The Chartered Accountant

DECEMBER 2008 946 THE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Dear Esteemed Colleagues,
I am writing this page just after the conclusion
of the three-day International
Conference on Accounting Profession - Shining
Bridge Between Global Economies held in
the pink city of Jaipur as part of the ongoing
Diamond Jubilee celebrations of the Institute.
It was a memorable assembly of highly admired
experts in the field, besides the leaders in trade
and industry. The conference focused on topical
issues like governance, financial engineering,
regulatory compliance, value creation and
corporate
social responsibility.
The
conference
also offered
a good oppor
tunity
to the part
i c i p a n t s
to enhance
their
knowledge
and widen
their vision.
This conference
was
organized
to coincide
with the meetings of the Board of South Asian
Federation of Accountants (SAFA) and Board
of Confederation of Asian Pacific Accountants
(CAPA) in which representatives from
more than 30 countries participated. This
helped in achieving a global reach for India’s
chartered accountancy profession. The leaders
of the accountancy profession from the
various parts of the world could see the competence
level of the chartered accountancy
profession in India. The conference was very
well attended. An idea of the success of the
conference can be gauged from the fact that
more than 3000 delegates including more than
200 delegates from abroad participated in it.
And it was addressed by more than 40 learned
speakers including more than 15 speakers from
abroad.
Historic MoU with ICAEW recognizing
each other’s qualifications
Friends, I have always wondered why the Indian
Chartered Accountancy course, despite
being so comprehensive and so tough as
compared to any other chartered accountancy
course of the world, is not recognized by other
accounting bodies of the world. Accordingly,
immediately after assuming the office of the
President of the Institute in February, 2008, I
started working on this issue.
I am glad to
inform you
that my efforts
in this
direction
have started
showing
results. I,
on behalf
of the Institute
of
Chartered
Accountants
of India,
signed
a memor
a n d u m
of unders
t a n d i n g
(MoU) on 20 th November, 2008 at Jaipur with
Mr. Martin Hagen, Deputy President of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants in England
& Wales (ICAEW), who specially flew
down from London for this purpose. Hon’ble
Union Minister of Corporate Affairs Shri
Prem Chand Gupta witnessed this historic development.
As per the memorandum of understanding
reached, members of ICAI with
two years of post-qualification experience will
be eligible for ICAEW membership on passing
ICAEW’s one paper on Case Study. However,
members with less than two years experience
will be required to pass two additional papers
i.e. Business Change and Business Reporting.
The members of ICAEW who are trained in
public practice will be eligible for ICAI membership
subject to passing ICAI’s four papers
on Taxation; Law, Ethics & Communication;
ICAI President CA. Ved Jain with Union Minister for Corporate Affairs Mr. P.C
Gupta and Deputy President, ICAEW Mr. Martin Hagen after signing of MoU
between ICAI and ICAEW in Jaipur on November 20, 2008.