CA NeWs Beta*: Brief history of Chartered Accountancy Profession in India

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Saturday, December 24, 2011

Brief history of Chartered Accountancy Profession in India

CA Abhijeet N. Bobade
Wrote on 20 December 2011

I am just trying to sum up some of the great points about my Institute, because of this ICAI members are using word Chartered Accountant (CA) in front of their names. Brief History about my institute: The Companies Act, 1913 passed in pre-independent India prescribed various books which had to be maintained by a Company registered under that Act. It also required the appointment of a formal Auditor with prescribed qualifications to audit such records. In order to act as an auditor a person had to acquire a restricted certificate from the local government upon such conditions as may be prescribed. The holder of a restricted certificate was allowed to practice only within the province of issue and in the language specified in the restricted certificate. In 1918 a course called Government Diploma in Accountancy was launched in Bombay (now known as Mumbai). On passing this diploma and completion of three years of articled training under an approved accountant, a person was held eligible for grant of an unrestricted certificate. This certificate entitled the holder to practice as an auditor throughout India. Later on the issue of restricted certificates was discontinued in the year 1920. In the year 1930 it was decided that the Government of India should maintain a register called the Register of Accountants. Any person whose name was entered in such register was called a Registered Accountant.[13] Later on a board called the Indian Accountancy Board was established to advise the Governor General of India on accountancy and the qualifications for auditors. However it was felt that the accountancy profession was largely unregulated, and this caused lots of confusion as regards the qualifications of auditors. Hence in the year 1948, just after independence in 1947, an expert committee was created to look into the matter.[14] This expert committee recommended that a separate autonomous association of accountants should be formed to regulate the profession. The Government of India accepted the recommendation and passed the Chartered Accountants Act in 1949 even before India became a republic. Under section 3 of the said Act, ICAI is established as a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal. Unlike most other commonwealth countries, the word chartered does not refer to a royal charter, since India is a republic. At the time of passing the Chartered Accountants Act, various titles used for similar professionals in other countries were considered, such as Certified Public Accountant.[15] However, many accountants had already acquired membership of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and other Chartered Societies of Great Britain and were practising as Chartered Accountants. This had created some sort of brand value. This designation inherited a public impression that Chartered Accountants had better qualifications than Registered Accountants.[16] Hence the accountants were very stern in their stand that, the Indian accountancy professionals should be designated only as Chartered Accountants. After much debate in the Indian Constituent Assembly, the controversial term, chartered was accepted. When the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 came into force on 1 July 1949, the term Chartered Accountant superseded the title of Registered Accountant. This day is celebrated as Chartered Accountants day every year.[17] Role of My Institute: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India was established under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 passed by the Parliament of India with the objective of regulating accountancy profession in India. ICAI is the second largest professional accounting body in the world in terms of membership second only to AICPA(http://worldranking.blogspot.com/2009/08/top-professional-accountancy-bodies.html). It prescribes the qualifications for a Chartered Accountant, conducts the requisite examinations and grants license in the form of Certificate of Practice. Apart from this primary function, it also helps various government agencies like RBI, SEBI, MCA, CAG, IRDA, etc. in policy formulation. ICAI actively engages itself in aiding and advising economic policy formulation. For example ICAI has submitted its suggestions on the proposed Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010. It also has submitted its suggestions on the Companies Bill, 2009. The government also takes the suggestions of ICAI as expert advice and considers it favorably. ICAI presented an approach paper on issues in implementing Goods and Service Tax in India to the Ministry of Finance. In response to this, Ministry of Finance has suggested that ICAI take a lead and help the government in implementing Goods and Services Tax (GST). It is because of this active participation in formulation economic legislations, it has designated itself as a "Partner in Nation Building". In spite this, Chartered Accountants enjoy a statutory monopoly in audit of financial statements under the Companies Act, 1956, Income Tax Act, 1961 and various other statutes in India. Financial statements audited by a chartered accountant are presumed to have been prepared according to GAAP in India (otherwise the audit report should be qualified). However, not all Chartered Accountants work in audit. Firms of accountants provide varied business services, and many accountants are employed in commerce and industry. Their areas of expertise include financial reporting, auditing and assurance, arbitration, risk management, economics, corporate finance, management accounting, information systems audit, corporate law, direct tax, indirect tax and valuation of businesses. Apart from the field of professional practice, some CAs works in industry and commerce in financial and general management positions such as CFO and CEO. If you go through all the above paragraphs you will realize that the word which we are using is perfectly matches with our work & Institute.

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