Presidents message for 2012

Dear Friends,

Our accession to the designation ‘chartered accountant’ turned into reality after a prolonged struggle of our accountants, who were trained and educated in India, and were socially and professionally perceived different despite an equality in their abilities and rightfulness to audit accounts of companies in India, with their contemporary Chartered Accountants, who got their formal education from one of the British chartered societies. It started with an honest demand for a common status for all accountants of India. Veterans like Shri Govind Ballabh Pant, Shri Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Shri Krishna Kant Malaviya, etc., came out strongly in favour of the Indian accountants in the Legislative Assembly in 1936. Shri Jinnah argued: I stand for Indian talent, I want complete privileges and same rights as those given to anybody else in my country. In fact, this demand reminded us of a 1925 recommendation of the Indian External Capital Committee that included the educationist Shri Madan Mohan Malviya and the celebrated legislator Shri Vithalbhai Patel, to establish the order of chartered accountants in this country through the formation of an all-India Institute.

Unfortunately many felt in those days and some carry that misplaced notion even today that the designation ‘Chartered Accountant’ has a colonial baggage in it. Let us understand before we term and frame something colonial. All that is English or British is not colonial. With such wrongly-positioned understanding, we will have to change the names of many of the existing core courses in our Universities, as they were started following the British models. History and literature will also be withdrawn following this misplaced notion. In fact, I would like to quote here Shri Govind Ballabh Pant: …we have M.A.’s and LL.B.’s as in Cambridge…There are mechanical engineers again qualified in England as in India. Are not their titles common?...I do not mind suffering from an inferiority complex if it goads us on to a superior status, but I do not want superior arrogance if it tends to perpetuate an inferior status. It was the British who introduced modern education in our country from which we got acquainted with the existing contentions of world academia. Our own Ministry of Commerce had noted just before the enactment of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 that there was ‘no insuperable legal objection in using the designation ‘Chartered Accountants’. This designation was well-accepted those days in countries including Canada, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, South Africa, Cape of Good Hope and South Rhodesia. It is still being used without any hint of ‘colonial’. Therefore, we will have to be quite sensitive in understanding what colonial is. Our journey had begun with quite a clear conscience. Even today, a change just for the sake of change will not be acceptable to us. We would not allow anybody, for that matter, to doubt our sense of integrity and national pride, which has been the core and integral aspect of our professional constitution. We have been partnering in all possible ways with our Government since the profession’s inception in 1949. Our sense of responsibility and accountability is well-defined. We do not believe in futile exercises at the cost of our national resources, as this would be an absolute insult to the efforts of our intellectuals, who continue to command respect from all spheres of our society even today. Let me update our stakeholders now with some important developments in the profession that have taken place in the past one month:

CA Amendment Bill Passed by Both Houses of Parliament

The Chartered Accountants Amendment Bill has been passed by both the Lok Sabha as well as the Rajya Sabha, thus, paving the way for limited liability partnerships (LLPs) and multidisciplinary partnerships subject to notification of the relevant provisions, after the assent of the President of India and issue of guidelines for multidisciplinary partnerships by the Council. The Bill, moved by the Hon’ble Corporate Affairs Minister Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, will allow chartered accountants to have a choice to form a business model of LLPs to offer their services. This legislation will expectedly help them achieve a leadership position in the services sector. Our members’ practice through LLPs and Partnership firm and their entry to MDPs has been allowed. LLPs can also be called firms within the meaning of the CA Act, 1949 and the CA Regulations, 1988.

Second Meeting of IASB Emerging Economies Group in New Delhi

I am happy to share with all of you that we recently hosted the second meeting of the IASB Emerging Economies Group in New Delhi, for the first time in India, which was inaugurated by Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General of India Shri A. K. Awasthi. I participated in the meeting along with the ICAI Vice-President CA. Jaydeep N. Shah, IASB Vice-Chairman Mr. Ian Mackintosh, IASB Director of International Activities Mr. Wayne Upton, and IASB Board member Mr. Prabhakar Kalavacherla. The two-day meeting was attended by representatives from eight countries, i.e. Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Russia and South Africa, focusing chiefly on the effects of changes in foreign exchange rate and currency translation. At the meeting, it was decided to keep close cooperation and coordinate perspective in order to contribute to the development of high quality global accounting standards through tracing specific accounting issues from emerging economies for in-depth study. I expressed my concerns from the perspective of the emerging economies, as the adverse effects of volatility in foreign exchange rates affects that them more than the advance economies, as the currencies of emerging economies are not reserve ones and they rely more on foreign investments to ensure growth in their economy. The discussion aimed at finding a common solution for all emerging economies and various alternatives in this regard.

