ICAI President's Communique for August 2014

Dear Professionals,

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi tweeted on CA Day - “I congratulate my CA friends on Chartered Accountants Day and convey my best wishes. They have a crucial role to play in India's progress”. These words of appreciation by the man at the helm of country’s affairs set the tone for this year’s CA Day celebrations on 1st July 2014. It was a historic day when our Institute completed 65 years of professional excellence and dedicated service to the nation.

“As a leader of the Indian accountancy profession, I welcome the Finance Minister’s big bang announcement regarding the implementation of Ind AS. “There is an urgent need to converge current Indian Standards with International Accounting Standards,” he said. The Finance Minister has proposed that the new Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) converged with IFRS shall be adopted by the Indian Companies from the financial year 2015-16 voluntarily and from the financial year 2016- 17 on a mandatory basis. The ICAI has always propagated the need to converge with IFRS at the earliest…”

CA Day Celebrations-65 Years of Professional Excellence

It was a momentous occasion of pride for us when Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley graced our CA Day celebrations at New Delhi. He showered words of praise on our profession and appreciated our role as a partner in nationbuilding. “If there is one profession which is an integral part of the India story and which is consistently growing along with the economy, it is the profession of Chartered Accountants.” Shri Arun Jaitley said: “My admiration for the Institute in comparison to several other professional bodies is because the ICAI makes intense and concentrated efforts to make sure that the Chartered Accountants training and education continues as an ongoing phenomenon.” The words of encouragement and recognition by the President of International Federation of Accountants Mr. Warren Allen further boosted the spirit of the CA Day celebrations. We exemplarily showcased our profession’s 65 years of excellence in the presence of a distinguished gathering of over 2000 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi. I am happy to note that our members across the country joined hands to celebrate the CA Day by participating in a series of programmes and events like Tree Plantations, Distribution of Literacy Kits and Blood Donation camps. These activities demonstrated our commitment to society on this special occasion. As endorsed by our Finance Minister, our profession is an integral part of India’s success story. Over the last 65 years, our profession’s persistent pursuit of perfection, integrity, skills and knowledge has effectively fulfilled our founding fathers’ vision behind establishing the ICAI in 1949. This triumph of our profession called for a grand celebration, and the CA Day on 1st July 2014 offered us a perfect opportunity to do so. I am happy to say that the entire CA fraternity rose to the occasion with members and students across the 147 branches joining hands to rejoice and renew their resolution to provide enlightened value-added services to the society.

Cloud Campus Launched for Students

Leveraging technology to the maximum benefit of our profession is high on my agenda. We took a big leap in that direction as we launched the Cloud Campus - a new technology initiative for students, on the occasion of CA Day. The Cloud Campus is a revolutionary and futuristic next generation interactive learning management system for CA students. It is a virtual campus where e-learning courses, audio lectures, video lectures, webcasts, online mentoring, articleship training resources, etc. would be provided to the students free of cost. This initiative would herald a knowledge revolution by providing online resources to the students to prepare for the CA course. I am sure this initiative will prove to be immensely useful to our future Chartered Accountants.

Publications Online Store Takes Off

To facilitate members spread across the country to order publications online, we recently launched a Publications Online store. This new e-initiative would enable members and students to purchase all our publications online. I request you to take benefit of this capacity building initiative.

Digital Library - (24x7) Knowledge Initiative

Effective knowledge dissemination for a wellinformed profession is one of my high priorities. To facilitate a large section of our members in remote areas to access the online ICAI library, we have launched a ‘Digital Library’ on CA Day. This important technology initiative will provide access to all our e-resources (24x7) at the comfort of your home or office. The digital library provides an access to ICAI Knowledge Gateway, ICAI publications, circulars and FAQs, etc. I request you to make use of this facility in your quest for knowledge.

