There is a paradigm shift in the roles and responsibilities of a Chartered Accountant (CA) today. In today’s data & digital age with the regulations becoming more stringent in an eroding corporate governance environment, a CA’s role has become much more relevant. Whereas it took centuries for the accounting system to change and evolve, today the change is happening in a matter of decades. In this changing governance landscape, a CAs role is transforming from a ‘Specialist’ to a ‘Business Enabler’ with a focus on fulfilling stakeholder expectations. Acknowledging the change, ICAI is upgrading the CA curriculum by introducing new-age technologies to upskill CAs and make them future-ready.
These thoughts were reflected at the inaugural session of the 36th Regional Conference of Western India Regional Council (WIRC) of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) titled – Future Ready CA, being held on June 3 & 4 in Pune.
Addressing the severe changes in various areas of life Dr. Anand Deshpande said, “Technology is changing various fields with its integration. CAs should keep themselves updated and upgraded to cope with this competitive world. They must follow the four-point agenda viz; a sense of responsibility, willingness to grab new skills, proper guidance, and public relations. They should blend planning with their actions, decisions, and career.”
“With the regulation of the profession becoming more and more stringent, a far higher ethical conduct would be required to protect the interests of various stakeholders. CAs will have to assume the role of Barking Dogs to send timely alerts to various stakeholders as the Watch Dog concept may not remain relevant today,” said CA Amarjit Chopra, Past President, ICAI.
According to CA Chopra, Chartered Accountants are no more seen as Accountants, Auditors, or Tax Advisors, but as solution providers. As Auditors, their role has undergone a radical change. Besides being Statutory Auditors, they have added Forensic Audit, Systems audits, Compliance Audit, Management Audit, Internal audit, and Security Audit to their armory.
“Even under tax laws, they are no more advisors on direct taxes alone. Indirect Taxes is one of the major areas of their consultancy. In the years to come, they would be undertaking to consult in FEMA, RERA, PMLA, Mergers and Acquisitions, IBC, Valuations, Cyber Security, Data Analytics, etc. We need to prepare them for it. The profession has already expanded its wings abroad and a large number of members are occupying top positions on foreign soils and are making us proud. This would gain further momentum,” said CA Amarjit Chopra.
CA Yashodhan Kale, Past President of ICAI, said “It took more than a century, to move from ‘cash bases of accounting in the post-Renaissance era, to an ‘accrual’ system in the age of Exploration, and to ‘mercantile’ bookkeeping in the colonial period, but it may now take less than a decade to move into the info-junk of a twenty-first-century village marketplace exchanging information & services.”
According to CA Kale, the trend is materially changing the Governance landscape, such that (i) Governance function will not be seen in isolation, (ii) but transformed from “Specialist” to “Business Enabler”, (iii) requiring new Roles, Skills & Agenda, with (iv) an enhanced focus on fulfilling Internal & External Audience expectations.”
CA Aniket Talati, Vice-President, ICAI, said the CA Profession has been playing a stellar role in transforming the economy and building the capacities of its members. “Times have evolved, and expectations have intensified which have prompted the professionals to upskill and become future-ready. Introducing the Revised Scheme of Education and ICAI’s International Curriculum, ICAI has been extremely mindful of the need to develop the capabilities of its students at par with the global standards and expectations. ICAI is committed to developing Future Accountants who are the pioneers of new-age technologies and can encounter the challenges of the future with considerable ease,” said CA Talati.
CA Murtuza Onali Kachwala, Chairman, WIRC of ICAI said “Over 1000 CAs from Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Goa will physically attend this Regional Conference, which is the biggest event of WIRC and happens only once every year. This year it is happening in Pune.
This Regional Conference is happening after two years of virtual conferences amidst the Covid 19 pandemic. The conference is an ideal platform for the Chartered Accountants to network with each other, create new friends and also gain knowledge from the doyens of the profession addressing the members at this conference.”
“The theme of this conference is Future Ready CA. Along with traditional topics, next-generation topics like Opportunities for CAs, Offshoring and Outsourcing Opportunities, Next Generation tolls, and technology for CAs, will be discussed,” said CA Kachwala.
This conference has a legacy of luminaries from the Profession, Industry, and Society, addressing the participants on various matters of professional interest and contemporary relevance. It will cover emerging topics like Future Fit, CA Professionals, Are We Future Ready, International Taxation, Finance Act, India Advantage in Current Global Scenario, Taxation of Virtual Digital Assets, Changing Governance Landscape in the Country, GST, AQMM and Capital Market.