(1)It is the duty of the directors of a public company to take all reasonable steps to secure that the secretary (or each joint secretary) of the company is a person who appears to them to have the requisite knowledge and experience to discharge the functions of secretary of the company and who—
(a)on 22nd December 1980 held the office of secretary or assistant or deputy secretary of the company; or
(b)for at least 3 of the 5 years immediately preceding his appointment as secretary held the office of secretary of a company other than a private company; or
(c)is a member of any of the bodies specified in the following subsection; or
(d)is a barrister, advocate or solicitor called or admitted in any part of the United Kingdom; or
(e)is a person who, by virtue of his holding or having held any other position or his being a member of any other body, appears to the directors to be capable of discharging those functions.
(2)The bodies referred to in subsection (1)(c) are—
(a)the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales;
(b)the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland;
(c)the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants;
(d)the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Ireland;
(e)the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators;
(f)the Institute of Cost and Management Accountants;
(g)the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.