Partner-in-Nation-Building Initiatives

Pre-Budget Memorandum, 2012: Like every year, we have recently submitted the Pre-Budget Memorandum on direct taxes as well as on Indirect Taxes to the CBDT and the CBEC respectively. The recommendations in Pre-Budget Memorandum, 2012 have been finalised on the basis of representations, suggestions received and subsequent discussions held. The core issues regarding the Direct Taxes had also been placed before the CBDT Chairman Shri M. C. Joshi in a Pre- Budget meeting. In the Pre-Budget Memorandum, on the Direct Tax front, we have suggested to introduce a requirement to upload the tax audit report digitally signed by the tax auditor to prevent the misuse of details of members in the returns filed by the assessees who are subject to tax audit. We also suggested for suitable measures to provide relief to the genuine hardship faced by the assessees on account of imposition of penalty where there is no actual concealment of income or no inaccurate particulars of income have been furnished by the assessee. A scheme on the lines of Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme (KVSS) was recommended too for introduction. Another very important recommendation is suggesting deduction of expenditure incurred by corporates on community/social development (both capital and revenue) to provide suitable tax incentives in respect of such CSR Costs. We submitted that this deduction will accelerate the process of development and ensure that our country achieves the goal of being a developed nation. On the Indirect Taxes side, we have recommended/ suggested that (i) submission of audit report be made mandatory in service tax also along with audited annual accounts, (ii) suo moto adjustments of excess amount paid towards service tax liability be allowed without any limit in case of assessees not having centralised registration also in view of the fact that chances of errors or omissions have increased manifold in e-payment of service tax, (iii) in line with the legal services, individual Chartered Accountants be also exempted when providing professional services to individual service receivers. Further, the status-quo, by continuing the exemption which was hitherto available to CAs for representational services be restored till such time as the matter is finally decided and (iv) all inputs and input services used wholly and exclusively for the purpose of business be allowed as input tax credit and there should be no artificial restriction or exclusions in relation to such input tax credit. The Memoranda have been hosted on the Institute’s website and executive summaries of these memoranda have also been published in this issue of Journal for the information of members. Global Commerce Education Summit: I am happy to acknowledge that we recently organised the Global Commerce Education Summit in New Delhi to provide a forum for exchange of views on issues of academic and practical interest, viz. need for relevant coursecurriculum, teaching methodology, examination reforms, etc., among the leading academicians from the commerce and accountancy education in India. The objective was to assess the current state of the commerce and accountancy education in India, the changing environment in view of the introduction of the IFRS, Goods and Services Tax, etc., and integrate the same in the course-curriculum, which was attended by many Vice-Chancellors, Heads of Departments/ Chairmen/Deans/Professors of commerce and management of various universities, IITs, IIMs, etc. I along with the ICAI Vice-President CA. Jaydeep N. Shah addressed the Summit representing the Institute among others. My Central Council colleagues CA. Amarjit Chopra, former ICAI President, CA. Charanjot S. Nanda, CA. J. Venkateshwarlu, CA. Naveen N. D. Gupta, CA. Rajkumar S. Adukia, and CA. Pankaj Tyagee were also present on the occasion. RBI Working Groups on Statutory Auditors and Concurrent Audit: Pursuant to our request, the RBI has informed us that a working group on “Revision in the Norms for Empanelment of Statutory Auditors and Other Issues Related to Appointment of Auditors in Public Sector Banks” has been formed and I have been made a member of the group. A meeting of the group has already taken place recently. Further, Report of the RBI working group on “Concurrent Audit System in Commercial Banks” has also been finalised by the Group. We have also recently submitted suggested format of the revised Long Form Audit Report to Shri K.C.Chakraborty, Dy Governor, the RBI. Workshop on Financial Management in Chennai: Realising our responsibility in nation-building, we have not only been providing assistance to central and state governments to develop effective mechanism for financial administration and management of public fund but also taking initiatives to update their officials by providing awareness about the benefits and necessity of accounting reforms in government sector for addressing the issues of transparency, good governance and for meeting challenges posed by consumer activism, citizens rights and RTI, etc. I am happy to acknowledge that we recently organised a two-day Workshop on Financial Management in SPSUs/ Boards for the Accounts & Finance Heads of SPSUs/ Boards and the officials of Finance (BPE) Department, Govt. of Tamil Nadu in Chennai. I along with Shri Thiru K. Shanmugam, IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Finance Department, inaugurated the Workshop in the presence of CA. Anuj Goyal and CA. P. Rajendra Kumar, my Central Council colleagues, Shri Thiru P. Raghvan, Additional Director, Finance Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, and CA. K. Shanmukha Sundaram, SIRC Chairman.

Introduction of The Companies Bill, 2011

The Companies Bill, 2011 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on 14th December, 2011. As we all know, the Bill is a completely new one, very much different from the one on which we had earlier made our presentation before the Standing Committee. Many new Sections and provisions which are very important from professional perspective have been added on which neither the profession nor any other interested groups/stakeholders have had any opportunity to express views. Since the passage of the Bill has been deferred in the current session of Parliament, I request all the members to provide their suggestions on the provisions introduced so that we can make our revised presentation once again.