Union Budget 2014-15: Progressive and Growth Oriented

The Union Budget 2014-15 paves the way for a strong and vibrant economy. I am confident that this progressive and growth oriented budget would facilitate the emergence of a resurgent India. Progressive Budget: This year’s Budget is quite progressive and will spur investment-led sustainable and inclusive growth. This Budget has made commitment for the next generation of tax reforms, stability of tax regime and fiscal consolidation. The announcement regarding retrospective amendments would facilitate a healthy investment climate in India. We also welcome the advance ruling to resident tax payers with respect to income tax liability besides constitution of additional IT benches and enlarging the scope of the Settlement Commission. The Budget aims at achieving fiscal prudence and we as Chartered accountants, with multidimensional capabilities, can act as a catalyst for economic development. We can facilitate inclusive growth, good governance and reforms and can help the Government in achieving the broader objectives of the Union Budget. Ind AS Implementation: As a leader of the Indian accountancy profession, I welcome the Finance Minister’s big bang announcement regarding the implementation of Ind AS. “There is an urgent need to converge current Indian Standards with International Accounting Standards,” he said. The Finance Minister has proposed that the new Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) converged with IFRS shall be adopted by the Indian Companies from the financial year 2015-16 voluntarily and from the financial year 2016-17 on a mandatory basis. The ICAI has always propagated the need to converge with IFRS at the earliest, to bring the financial reporting practices of the Indian corporates at par with the global standards. This would also enable India to fulfill its G-20 commitments in this regard since globally more than 130 countries have switched over to IFRS in the preparation of financial statements. In this regard, I am delighted to state that ICAI is ready with the updated Ind AS corresponding to IFRS as of this date. We are committed to work closely with Ministry of Corporate Affairs to ensure effective and smooth implementation of Ind AS in India, which will usher in a new era of accounting reforms in the country. It’s time for us to sit up and take stock of the consequent new changes and challenges pertaining to our profession and move on with professional panache for which we are known. Let us update ourselves with the latest developments taking place in the profession and continue our journey confidently, ethically and altruistically.

Our Contribution to Union Budget 2014-15

We have also played a role in shaping this Budget through our Pre-Budget Memorandum submitted to the Government. This Memorandum comprised our suggestions based on the concerns of membership on one hand and society on the other. I am extremely happy to share with you that this year all our significant suggestions regarding Direct, Indirect and International taxes were considered and several of them were incorporated in the Finance (No.2) Bill, 2014. To take this nationally important exercise forward, we have also submitted a Post-Budget Memorandum to the Government.

Join Hands with us for the Betterment of the Indian Economy

Proactively playing our role as a partner in nation-building, we have constituted a "Study Group on Indian Economy." The Group aims to study the qualitative assessment of the macro-economic developmental indicators inter-alia pertaining to trade, globalisation, monetary management, fiscal prudence and financial reforms as a tool to development, and recommend effective measures to the Government. It will put focus on empathisation of key governmental initiatives in sustaining economic momentum and leveraging ICAI's contribution to the core work programme in the said area. The Group will also contribute in the area of Economic Advocacy to position ICAI as a valued partner to existing knowledge depository besides working for other related objectives. In this regard, I invite you to join hands with us in this important exercise, by providing your valuable inputs on the Indian economy in line with the goals of the Group.

Embracing Social Media to Empower Profession

India’s digital landscape is evolving fast. Our country has 243.2 million Internet users and 106 million active social media users, says a latest report. And a very big section of these social media users are the members of India’s emerging knowledge society, including we Chartered Accountants. These professionals are not using the social media just to connect and network, but are also using it to generate ideas, map the trends and evolve strategies for organisational and competitive advantage. I feel that we at ICAI cannot afford to lag behind in reaping the immense benefits of social media, which has a big potential to serve our professional fraternity. With this perception and vision, ICAI has recently embraced social media platforms. I am happy to inform you that at the moment, our links to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+, are available on the ICAI website for all of you. We have decided to use them to establish our credibility, trust and identity primarily by sharing our views and perspectives with our stakeholders. We may also engage some thought leaders to interact with our online community, which can emerge as an exclusive facilitating force in the coming days. Let’s use these social media platforms to unite around common passions, inspire excellence and expand our professional horizons. However, on a note of caution, I request users to follow proper netiquette while using these platforms for the good of all netizens. In this regard, you may refer to the 10 social media commandments as spelt out by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.

