Mr. T.N. Manoharan, President, Mr. Sunil Talati, Vice President, Dr. Ashok Haldia, Secretary, Mr. Harish Aggarwal, Chairman – NIRC, Council Members from ICAI, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
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I am pleased and honoured to be amongst you at the occasion of the Chartered Accountants Day celebrations. I must compliment the Institute for starting this tradition of celebrating the foundation day and utilizing the occasion to discuss and deliberate upon various issues pertinent to the profession.
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It gives me immense pleasure to recognize that the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, through its sustained efforts, has created a huge base of competent professionals to add value to the Indian economy. It is also heartening to note that the Institute has been continuously upgrading its programmes, more so in the area of education and training, to make these comparable with the best in the world.
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The education and training are the strong edifices, on which lies the fulcrum of the profession and hence such a constant endeavour is a welcome step. I understand that Institute is in the process of launching a new scheme of Education and Training, drawn on the basis of Standards set by the International Federation of Accountants to attract the best talent for entry into the profession. This is a welcome step and the Institute needs to be commended for taking such an initiative.
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Friends, you will agree with me that the foundation day is an appropriate occasion for the Institute to examine as to how far it has been able to achieve its objectives, and what further changes it needs to make to meet the requirements of a fast changing economic environment- within as well as outside the country. I am confident that the Institute would strive for constantly equipping its members to deliver professional services of the best standards with greater credibility, reliability and accountability.
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With the opening of economy and the current global scenario, one needs to integrate one’s operations in the context of the emerging global market. This is all the more required with emergence of India as one of the fastest growing economies and rapidly growing services sector with Accounting services likely to form an important component of this growth. With the high quality of trained manpower, the chartered accountants have tremendous potential available for growth in the export market.
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Here, I would like to emphasise upon the need for preparing yourself to successfully meet the challenges that are emerging in the services sector under WTO regime. I am glad to learn that your Institute has been taking several initiatives for enhancing the competitiveness of Indian accountancy sector, and is facilitating identification of concerns of this sector for negotiations for various agreements under WTO and their implementation.
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Another issue of importance is the need of strengthening the regulatory structure of the profession. With the market-driven economy becoming more and more important, disclosures made by corporates are the most important inputs in decision-making by various stakeholders. The credibility of disclosures, thus, becomes very important in infusing investor confidence.
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Here the role of chartered accountants and the regulatory regime of the Institute become important. While efforts to improve the quality would always be lauded, it also needs to be ensured that misconduct by individual members does not go unpunished. In this connection, involvement of stakeholders and interested parties like consumers can make the regulatory process more effective. I am sure that the recent amendments to the Chartered Accountants Act, will help you in bringing in more effective regulatory regime and taking advantage of this opportunity, you will put in place necessary institutional arrangements including independent and expeditious disciplinary mechanism.
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The Institute needs to be complimented for some of the recent initiatives such as- setting-up of the Peer Review Board as also the Financial Reporting Review Board. This reflects a very progressive outlook. Real self-development is possible only when one becomes critic of oneself. The other initiatives of continuing professional education for members in practice and a move to implement it for members in employment are also steps in the right direction and would help in upgrading the quality of professional work.
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Gentlemen, you are aware of the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Company Affairs in the last two years. The whole idea is to provide our corporate sector with a hassle-free environment in which the productive forces of the economy can harness their fullest potential. Among other things, we are working on a Limited Liability Partnership Law. This is likely to help our professionals to grow further and compete with the best in the world. You are also aware of our ambitious e-governance programme- MCA-21, which has already been launched in 12 out of 20 ROC jurisdictions. The remaining are likely to be covered in next few weeks. Any project of this nature and magnitude will have its minimum stabilization period. The Government is committed to make the transition phase as smooth as possible. However, professionals like you have a major role in becoming the agents of change by spreading necessary awareness and extending a helping hand wherever necessary. I am happy to acknowledge the pro-active role being played by the ICAI in this regard. I would urge upon the professional community to extend their whole-hearted co-operation in making the project a grand success.
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Before concluding, I would like to say that in the ultimate analysis, credibility of the profession will depend upon the manner in which the members of the profession respond to the needs of the Society collectively and remain accountable in terms of their service to the nation.
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I am fully confident that the Institute and its members would continue to come to the expectation of the investors and the general public. I am also sure that the Institute would continue to provide guidance for the growth of profession in line with changing requirements of stakeholders and enable full utilization of capacities of the Indian professionals to provide services in the international arena.
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I wish all the Best to the Profession. Thank you and Jai Hind
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