The Institute is the professional qualifying body for governance professionals in Southern Africa on the path to Chartered Secretary. The Institute further provides Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for all governance and accounting officers.

The Institute represents Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.  

Members, all of whom are Chartered Secretaries, work in public and private companies, corporate secretarial firms, legal practices, international accounting firms, tertiary institutions and the public sector.  Membership offers these employers 'watchdog' accountability, with recourse to the Institute's disciplinary and disbarment proceedings in the case of misconduct and/or breach by a Member of the Institute's Code of Professional Ethics & Conduct.  

The Institute is a division of the global governance body Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), and was the first division to be established outside of the UK.  ICSA is still today headquartered in London with additional divisions across the globe in Australia, Canada, China, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Zimbabwe.