Visit of IFAC Delegation to India

In my earnest endeavour to position Indian accountancy profession on the global map, I have been taking far-reaching steps to engage leaders of the global accountancy profession. In line with that objective, we recently had wide-ranging discussions with a top-notch delegation of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) that visited India recently. The delegation comprised IFAC President Mr. Warren Allen and Director - Quality & Member Relations Ms. Sylvia Tsen. Meetings at ICAI: I shared with them the recent initiatives of ICAI and the role played by the ICAI in enabling institutional reforms and capacity building in financial management system at all levels of governance, so as to ensure high quality of accounting and financial reporting. We also organised an interactive session of the IFAC delegation with the officials of ICAI to have a better understanding on how ICAI has been playing its role in the development of the accountancy profession in India and globally through its 23 overseas chapters. Mr. Allen also delivered a special address to our students and also addressed our members at the 65th CA Day Celebrations on the topic “Accountancy Profession: Embracing Change and Driving Growth”. Meeting with Regulators: IFAC delegation also had meetings with the Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs Mr. Naved Masood, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General of India & Chairman-Audit Board Dr. P. Mukherjee, and Controller General of Accounts (CGA) of India Mr. Jawahar Thakur. The objective of these meetings was to have a better coordination and understanding on the desired fusion of global and Indian perspectives with respect to accountancy profession. The IFAC delegation appreciated the steps being taken by the Indian regulators along with ICAI for transformation from Cash-based accounting system to Accrualbased accounting system.

Moving Ahead to Reform CA Education - A New Curriculum

Our students and CA education system is one of my topmost priorities as I believe in sustained and future-oriented growth of our profession. My vision is that accountancy profession and accountancy education need to constantly go hand in hand with academic, technological and economic advancements globally. It is with that aim that we set out for a review of the CA education and training schemes through the recently constituted CRET (Committee on Review of Education and Training). Taking this mission forward, CRET discussed the relevant issues in detail at its meetings in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur and Agra recently. In this regard, I also request you to give your feedback through an online questionnaire that has been sent to you. I am sure that this futureoriented drive of the ICAI will go a long way in benchmarking our CA education with the best in the world.

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Before I conclude, let us give a thought to our Independence Day (15th August) which is approaching. Let us celebrate independence with the desired sense of national pride as well as responsibility. I believe in what Mahatma Gandhi had observed once: The condition of India is unique. Its strength is immeasurable. We need not, therefore, refer to the history of other countries. I have drawn attention to the fact, that when other civilisations have succumbed, the Indian has survived many a shock. Let’s bow to our great nation and extend our enthusiasm and festive spirit to the Independence Day celebrations as well. Happy Independence Day to all of you!

Best wishes

CA. K. Raghu President, ICAI New Delhi, July 22, 2014

ICAI President's Message - July 2014

Dear Professionals,

Continuity gives us roots, change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights,’ rightly goes the saying. While the triumphant tradition of our democracy has continued, a change has happened in Indian polity too. I, as the leader of the Indian accountancy profession, welcome this change led by our dynamic new Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, a leader who leads by example. Riding the wave of new aspirations of Indian masses, Shri Narendra Modi has taken over as the harbinger of change, growth and development as spelt out in his agenda. Given his proven track record in vibrant Gujarat, I am sure we will have a resurgent India under his stewardship. The Indian Accountancy profession commits itself to the growth agenda of the new Government and will continue to contribute to a vibrant Indian economy. Today we have a Prime Minister who is considered the most techno-savvy political leader in India. He understands the value of connecting with the lives of people by making use of technology. We appreciate him as a dedicated and determined man of good governance, who is guided by the principle of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas (Collective efforts, inclusive growth). We stand by his mantra for functioning that is 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance'. A firm believer in the philosophy of Antyodaya or reaching the very last person in the queue, Shri Modi is known for proven ability to deliver results.

We at ICAI are committed to the growth agenda of the new Government, particularly with respect to ensuring good governance, reforms, ease of doing business, financial discipline and economic growth. We are also committed to the new Government’s vision to rationalise and simplify the tax regime in India and make it non-adversarial and conducive to investment, enterprise and growth. In furthering our partnership with the new government, we plan to work with various ministries and government departments to help them achieve their new agenda.