Corporate and Industry Initiatives

ICAI’s Corporate Forum and ICAI Awards 2011: We recently organised our 5th Corporate Forum 2011 in Bangalore, a two-day event for our members-inindustry, which comprised many concurrent events including Career Ascent, Corporate Conclave, Financial Services Expo, etc. Corporate Conclave, a two-day national convention for our members-inindustry, was attended by more than 400 members. I had the pleasure of inaugurating this Convention in the presence of the ICAI Vice-President CA. Jaydeep N. Shah and my other Central Council colleagues. Financial Services Expo was held to showcase the products and services relevant to the profession. Career Ascent was organised with a registration of 1,358 candidates. The Corporate Forum also included, ICAI Awards 2011, which was held at the Bangalore Palace and attended by more than 2,500 members. It was a colourful event graced by the august presence of our Chief Guests including the Hon’ble Corporate Affairs Minister, Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, and the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman, Shri. K. Rahman Khan. Well-known playback singer Ms. Usha Uthup enthralled the audiences with her melodious songs. I am happy that my 27 Central Council colleagues participated in this function, where exemplary work of our members-in-industry were recognised and honoured. I feel proud that they have demonstrated excellence in their professional lives and have become role models for other members-in-industry as well. In total, 18 awards were conferred for excellence in three different categories. To select the awardees, we had organised a required Jury meet in Mumbai under the leadership of Shri N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Limited. Jury Meeting for ICAI Awards in Financial Reporting: We have been holding ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting annually since 1958 to recognise excellence in presentation of annual reports. Emphasis is given on the quality and manner of presentation of information, besides technical and statutory compliances, and reporting from corporate governance perspective. Meeting of the Jury for Awards was held recently in Mumbai under the chairmanship of the Deputy Comptroller & Auditor General of India, Shri A. K. Awasthi. Awards will be given post-inauguration at our forthcoming International Conference, to be held from 6th to 8th January, 2012 in Chennai. 2nd Conclave of Members in Entrepreneurship & Public Services: Encouraged by the success of first conclave, we are organising the Conclave of ICAI Members in Entrepreneurship & Public Services again in Mumbai in January 2012 with an objective to encourage the participation of our members in entrepreneurship and public services in the Institute’s activities and to provide them an interactive platform, aiming at enhancing the efficacy of our activities by factoring our members’ perspective and vision. I sincerely appreciate our members in entrepreneurship or public services, as they have not only established themselves in their career, but, in process, have positioned the brand CA on a higher pedestal. Regional Conference of WIRC: Recently, 26th Regional Conference of WIRC of ICAI was organised in Mumbai, which was graced by the presence of Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, Hon’ble Minister of Corporate Affairs and Dr. D. Subbarao, Governor, Reserve Bank of India as Chief Guests. Addressing the participants, Hon’ble Minister spoke on the CSR provisions in the proposed Companies bill and cited that consultations for framing a ‘national corporate governance policy’ would be started soon. Dr. D. Subbarao, in his speech mentioned that the “auditors are the ‘eyes and ears’ of RBI, and we trust them to alert us to early warning signals to assist us in our supervisory process”. He further stressed that profession needs to identify emerging opportunities in the market place and develop the skills needed to exploit them.

Submission of Various Suggestions

Suggestions on TDS in Service Tax and Refunds in Service Tax: The CBEC had proposed to introduce a mechanism of tax deduction at source for service tax collections. We have submitted our suggestions on the same to the CBEC. Further, CBEC had also issued a Draft Circular inviting comments/suggestions on refunds in service tax with a view to streamline the process of sanctioning of refund claims, mainly arising on account of service tax borne on input services that have gone into exports of services in terms of Notification No. 5/2006. Suggestions on the Draft Circular have also been sent to the CBEC. Suggestions on Taxation of Services: The CBEC had also issued a concept paper on Taxation of Services based on a Negative List of Services and invited suggestions/comments. We had submitted our suggestions to the CBEC, which has now issued a revised concept paper based on the feedback it received. I feel satisfied that many of our suggestions have been accepted by the Government. Suggestions on GST Amendment Bill, 2011: We have also submitted our suggestions on the Constitution 115th Amendment Bill, 2011 (Goods and Service Tax), to the Government recently. We have welcomed the Bill and committed ourselves to provide full support to the Government in this path-breaking initiative. The Bill will pave way for the most awaited reform in indirect taxation system of India. One of the significant recommendations made by us is that experts in the area of accounting be also there in the Bench of Goods and Services Tax Dispute Settlement Authority considering that GST is value added tax system and its monitoring is record based. The accounting professional would facilitate in understanding the financial implications of the dispute and its resolution. Inputs Submitted on Tax Accounting Standards: With regard to the release of Discussion paper on Tax Accounting Standards (TAS), we have submitted our comments/suggestions to the CBDT. The recommendations/suggestions have been finalised on the basis of suggestions received and subsequent discussions held. As a whole, it has been respectfully submitted that prescription of such “Standards” is not necessary and would increase complexity and litigation, which is contrary to the objectives of the CBDT. However, if at all Tax Accounting Standards are to be notified, the same should be notified under Section 295 rather than Section 145 and should be renamed as “Tax Computational Rules” instead of “Tax Accounting Standards”. Second Meeting of Standing Committee on TDS: My Central Council colleague CA. Sanjay Agarwal among others attended the second meeting of the Standing Committee on TDS for exchange of ideas on enhancing voluntary TDS/TCS compliance, strengthening partnerships with tax practitioners, etc. The meeting was also attended by the representatives from FICCI, CII, Delhi Tax Bar Association, etc. Major issues being faced by assessees in claiming TDS were flagged by ICAI. We also submitted a compilation of issues being faced in claiming TDS to the Committee. Issues presented by us were appreciated by the Committee.

