The CA profession has lived up to its vision and expectations as one of the most vibrant forces of socio-economic growth, integral to the success of the nation. Regarded as the backbone of Indian financial system, the ICAI is acting as a partner in nation building. The futicaiure of the profession envisions that the expectations of the present knowledge economy and the expectations of the stakeholders be amalgamated.
Responsive Disciplinary Mechanism
As our profession and professionals grow exponentially, we are faced with increasing number of disciplinary cases. It has been observed that the no. of cases has been increasing because of awareness of disciplinary mechanism of the Institute. Whereas it may never be possible to reduce the pending disciplinary cases to nil, efforts would be made to deal with the cases in time bound manner. Special attention would be paid to the cases of public interest and these will be taken up on fast track to improve the public perception about the disciplinary mechanism of the Institute. Such cases will be accorded priority. To this end, steps are underway for further amending the applicable rules with the approval of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
We have planned and implemented programmes to enlighten professionals on IFRS so as to expand their knowledge base while also doing our best to jumpstart the process in India. We have taken it on ourselves to act as catalysts to the process of implementation of IFRS. We are sure that ICAI shall enable the government to fulfill its commitment and meet its implementation deadline.
The Government has taken the revolutionary step of implementing the GST across the country on April 1,2011. With our expertise, we can assist the Government in this mammoth and complex task. We will suggest formats to the Government to ensure compliance with GST legislations and avoidance of revenue leakage. ICAI has also choked out a plan for country wide training and education at all levels as soon as basic design of GST is agreed.
The proposed Direct Tax Code, aimed to simplify the existing taxation mechanism, is already creating waves in the business and industry circles. We at the Institute are undertaking an in-depth analysis of each clause of the Code to recommend modifications to attain the twin objectives of canon of equity and revenue growth. Another major development on the anvil is the enactment of new Companies Bill, 2009, paving the way for the Indian corporates to become global players. Disclosure and transparency are two fundamental tenets of the Bill that will serve the interests of the society. We shall have to work in unison with the Government to achieve the avowed objectives of these proposed legislations.
We have decided to encourage capacity building exercise on a continuous basis for small and medium practitioners through different approaches. One approach is through modified networking where synergies are matched for optimum results. Also on the anvil is the review of merger and de-merger schemes. We will also strive to make our knowledge portal available to small and medium practioners which will give access to the Institute's publications, industry specific guides, and data facilitating the audit of transfer pricing transactions at negligible cost.
ICAI plans to initiate dialogue with various government agencies and departments with a view to make varied suggestions to make their working and administration smooth, efficient and cost effective. We would undertake these projects as part of our social responsibility.
Another initiative taken by the Institute is to ensure that the grievance redressal system e-samadhan becomes more responsive and effective. We have already taken steps forward to offer better administrative services during the course of the year and put in place adequate IT infrastructure for the purpose.
The Students are the focus of the Institute and our endeavor is to provide them the best infrastructure, educational opportunities and exposure that would hone their skills and mould them into excellent professionals. We aim to establish a structure that covers the physical as well as the virtual aspects of education. On the physical front, we wish to put in place regular classroom teaching at all important places under the aegis of the Board of Studies. These classes will provide students complete guidance, covering each and every aspect of the course. More importantly, these will give the added advantage of personal interaction between teachers and students wherein queries and doubts will be solved face-to-face. Applicability skills will be the thrust area and the study material would accordingly be revised.
Taking our IT initiatives forward, we will facilitate more virtual classrooms where students can access lectures on varied subjects by renowned faculty as well as download RTPs, supplementary study material, suggested answers, etc. to prepare for exams. These initiatives will ensure that every CA student in the country has access to quality education in either the physical format or virtual format thus guaranteeing them the education they deserve.
On our agenda another area to be looked into is to re-orient the examination system in a manner to test the application skills of the students. Our students have always been good in theory. However, intelligent and efficient application of knowledge acquired is the demand of the day. We would re-orient the current examination system and correct the balance by putting more emphasis on testing the practical application skills of our students. This will ensure that our students develop into well-rounded professionals known for their all round ability.
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