Partnering with the New Government

The new Government has expressed its commitment to bring about sustainable and inclusive growth. To build a strong India, it aims to usher the economy to a higher pedestal, rein in inflation, reduce current account deficit, reignite the investment cycle and restore the confidence of domestic and international communities in the national economy. A series of measures and reforms to help Indian economy achieve its potential of high growth are on the cards. We at ICAI are committed to this growth agenda, particularly with respect to ensuring good governance, reforms, ease of doing business, financial discipline and economic growth. We are also committed to the new Government’s vision to rationalise and simplify the tax regime in India and make it non-adversarial and conducive to investment, enterprise and growth. In furthering our partnership with the new government, we plan to work with various ministries and government departments to help them achieve their new agenda. We propose to submit our views on ushering reforms in the financial, banking and insurance sectors and also adoption of accrual accounting in all government departments. We will continue to give our recommendations on Direct Taxes, Indirect Taxes, the New Companies Act, Bank Audit, IFRS Convergence, Implementation of GST, and so on, to the Ministries concerned.

Reaching out to Finance Minister

We are extremely delighted to welcome Shri Arun Jaitley as our Union Minister for Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs. A person of high degree of knowledge, he has been associated with the Institute for many years. I recently had the opportunity of personally calling upon him and congratulating him on behalf of the accountancy profession. It was heartening to note that he holds ICAI and the accountancy profession in high esteem and has big expectations from us in helping the government to steer the economy back on the high growth curve. I assured him that the ICAI will be forthcoming to implement all his initiatives for the good of our country.

Building Rapport with Railway Ministry

The Railway Ministry is proactively looking for reforms and is keen on strengthening its finances and financial system. In this scenario we see a vast scope for our involvement in improving their financial reporting system. In this regard, I recently met Railway Minister Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda at his office in New Delhi. In a fruitful meeting, he was very receptive to our proposal to transform the Indian Railways by converting from cash based to accrual-based accounting system. I hope for a positive outcome of this meeting soon.

Meeting the Minister of State for Corporate Affairs

I congratulate Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman for taking over as Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Corporate Affairs, Commerce and Industry, and Finance, and pledge our support to the Ministry’s objectives. In our meeting, we volunteered to support the effective implementation of the Companies Act 2013 and requested her to look into the issues concerning the profession. I once again commit ourselves to the agenda of the Ministry and look forward to their continued guidance and support to us.

Congratulations to CA. Piyush Goyal

I also congratulate CA. Piyush Goyal on assuming office as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy. One among us, he has been our friend, philosopher and guide in addressing various issues concerning the profession in the past. We take pride in his inclusion in the Union Council of Ministers and look forward to his constant support and guidance to the profession. I wish him all the best.

Strengthening Ties with RBI

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been playing a pivotal role in strengthening the Indian financial system, and our profession continues to play an important role in developing a healthy banking sector. With a view to strengthen our ties with Reserve Bank of India, I recently met its Governor Shri Raghuram Rajan in Mumbai to discuss various issues concerning banking sector besides our concerns on Bank Branch Audit. We also volunteered to help the RBI in its all important agenda of financial inclusion in India. I conveyed him that ICAI, as a partner in nation building, is keen on safeguarding the government and public interest in public sector banks. I assured him of our whole-hearted support in various initiatives of the RBI.

Celebrating 65 Years of Professional Excellence

It was with great futuristic vision that founding fathers of our nation established ICAI on 1st July 1949. Today, I am proud to say that we have exemplarily lived up to their expectations through our dedicated service to the country as a true partner in nation building. This glorious journey of our professional excellence continues unabated even today and this calls for a befitting celebration of the Chartered Accountants Day on 1st July 2014. On this day ICAI will complete 65 years of strong national and international professional standing. With about than 2.25 lakh members and more than 8.5 lakh students today, we are the second largest accounting body in the world. To celebrate this outstanding success with the society, we have lined up a series of programmes and events across the country, like Tree Plantations, Distribution of Literacy Kits, Blood Donations, etc. A special ‘Google Hangout’ session with IFAC president Mr. Allen Warren has also been planned. Let’s join hands and make the CA Day an occasion to remember.