Professional and Capacity Building Initiatives

General Amnesty Scheme for Members: The Executive Committee of the ICAI Council has at its recent meeting considered the question of putting a General Amnesty Scheme in place for members whose names had been removed on account of non-payment of membership fee with a view to facilitating such members restore their names with retrospective effect. The Committee recommended to the Council that the members whose name stood removed in the past due to non-payment of membership fee be given an opportunity, by way of a General Amnesty Scheme, to restore their name, irrespective of the period of such removal, retrospectively on payment of applicable membership fees for the year during which the name was removed and for the current year, i.e. 2011-2012 - the year in which the restoration of name is applied for together with fee(s) of the intervening year(s), if any, along with Form ‘9’ and the additional (restoration) fee of Rs. 1,200. The Committee further recommended that the above General Amnesty Scheme be kept in force (and inclusive of) 31st March, 2012. Clarification regarding number of tax audit assignments under Section 44AB: The ICAI Council, at its 311th meeting held recently, has clarified that audit prescribed under any statute which requires the audit report in the form as prescribed under Section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 shall not be considered for the purpose of reckoning the specified number of tax audit assignments if the turnover of the auditee is below the turnover limit specified in Section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961. For instance, audit under Section 44AD, under DVAT, 2004 (for turnover between Rs. 40 lakh and Rs. 60 lakh), etc., will not be considered for inclusion in the current limit of 45 audits. The said clarification has also been hosted on the Institute website. QRB Meeting in New Delhi: A meeting of the Quality Review Board (QRB) was held recently in New Delhi, which I attended along with my Central Council colleagues, where we considered the recommendations made by the Review Group constituted with a view to assessing the quality of audit and reporting by the auditors/audit firms, and to enable the Board to complete inspection and assessment of quality of audit and reporting by at least 10-15 auditors/audit firms auditing accounts of public interest entities in India by March 2012. The Board decided that the Review Group may further augment the panel of chartered accountants to act as technical reviewers with the Board so that the Board can have sufficient number of technical reviewers from different parts of the country for undertaking review of audit quality of auditors/audit firms in India. The Board also appreciated the QRB Workshop organised by the Institute last month in Mumbai. Financial Review of Enterprises and Training Programmes: During this Council year (2011-2012), we have undertaken the review of 193 enterprises selected either on suo motu basis or as special cases. Pending receipt of eight Annual Reports, the review of 185 enterprises has been initiated. Preliminary review of 181 enterprises has been completed by the Technical Reviewers, which have been allotted to Financial Reporting Review Groups (FRRGs) for further review. So far, the FRRGs have submitted the review report on 104 enterprises for consideration of the Board, and have finalised the review of 23 enterprises. To aid our technical reviewers, we have decided to conduct six training programmes at our various Regions/Branches including Bhubaneswar, Ahmedabad and New Delhi to guide them on further enhancing their review skills of the general purpose financial statements and to familiarise them with major non-compliances during the review of general-purpose financial statements of various companies. Software for Billing and Accounting, and Payroll Management: In order to empower our professionals further, we will soon be arranging the Billing and Accounting software, i.e. software for accounting and billing on cash-basis, which will be a complete package to manage all accounting and billing requirements of a CA Firm on cash system of accounting and provide facilities to generate bills, receipts, vouchers, etc. We will also be arranging the Payroll software, i.e. software for payroll management for professionals named ‘Payroll’ Software. The software is a complete package to manage all small business firms’ PF, ESI, PT and TDS aspects of the same. This software will be available to all our practitioners and CA firms free-of-cost for two financial years. XBRL Software and Certificate Course: I am happy to acknowledge that 703 training programmes, awareness programmes, workshops and teleconferencing programmes on XBRL have been organised across the nation with a participation of more than 23,000 members. We will soon be arranging XBRL software for our members towards cloud service for the MCA mandate XBRL filing, i.e. a solution for converting financial information of a company in XBRL format as per the MCA mandate. The software will be available to all CA firms free-of-cost for two financial years. Further, in order to provide requisite technical knowledge to our members to learn this new form of business language, the XBRL India has decided to launch a Certificate Course on XBRL. The XBRL India board has constituted a committee comprising my Central Council colleagues CA. Atul C. Bheda, CA. K. Raghu, CA. S. Santhanakrishnan, CA. Abhijit Bandyopadhyay and CA. Rajkumar Adukia for working out the layout, content and other modalities in this regard.

