Continue reading »]]> In a recent story carried out in Business Standard about Coal India Ltd resurrection and turnaround there has been revelation of some of the techniques used by the company. A daunting task of keeping

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In a recent announcement, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)
has said that it will be submitting the report on Indian black money stashed overseas
within a fortnight. The Finance Ministry had earlier asked the Institute to constitute a
committee which will investigate on ways to bring back the black money overseas, as
well as prevent such practices.

In addition to this, the president of the Institute said that there was a strong need to
form laws that would force citizens to declare their assets overseas ­­– “Such a law will
help bring out details of black money reserves. We have also suggested that those who
declared their assets and pay the taxes be given concessions on the penalty.”

He also talked about brining in uniform accounting standards for educational
institutions in the country, thereby increasing transparency and regulation. The HRD
ministry has already given a green signal to this, and the matter will be considered in
more detail at the next conference of education ministers. The new plan will be rolled
out in different phases, and will implement the accounting standards released by the
Institute. Mr G. Ramaswamy said, “In the first phase, all higher education institutions
registered with bodies such as the AICTE will be trained in the new format of financial
reporting.”

The issue of black money received nation­wide attention recently, and it’s certainly good
to see the CA Institute working towards curbing it. Let’s hope these new changes and
reforms are implemented soon enough!

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In a recent development, PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the largest accountancyfirms in the world, said that it was high time India thought about setting up a separateregulatory body for the auditors. Currently, the Institute of Chartered Accountantsof India (ICAI) fulfills this role, and also functions as the body granting licenses toauditors. PwC did mention the CA institute in the statement, praising it for the crucialrole it was playing so well, but pointed out to the general practice among the othernations, especially the US, where the regulator of auditors is different from the institutethat grants licenses.
The statement was released in tandem with the original demand by SEBI, the marketregulator in India. SEBI has made prior efforts also in this direction, highlighting itsconcern over the urgent need for a strong and powerful authority to watch over theauditors. The PwC India chairman, Deepak Kapoor, said, “It’s a great suggestion onthe SEBI’s part, but the decision has to be taken by the government, including by theCorporate Affairs Ministry and the Finance Ministry. There has to be a political will andthen we can emulate the global example . . .”
The issue of having a separate regulator captured the nation’s attention after the majoraccounting fraud in the case of Satyam Computers. The country’s image does take a dentoverseas when such events are seen along with the dire need of a separate regulator, aswell as the continuing row over adoption of the IFRS standards.
Takshila would like to learn your views on this. Do you think we need a separateregulator or is the CA Institute doing a good enough job? How do you think this willimpact the accounting profession in the country?

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In a long-pending and important development, the CA Institute has released guidelines for students to have their exam answer sheets disclosed and verified. The case was originally stayed by the Delhi High Court, but in a recent ruling, the Supreme Court classed it as covered under the Right to Information Act. This comes as good news for students who may feel their answer sheets were not properly evaluated.

The procedures for disclosure and verification are different: Whereas in the former, the student gets to see the evaluated copy of the answer sheet in person, the latter ensures that marks are awarded for all attempted questions, and that there is no totaling error. The fee required is Rs 100 per paper for CA Final & IPCC, while it’s a flat Rs 200 for CPT.

Finally, the students are also entitled to have access to the instructions issued by the CA Institute to the examiners.

Read the original announcement by the CA Institute here.

However, the important point to be noted is that the Institute reserves the right to reject an application is it feels the presence of a malevolent intent. At the same time, the copies of answer sheet can’t be shown to any third party except for the student.

Do you think this development will help make the exam process better? Or should we have had faith in the Institute and trust its final decision? Let us know what you think about this.

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The days of January 6 to 8, 2012 saw the conclusion of an international conference by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). Titled “Accountancy Profession: Leveraging Emerging Challenges for Inclusive Growth”, the conference aimed at
understanding the challenges and scope of the accountancy profession, as the financial world grapples with opportunities and threats alike. The CA Institute has been a strong proponent of regulating the accountancy practices in India, and evolving a common
set of global standards for the same. Organizations like the IFRS have been working towards the same for some time now.

The conference was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Finance Minister of India, Pranab Mukherjee, and saw around 2,000 participants from all over the globe. Mr Mukherjee praised the profession of chartered accountancy, attributing to it a crucial role in the country’s overall development. He said, “India is emerging as a great economic
power and Chartered Accountancy is an important tool to make fair, transparent and systematic economic system.”

The president of ICAI, G. Ramaswamy, also addressed the conference on this occasion, and said, “Accountancy profession is rededicating itself to newer level of commitments for meetings demands of trust, relevance, expectation gap and utility. The focus is now on adherence to high values, by focusing on sustainability and in process espousing the concerns of varied set of stakeholders including the small & medium sized entities.”

The three-day conference ended with distribution of “ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting”, which seeks to reinforce the practice of accounting standards among various entities.

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In an important announcement, the CA Institute confirmed that it has plans to sign a mutual recognition agreement (MRA) with the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA). Mr G. Ramaswamy, president of ICAI, said that the deal is likely to be finalized this week, and will be accordingly confirmed.
The major benefit for Indian chartered accountants in this deal would be that they can now receive an extra qualification without having to sit through another exam. This is going to lend credibility to their practice, and is seen by many as a favorable move.
However, Mr Ramaswamy made it clear that this deal does not provide the CAs practicing rights in New Zealand, although the door will open for Indian CAs to provide corporate advisory and similar services. The same is true for CAs from New Zealand, as by virtue of this MRA, the members of one body will automatically become members of the other.
A similar MRA is being pursued with the UK-based AIA (Association of International Accountants). AIA has been a strong proponent of creating and promoting a common standard of accounting worldwide, which they term as “international accounting”.
Takshila Learning would like to know your response to this. Do you think this development is going to really help Indian CAs? What other issues do you want to see resolved? Let us know in the comments.