Cloud Campus - A Big Bang Initiative

To celebrate the CA Day, we are also launching a Cloud Campus for the students- a big bang initiative to enable the entire CA student community to connect together. The Cloud Campus will be a virtual campus for students where e-learning courses, audio lectures, video lectures, webcasts, online mentoring, articleship training resources, etc. would be provided to the students free of cost. As another first in the history of ICAI, this would herald a knowledge revolution by providing online resources to the students to prepare for the CA course.

Roadmap for Implementation of Ind AS - An Update

The ICAI has submitted a revised roadmap to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs for implementation of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) converged with IFRS. We are proactively discussing the new roadmap with RBI, SEBI and other stakeholders to support the implementation of the IFRS-converged Indian Accounting Standards. We recently had two separate meetings with officials of RBI and SEBI to discuss various issues and concerns on moving to IFRS-converged standards (Ind AS) for banks and listed entities.

Putting forward our Perspective through CAPA

It has been my earnest endeavour to highlight the role of the Indian accountancy profession in various global forums. With that spirit, I recently participated in the Board meeting of Confederation of Asia and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) in Colombo. I also highlighted our potential at CAPA’s Financial Reporting for Economic Development Forum in Colombo, on the theme of The Financial Reporting Supply Chain. I also moderated the panel discussion on Education and the development of needed skills at the CAPA Financial Reporting for Economic Development Forum (FRED) in Colombo and put forward our experiences.

Building Bridges with Saudi Professionals

You would appreciate that ICAI has taken upon itself being a mentor and collaborative partner to transition economies. I recently took this vision forward by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA) in New Delhi to help develop accountancy profession in Saudi Arabia. Assistant Secretary General for Membership and Professional Development of SOCPA signed the MoU from SOCPA. The MoU inter alia provides that both ICAI and SOCPA would be working together in establishing possible co-operation in respect of Corporate Governance, technical research and advice, quality assurance, forensic accounting, issues for SMPs, etc. I am sure this MoU would be a big step forward to strengthen bilateral relations between India and Saudi Arabia and establish closer working linkages between ICAI and SOCPA.

Global e-Kit Launched in Muscat

To promote brand Indian CA in Muscat, we recently launched a Global Career e-Kit in Muscat. The e-Kit contains exhaustive information on job opportunities in Muscat where we see a good opportunity for our young professionals who want to pursue global career. I also participated in the 6th Annual International Conference on Moving to a New World Order-Role for Finance Professionals of the Muscat chapter of ICAI besides interacting with Indian ambassador to Oman Shri J. S. Mukul. I am sure that this initiative will go a long way in firmly putting Indian CA on the global map.

EEG Meeting in Moscow-Adoption of IFRS

Issues in adoption of universal financial reporting framework are being raised everywhere now. Gobalisation of business and blurring of the international border due to virtual and online business are applying further pressure to this adoption process. Emerging Economies Group (EEG) helps in addressing the issues in financial reporting in the emerging economies. Russia, our strategic partner, is an important stakeholder in this regard. I had the opportunity of participating in the EEG meeting held in Moscow, Russia recently. The meeting provided insights on IASB projects and development in International Accounting Standards, which we will use in the adoption of IFRS in our nation. Russia has already made IFRS mandatory, with two exceptions, for use in Consolidated Financial Statements of all legal entities, in 2012.