Initiatives for Students

MoU between ICAI and University of Madras: An MoU was signed with the University of Madras recently in Chennai for the furtherance of commerce and management education and to provide an opportunity to acquire undergraduate and postgraduate degrees for those who have registered for the CA course. Recognising the subjects studied at all stages of the CA course, i.e. CPT, Intermediate PCE/IPCE and Final, the University of Madras is launching special professional integrated courses in B.Com./M.Com. and BBA/MBA for our members and students. We have also agreed for an arrangement to carry out research, leading to award of MPhil and PhD degrees, while organising joint seminars on contemporary issues relevant for commerce, management and other related subjects. During the ceremony, besides Shri R. Kannan, IAS, Principal Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu, Higher Education Department, I was also present along with Col. Dr. G. Thiruvasagam, Vice-Chancellor, University of Madras, Dr. T. Leo Alexander, Registrar, University of Madras, CA. Jaydeep N. Shah, Vice- President, ICAI, and CA. V. Murali, my Central Council colleague, among others. Release of CPT Online Self-Assessment Test and E-Learning Module on Financial Analysis: Two useful online resources, CPT online subject-wise Self Assessment Testto assist our students in a timed environment, and e-Learning Module on Financial Analysis using MS Excel 2010 to enable our students use MS Excel for financial analysis and reporting requirements, were released recently during the National Convention for CA Students in Chennai. I feel quite satisfied to acknowledge that we have received an enormous response from our students, especially with regard to our e-learning initiatives.

Infrastructure Update

It’s my firm view that providing all facilities from the Institute at the doorsteps of our members and students is the need of the hour. And due to consistent growth in number of our members and students, it is necessary that we should also accelerate the process of Infrastructure set-up. In that line, I am pleased to inform you that I have inaugurated the building of the Bellary Branch of ICAI and also performed bhoomi pujan for the building of Varanasi and Tirupur Branches.

Important Publications

Report on Accounting on Food, Fertilisers and Oil Subsidy: In order to deal with the current methodology and deficiencies in the current system of accounting for subsidies and recommendations for the improvement in the current practices, we have prepared a Study Report on Accounting on Food, Fertilisers and Oil Subsidy, which was released by the Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Shri K. Rahman Khan during the ICAI Corporate Forum in Bangalore recently. Compilation of Registration Provisions under VAT Laws: A publication, Compilation of Registration Provisions under VAT Laws of Different States, was also released by Shri K. Rahman Khan during the ICAI Corporate Forum in Bangalore recently. The Compilation contains information regarding registration provisions under VAT laws of 20 States. Technical Guide on Internal Audit of Mutual Fund Industry: The Indian mutual fund industry is witnessing a rapid growth and facing challenges in achieving sustainable growth while increasing retail penetration. Here, internal auditors have a dynamic role to play in reviewing the risk and performance analysis to meet the required transparency. We have recently come up with a Technical Guide on Internal Audit of Mutual Fund Industry, which deals with the governing regulations of mutual funds in India. It contains a comprehensive internal audit checklist too. Life in aggregate has been quite tough these days in view of the full-blown attack of winter since mid- December this year, especially in the northern part of our nation. Airlines and railway services are getting affected badly. It is notable that lack of shelter is adding to the hardships of our destitute fellow citizens. I would sincerely urge our member-professionals to be kind to them especially in this hour, who genuinely need a lot of care and comfort. We all know that winter at its peak literally paralyses all our endeavours. But we should always remember what the celebrated author Arthur C. Clarke had said:The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible. We should not be disappointed by our failures, as our best success comes only after our disappointment, according to a Latin proverb. For inspiration, we might look up to our present Government’s action plan and its fast-paced executions. Integrity, responsibility and accountability of our citizens are on their prime agenda nowadays. Cabinet has passed the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill, 2010, Public Interest Disclosure and Protection to Persons Making the Disclosures Bill, 2010, i.e. Whistleblowers’ Protection Bill, and Citizens’ Charter and Grievance Redressal Bill, 2011. Cabinet has also cleared Food Security Bill for the underprivileged. Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill has also been cleared. Grievance Redressal Bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha. In brief, there has been a nation-wide concern and awareness regarding the evils of service and administration at all layers of the democracy. Let us not forget the words of wisdom of the great Albert Einstein: Believe with all of your heart that you will do what you were made to do. We have never forgotten this. We have always been the front-runners in such endeavours through our strict compliance with the declared Code of Ethics and our strict and fast disciplinary mechanism. We have truly and successfully strived to be a role model for such exercises and responsibilities of our nation. And I completely agree with the acclaimed poet Robert Frost that we should not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but we should make it hot by striking, as luck favours only those who take initiatives and brave the adversaries. We are about to leave 2011 and touch 2012. I extend my sincere wishes for 2012, the New Year, in advance to all of you. It is time to reflect on what we have accomplished last year. It is also time to take stock of our successes and failures, and understand what helped in creating our success stories, and why we did not achieve what we had planned. Let us understand ourselves better in the perspective of our past, so that we could start afresh with a new energy. It is time to take into account of our learning processes, as it will help us in creating customised learning processes. Let us prepare a balance sheet on the promises that we keep, lose, or, wish to follow in our life, whose financial year would be eternal. I wish all my readers a very warm and Merry Christmas filled with love, peace and joy, on the birthday of Jesus Christ. May this festival bring merriment, happiness and satisfaction in your life! Amen!

