ICAI RESEARCH

Minister for Minority Affairs K. Rahman Khan today recounted his days as a professional chartered accountant.

Sharing his experience with the chartered accountant fraternity here, he said, “when I started my practice, the only stakeholder was the Income-Tax Department. The corporate sector had not grown then. But the opportunity over the past six decades and the diversity of this profession at present is tremendous,” he said and urged members to be more responsible and committed.

The Minister was on his way to Kozhikode.

Participating in an interactive session with the members of the Coimbatore Branch of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Khan pointed out that with growth, the number of frauds was bound to rise. “But the society entrusts more responsibility and faith in us. We need to live up to their expectation. It is in this context that the institute should invest more on research,” he said.

Reiterating the need for more investment in research, the Minister pointed out that no other body or institute was involved in ‘in-depth’ research in accounting reforms as the ICAI.

“Our savings rate is the highest in the world today at 30-32 per cent of the GDP. It is therefore the chartered accountants’ responsibility to protect the common man, as he is the biggest stakeholder,” the Minister said.

He conceded that amounts collected by way of tax were not reaching the target group. “This is one of the biggest problem that the Government is facing today. Even the Ministry of Minority Affairs is operating a number of schemes for the needy, but am not sure if the funds are reaching the target group. There is misuse of funds,” he added.

He felt that the ICAI should be entrusted with more responsibility for monitoring such funds.

“There is a need for all of us to understand our responsibility. We are trustees of the people. We should, therefore, guard our profession. If we do not widen the opportunity, we will be failing in our duty,” the Minister said.