Clarifying Certain Auditors’ Concerns under the Companies Act, 2013

The Council recently considered the issue of date of applicability of Section 143(3)(i) of the Companies Act 2013, requiring the Statutory Auditor to report on adequacy and operating effectiveness of internal financial controls in the Statutory Auditor's report. It also considered Section 143(12) of the said Act, envisaging the Statutory Auditor to report Frauds committed or being committed against the Company to the Central Government. The Council was of the view that as both these Sections and related Rules have come into force in respect of financial years beginning on or after 1st April 2014, these apply to Statutory Auditors appointed under the Companies Act 2013. Accordingly, the Council has taken a view that provisions of these Sections and related rules would apply to the years beginning on or after 1st April 2014 and not to audits for periods beginning on or before 31st March 2014 even if the audits thereof are carried out and Auditor's Report thereon are issued after 1st April 2014. The Council is of the view that Section 143(3)(i) and Rules thereunder would apply to the financial years beginning on or after 1st April 2014. In respect of the applicability of Section 143(12) and related Rules, while the Council has taken a prima facie view that these too would apply only to financial year (and not to audits of interim periods such as quarter/half year as these are per se not carried out under the Companies Act 2013) beginning on or after 1st April 2014, we are also coordinating with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs in this regard. For the benefit of the members, we have issued three separate Announcements, covering these aspects. The full text of these Announcements is available on our website.

Playing our Role in Union Budget 2014-15

The stage is set for the Union Budget 2014-15. We at ICAI have played a significant role in this important national exercise, by presenting a Pre-Budget Memorandum, 2014 to the Ministry of Finance recently. An ICAI delegation also participated in a pre-Budget meeting of the Ministry of Finance and presented the gist of recommendations made in our Pre-Budget Memorandum. Our Memorandum contains suggestions to improve tax collection, reduce and minimise litigations, rationalise provisions of taxation laws and remove administrative and procedural difficulties, etc. Accountancy profession looks forward to a progressive Union Budget that will propel Indian economy to high growth trajectory. Innovation and change will always let us develop and upgrade our lives-be it our profession or personal life. Change is the only constant thing in life, it is said. Innovate and the change gets better. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I- I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference. Robert Frost in his above poem hints at out-of-box thinking that creates relevance. The people of India have great expectations from the new Government and I am sure we could look forward to good governance that would lead to a buoyant Indian economy. Even the new Government will have to think out-of-box and work harder to meet the increased expectations of the people. This applies to us too. Let’s gear up and get ready to deliver to our stakeholders. Recall what Mahatma Gandhi has said: ‘You must be the change you wish to see in the world,’ and let’s make a new beginning to this effect on the CA Day. Happy CA Day to all my readers!

Best wishes

CA. K. Raghu President, ICAI New Delhi, June 23, 2014

ICAI President's message for June 2014

Dear Professionals,

Warm Greetings to you. The verdict is clear-the entire nation has voted for ‘a change for better.' It is a mandate for stability and growth. I, on behalf of the Indian accounting fraternity, welcome this phenomenon and collectively commit ourselves to the growth agenda of the new government in line with our tradition of being ‘partners in nation building’.

The young members in our fraternity symbolise enthusiasm, energy and enterprise. Given their professional upbringing by their alma mater, the power of practical training and insightful multi-purpose knowledge & skills, our young members dreaming big and daring newer heights is well justified. I, for one, can feel the tidal surge of creative energy in their heads and hearts. I have committed myself to empowerment of young members and am very much alive to their dreams and changing expectations.

In fact, I feel that a key game-changer in these polls has been our youth churning for change. The enthusiastic turnout of youth has not only raised the poll percentage but also the level of expectations from the new government. As such, in addition to the top agenda of fighting inflation, reviving economic growth and ensuring good governance, the need of the hour is also to fulfil the dreams and aspirations of our youth for better job opportunities, better quality of life and brighter future. The young members among the CA fraternity have similar expectations in this new scenario.