CA. G. Ramaswamy President, ICAI December 24,

Presidents message

Dear Friends,

While presenting the Annual Budget for 1956-1957, the then Union Finance Minister Shri C. D. Deshmukh had said: It is enough to state broadly my view that by means of the First Five Year Plan we have laid sound foundations for a more massive superstructure in building up the country’s economy. He went on to present the vision of his mission which is relevant even today: The problem is not merely one of raising the statistical average of per capita incomes which could easily be a will of the wisp; it is one of raising the lowest incomes and of opening out to the younger generation avenues of growth and advancement that will bring out the best in them. For this, the present generation has to make sacrifices. It has to work harder and it has to abstain from asking for immediate returns. He always considered our profession a Public Service. He had advised us to follow high ideals amidst an abundance of pressures and temptations, besides carrying out our statutory responsibilities to report on accounts to the shareholders. I keep his advice in high regard: it is essential to be ceaselessly vigilant…because of the greatly enlarged sphere of our activities.

In fact, when the great philosopher Shri Aurobindo says: The truth sits veiled behind the appearance, selfabsorbed; there is in all things, without exception, “That which is conscious in these conscious & unconscious existences, that which is awake in those who sleep”, we are instantly reminded of our conviction about the consciousness that we must possess while carrying out our professional responsibilities. He informs us about the weaknesses of human beings that we may be a reasoning animal, but our conclusions spring from our preferences, prejudices and passions. It is, therefore, necessary for us to rise above these preferences, prejudices and passions and come up to the expectations of our time. We need to be quite watchful about the way we conduct ourselves in profession so that we could augment the public trust in the profession and its performance. Moreover, the profession now needs to be more and more communicative to the public about its roles, duties and responsibilities in the national economy, and members of the profession need to be in strict compliance with the existing Code of Ethics, so that the gap between our image and identity gets reduced. Our motto that we have to be awake in those who sleep becomes quite functional in this context, as it demands us to update our technical skills and develop the scope of auditing processes. We must continue our professional journey on this note with a vigilant attitude. Let me update our stakeholders now with some recent and important developments in the profession that have taken place in the past one month:

