and external CPA to prepare quarterly financial statements.

Department secretary example responsibilities.

Lead DoD team that assist Pakistan in gaining military capabilities to conduct counter-terrorism operations against the Taliban.
Volunteer for ISO auditor duties to ensure ISO procedures are followed for certification.
Perform payroll functions, including maintaining timekeeping information and processing and submitting payroll.
Prepare materials for monthly board of directors meetings including PowerPoint presentations, agendas and minutes.
Complete all payroll documentation, enter all payroll documentation into computer program, and submit to payroll department.
Create PowerPoint presentations used for business development, organize files and develop spreadsheets, fax reports and scan documents.

Corporate secretary vs department secretary skills

Common corporate secretary skills

Corporate Governance, 10%
Proxy, 10%
Meeting Minutes, 8%
Litigation, 7%
Travel Arrangements, 7%
Payroll Taxes, 6%

Common department secretary skills

Patients, 22%
Customer Service, 10%
Data Entry, 7%
Medical Terminology, 7%
Patient Care, 4%
Word Processing, 4%

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Corporate Secretary
Corporate Secretary vs Department Secretary

Updated January 8, 2025

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