Dear Professionals, |
Warm Greetings to you. |
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’. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
Best wishes, |
CA. K. Raghu President, ICAI New Delhi, May 24, 2014 |
Please Post Your Views Here |
President's Message - Archives |