International Initiatives

IFAC Council and Edinburgh Group Meetings and ICAI Nominees in IFAC: I attended the IFAC events in Berlin, Germany, recently along with the Vice-President CA. Jaydeep N. Shah, and Additional Secretary of the ICAI. I take pride to inform our stakeholders that our Institute has been able to retain its Board position at the IFAC. My candidature as Board member of IFAC was approved by the Nominating Committee after a detailed interview and was ratified by the IFAC Board as well. The matter, however, came up for election at the recently concluded IFAC Council meeting, wherein out of seven candidates I secured the highest number of affirmative preferences. The Board position to ICAI is a testimony to our growing stature amongst the global accounting fraternity and the international forums and the role played by ICAI in the India’s economic momentum. I also feel satisfied to acknowledge that another ICAI nominee, my colleague and ICAI Vice- President CA. Jaydeep N. Shah has been nominated to the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) of IFAC. Coinciding with the IFAC events, the Edinburgh Group meeting was also held, focusing on SMP issues. IFAC events provided an apt forum to the ICAI functionaries to discuss our various initiatives with the global accounting bodies. Visit of IAASB Chairman and IAASB Executive Director: Recently, Prof. Arnold Schilder, Chairman, International Auditing & Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and Mr. Jim Sylph, Executive Director, Professional Standards, IAASB visited India. During the visit, the IAASB delegation interacted with regulatory bodies like RBI, SEBI, C&AG, MCA and the ICAI on various issues, including recent global financial crisis and the auditing profession, quality of audits, convergence with international auditing standards, issues relating to auditing standards in India, perspective of the various regulators on the expectations of the stakeholders from auditors, how the regulators and the auditing profession can work together towards a more resilient world economy and protection of the investors. In particular, the delegation met the Minister of Corporate Affairs Dr. M. Veerappa Moily, MCA Secretary Shri Naved Masood and Deputy C&AG Shri A. K. Awasthi to discuss the issues of mutual interests. The IAASB delegation also interacted with the members of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board of ICAI at the meeting of the Board held on 22nd November, 2011 at New Delhi. As a part of the Institute’s initiatives to create more awareness among the members about Standards on Audit, to encourage their compliance and implementation, the first phase of e-learning on Standards on Audit was launched by the IAASB delegation, comprising ten standards. Work on developing e-learning on the remaining standards is in full swing. We also released three publications, “Handbook of Auditing Pronouncements 2011 Edition”, “Guidance Note on Certification of XBRL Financial Statements” and “Guide to Audit of Complex Financial Instruments”, during the visit of the IAASB delegation. ICAI Representation in XBRL International: I am pleased to inform you that ICAI Vice-President CA. Jaydeep N. Shah has been appointed a member of the Nominations Committee of XBRL International, while my Central Council colleagues, CA. Abhijit Bandyopadhyay and CA. K. Raghu have been appointed members of the Finance and Human Resource Committee, and the Membership Development Committee of XBRL International respectively. The aforementioned positions have been decided by the Member Assembly of XBRL International at its International Conference held in October 2011. Decision regarding the other two nominations of the ICAI is likely to be taken hopefully in December 2011. Here I also wish to inform you that XBRL initiatives of the ICAI will be showcased in a big way at our forthcoming International Conference. SAFA-EFAA Joint Initiative: I am happy to inform that the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) representing accountancy in the SAARC region and European Federation of Accountants and Auditors (EFAA) representing SMPs of the Europe have decided to come together to share their expertise for the benefit of SMPs of both the regions. A two-day joint Seminar on SAFA-EFAA Alliance was organised recently in New Delhi, where the MoU between SAFA and EFAA was signed in the august presence of Hon’ble Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Shri Naved Masood, with an objective to create a common platform for sharing knowledge resources for the benefit of SMPs and help the members of both the regions for establishing a professional network. Capacity-Building in Maldives: I take pride in informing you that the Research and Information System (RIS) for Developing Countries, an autonomous research institution established and funded by the Ministry of External Affairs, has approached us and requested us to provide capacity-building programmes for accounting technicians in Maldives. It is important to mention that the Government of India is extending a full-stage services and technology cooperation facility arrangement to the Government of Maldives. In this regard, I called on the Chairman of RIS, Mr. Shyam Saran, former Foreign Secretary, recently and had discussions on our proposed arrangement which could be offered to the relevant stakeholders in Maldives. It was also discussed that these programmes would have an interface and, for this, option of running a part of these courses in India through our Centre of Excellence, etc., would also be explored. We have asked the RIS to indicate the nodal point for recipients of these services, so that focused discussions could be held. Submission of Report on Admitting Membership of Overseas Citizens of India: A group had been constituted under the convenorship of my Central Council colleague CA. Sanjay K. Agarwal to consider appropriate steps for identifying a qualification-bridging mechanism in line with the arrangements in place for MoU/MRAs with various international accounting bodies and feasibility of considering provision to be prescribed for admitting membership of overseas citizens of India and to work out the modalities. I would like to inform that the said group has completed its task and its report has been submitted. Application of the definition of ‘financial liability’ in IAS 32 to FCCBs: In a meeting of our Accounting Standards Board held recently in Mumbai, IASB member CA. Prabhakar Kalavacherla was invited for a discussion on the carve-outs made in Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS). He suggested that India would meet greater success in getting its point of view accepted by the IASB if it prioritises the issues to be taken up at a time with the IASB rather than taking all issues at the same time. It was, accordingly, suggested to first send the issue regarding application of the definition of ‘financial liability’ to Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs), to the IFRS Interpretation Committee so that the amendment made by India in the definition as presently done in Ind AS 32, Financial Instruments: Presentation, could be avoided. Further, for greater effectiveness, other carve outs such as that related to giving an option to defer foreign currency gains and losses in respect of long term foreign currency items as provided in Ind AS 21, The Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates, can be taken up along with other countries such as South Korea. The Accounting Standards Board is examining the suggestions made at the meeting. Towards Constitution of Working Groups of AOSSG: A teleconference of the Working Group of AOSSG on the proposed limited revisions to IAS 41, on Agriculture, regarding scoping out Bearer Biological Assets (BBAs) out of IAS 41 and scoping the same in IAS 16, Property, Plant and Equipment, was held recently leading to another teleconference between India, Malaysia, and Japan, during which it was suggested that, in the Issues Paper on Agriculture to be sent to the IASB, two paragraphs on alternative Indian approach should be included, and that a covering letter should be written by the AOSSG to the IASB Chairman in this regard. Accordingly, a letter has been sent to the IASB. Another teleconference was held to discuss India’s suggestion to constitute Working Groups of AOSSG on Rate Regulated Activities and Extractive Activities, where India, Japan and Australia participated and decided to initially constitute taskforces instead of the working groups to carry out research by the interested countries in the AOSSG region. Thereafter, the taskforces can be upgraded to working groups on requirement basis. For this purpose, India would take a lead in the taskforces and few other countries are being identified to join in this endeavour.