Young CAs: Being Progressive and Staying Relevant

The accounting profession in this country has been very progressive and has stayed relevant in this fast changing and complex world. The young members in our fraternity symbolise enthusiasm, energy and enterprise. Given their professional upbringing by their alma mater, the power of practical training and insightful multi-purpose knowledge and skills, our young members dreaming big and daring newer heights is well justified. I, for one, can feel the tidal surge of creative energy in their heads and hearts. I have committed myself to empowerment of young members and am very much alive to their dreams and changing expectations. To fulfill the expectations of young members, which constitute almost half of the ICAI membership, we have formed the first ever ‘Young Members Empowerment Committee’. We have already activated the Action Plan of this Committee and are helping them chase their dreams, scale newer heights of success, and move towards new professional frontiers. My idea is to empower them and turn the tide of their aspirations, yearnings and energy to the favour of our profession and the nation. To this effect, we are helping them specialise in newer areas of ever widening professional realms. Further, an initiative is afoot wherein our young members will be mentored by successful practitioners, industry leaders and other eminent professionals. We are also coming out with ‘Young Members Practioner Kit’ and developing a ‘Young Members Portal’ to provide a single window of information on new practice opportunities, networking, employment avenues and new areas of specialisation. We will soon launch specialised Certificate Courses and workshops for the new entrants to our profession and also introduce the ‘Young CFO Award’ to recognise top performers.

Tapping the Growing Opportunities in the Gulf

Borders are no bar to knowledge professionals and our members, especially the young, are proving that right. Although their outbound destinations include different parts of the world, one of their most favourite destinations is the Gulf region, comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. The resurgent Gulf region offers excellent growth opportunities to thousands of our members serving there. They constantly need our guidance and support to perform better and advance their careers. As part of our drive to achieve this objective, I had the opportunity of interacting with our members in Dubai, Doha and Kuwait recently. I am happy to note that the Indian Chartered Accountants are highly respected for their commitment and hard-working attitude there. With the aim to accentuate that feeling and empower young members to take up global careers, we have launched country specific ICAI Global Career e-Kit focusing on UAE and Kuwait. During these visits, I also had the opportunity of meeting women and young members of our profession. I also visited the Consul General of India at Dubai besides the Dubai Chambers of Commerce and Industry to facilitate new opportunities and to support our members serving in the region. A detailed report on my visit to the region is published elsewhere in this issue.

Pushing Professional Agenda in SAARC

I am happy to share with you that we have a strong presence at SAFA (South Asian Federation of Accountants) which is a forum of professional accountancy bodies committed to positioning and developing accountancy profession in the countries of SAARC region. It has been my endeavour to utilise the SAFA platform to further our professional interests. With this objective, I recently attended the meeting of the 32nd SAFA Board and chaired SAFA Committee on Education, Training and CPD in Islamabad. On the sidelines, I also met the leadership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nepal (ICAN), Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh. We have initiated discussions with them for MoUs on knowledge sharing and mutual recognitions.

Helping Government to Move towards GST

You would agree with me that one of the biggest taxation reforms in India-the Goods and Service Tax (GST)-will integrate State economies and boost overall growth. GST will create a single, unified Indian market to make the economy stronger besides boosting tax collections. It is estimated that India will gain $15 billion a year by implementing GST as it would promote exports, raise employment and boost growth. As such, implementation of GST is high on the new government’s agenda. The Indian accountancy profession is convinced about the immense benefits of GST and is committed for its smooth roll-out and implementation. In a recent meeting with the CBEC Chairperson Ms. J. M. Shanti Sundharam, we offered our support to the Government in clearing the path for implementation of GST in India. We proposed to organise training and awareness programmes for Excise and Service Tax officials across the country. She appreciated our concerns and asked us to conduct awareness programmes on GST in various states. We also submitted a representation to introduce Service Tax Audit to ensure better compliance by the tax payers.

Bank Branch Audit: Our Concerns

Of late, there has been an increase in the number Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in Public Sector Banks (PSBs). These are being reported not only at the bigger branches but also at the smaller ones. ICAI, as a partner in nation building, is deeply concerned about safeguarding the Government & public interest in PSBs. Keeping this in mind, we are strongly opposing the increased threshold limit of branch statutory audits at every level of Indian polity. In a series of our representations, we have made out a strong case for reducing the threshold limit of advances for audit of branches of public sector banks to 10 crore. We recently met Dr. Gurdial Singh Sandhu, Secretary of the Department of Financial Services, in this regard. In this context, it is worth mentioning that smaller branches of PSBs normally deal with the unorganised sector of the Indian economy, such as the agriculture and priority sector advances wherein the concerns relating to security and documentation are quite pertinent and are more exposed to risk of resulting into NPAs. We feel that phasing out of statutory audit in such a scenario would be akin to removing an experienced guard from the treasure.

Accrual Accounting-Role of ICAI

I see accrual-based accounting as an important initiative to reform the system of accounts and financial reporting in Government. A transition from cash to accrual-based accounting would make financial reporting more transparent and meaningful, leading to financial statements of Government bodies reflecting the full economic impact of the decisions taken. Through this reform, our Central and State governments can demonstrate their commitment to achieving greater transparency and accountability, and also to producing better information for decision-making—which in turn should lead to the better use of public resources. We at ICAI not only support this move but are also deeply involved in taking this reform initiative forward in various government entities and departments. We are working as an enabling arm of Government Accounting Standards Advisory Board (GASAB) of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India which is spearheading the transition from the cash-based to accrual-based accounting system in India. In line with that role, we recently participated in 30th meeting of GASAB and discussed pilot studies conducted by us in the Department of Post and certain units of Central Public Works Department. The meeting acknowledged and appreciated our role in this reformatory initiative and requested us to guide other governmental entities to shift to Accrual Accounting. We have already initiated discussions with the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Defence in this regard. I am also happy to share with you that we will soon be part of the GASAB process for formulation of Government Accounting Standards and development of template for introduction of Accrual Accounting.

Reaching out to Members with the first Google Hangout

I believe in leveraging technology to reach out to the members and students spread across the country. Taking this drive forward, we recently had an interactive live session on ‘Google Hangout’ with our tech-savvy members-yet another first in our history. The Google Hangout is a free system of video-conferencing done using the Google+ platform. I am happy to note that the interactive live session with the members across the world was a great success. In case you have missed this event, the archived Google Hangout is available on our website. You may look forward to more such professional Hangouts in future.

Big Data-Opportunity for Members

Big Data has emerged as the next big opportunity for the profession. Big Data Analytics is here to stay and Chartered Accountants with the ability to analyse Big Data can play important roles in strategy and decision making. I foresee a great future in this emerging knowledge domain and call upon the tech savvy professionals to plunge into Big Data Analytics and leverage the huge opportunities available around the world.

ICAI Re-Connect-Membership Revival Campaign

I am pleased to inform the members that we have launched a new membership revival campaign- -ICAI Reconnect, to re-connect the members back to the Institute. It has been noticed that a sizable number of CAs in industry are not renewing their membership as a result of which they are disconnected with the Institute. I appeal to all such members to join the professional mainstream and take advantage of wide array of our initiatives.

Some Significant Student-Friendly Initiatives

I believe that our students are our future. Their welfare and capacity building will ultimately translate into a brighter future of our profession. In line with that spirit, we have recently taken many student-friendly initiatives. Let me share with you some very important ones here. Three New Examination Centres: For the convenience of our students, we have approved three new examination centres at Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu), Ongole (Andhra Pradesh) and Dhule (Maharashtra), effective from November 2014 examinations. Online Answer Books: As a green initiative, students are now provided certified copies of their answer books in soft copies. Through a secure login identity and password intimated to them, they can visit the particular site and view their answer books at their convenience. Online Correction Post-Submission: Even after submission of examination forms, students have another opportunity to correct the particulars online, i.e., at http://icaiexam.icai.org, including change of examination centre, group and medium, etc. This link called Correction Window will enable them to communicate online with our Examination Department for making corrections in the examination forms. Help to Differently-abled Students: We will now provide services of a writer/scribe to our differently-abled students in some cities, i.e., 15 cities to be precise, to begin with, effective with May 2014 examinations. A city-wise panel of eligible writers/scribes is already there on our website. Effective from November 2014, we will extend the facility of providing computers to our differentlyabled students for writing their answers with suitable safeguards. Before I conclude, I wish to re-emphasise that a Chartered Accountant must be committed to lifetime of learning, and to change with times. In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future. In today’s integrated world, information is the gateway to success. Let’s be ‘information and decision specialists’ and help our stakeholders take enlightened decisions.

Best wishes,

CA. K. Raghu President, ICAI New Delhi, May 24, 2014