Strengthening Ties

Meeting with Minister of State: Recently I, along with ICAI Vice-President, met Shri V. Narayanaswamy, Minister of State in the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pension, and Prime Minister’s Office. We apprised him of the activities of the Institute and its role in development of accountancy profession in India and globally, and also invited him for our International Conference to be held shortly. Meeting with President ITAT: I met the recentlyelected President of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Shri G. E. Veerabhadrappa, and congratulated him on assuming new office. On this platform, I would like to acknowledge before our accounting fraternity and congratulate Shri Veerbhadrappa, also our member, for bringing yet another glory to our profession in public service of our nation. Meeting with CBEC Chairman: I also had an opportunity to meet the Central Board of Excise & Customs Chairman, Shri S. K. Goel, recently along with the ICAI Vice-President CA. Jaydeep N. Shah and my Central Council colleague CA. Bhavna Doshi.

Initiatives towards Nation-Building

BANCON 2011 in Chennai: I am pleased to inform that I recently attended the annual bankers’ conference BANCON 2011 – Gateway to a Defining Decade on the themeCatalysing economic growth by unlocking financial savings, successfully and jointly organised by Indian Overseas Bank and Indian Banks’ Association in Chennai. I addressed the august audience on the topic Capturing Opportunities in India’s Gen Next. On the sidelines of the conference, I also interacted with many bankers and the officials of the RBI highlighting the active role that we chartered accountants can play in banking sector in particular and national economy in general. Awareness Programmes on Challenges in Public Finance & Government Accounting: I am happy to acknowledge that we are organising awareness programmes on Rising to the Challenges in Public Finance & Government Accounting to identify opportunities for our members in public finance and Government accounting, to assist in developing public finance structure and to ensure appropriate sectoral allocation for inclusive growth and economic development. We have organised such programmes in Dehradun, Ghaziabad and Noida, where eminent faculties exchanged their views on amendments of service tax, problems of indirect taxation, wealth tax policy, taxation of real estate transaction, XBRL, among others, with the participants. MSHRC Request for Training in Accounts & Finance: It is satisfying to inform that Shri Mafiul Hussain, Secretary, Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission (MSHRC), recently met my Central Council colleague CA. Anuj Goyal in Mumbai with regard to a proposal from MSHRC requesting to avail our services for capacity building of his officials in maintenance of accounts and improving the financial discipline of the Commission.

Professional Developments

Meeting with Secretary, Financial Services, Ministry of Finance: I had an opportunity to meet Shri D.K. Mittal, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, recently along with the ICAI past-President and Chairman of Professional Development Committee CA. Amarjit Chopra wherein we discussed various issues of mutual professional interest. In respect of the issue of managerial autonomy given to Boards of the public-sector banks for appointment of auditors, I would like to inform that the Reserve Bank of India has gone ahead with the Roadmap and as suggested therein, the complete list of eligible Central Statutory Auditors has been sent to banks for the purpose. We are in the process of making suitable representations in this regard. Towards a Crusade for Spreading Ethics in Profession: We have been constantly engaged in spreading awareness about the Code of Ethics and preparing ways to familiarise our members with it across the nation. We have been holding programmes, seminars and workshops on various ethical subjects for the members, and we ensure that all Branches/Regional Councils hold at least one such programme in a quarter, i.e. four in a year. So far, 28 programmes have been conducted in the current year. Further, we have also introduced a regular column on Ethics, Know Your Ethics, in our journal. Guidelines on Conversion to LLPs: As per the recent Council decisions, guidelines for conversion of CA firms into LLPs and constitution of separate LLPs by the practicing chartered accountants have been finalised which are applicable for conversion of CA firms into LLPs or formation of new LLPs by the members-in-practice of the Institute subject to the provisions of the Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) Act, 2008 and Rules & Regulations framed there under. These guidelines came into effect from 4th November, 2011, and will certainly help the members and CA firms for conversion/formation of LLPs and rendering professional services through LLP Model. The said guidelines are available on the website of the Institute and have been published in this issue of the Journal. The name of the LLP shall be approved by the Registrar for LLP and after issuance of certificate of incorporation of LLP by the Registrar for LLP, the LLP name will be required to be registered with the ICAI like registration of firms with ICAI. Filings of Financial Statements in XBRL: As you are kindly aware that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs has switched from normal e-filings to XBRLfilings of financial statements for a certain class of companies from this year. The filings in XBRL mode have started and the due date is 30th November, or, 60 days from the due date whichever is later. I urge the members of profession to complete the certification of their corporate clients at the earliest, so that the filings can be made by the due date. ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting: For the annual competition ICAI Awards for Excellence in Financial Reporting, this year, a record number of about 225 entities have participated in various categories. As per the procedure, these entities pass through a robust three-tier evaluation process, i.e. evaluation of annual reports on the basis of compliance with accounting standards and relevant applicable laws, etc., evaluation by the Shield Panel and, eventually, that by an independent jury. Christ University Offers MPhil/PhD: I am quite happy to inform you that the Christ University, Bangalore, has approved the eligibility of our members to pursue the MPhil/PhD programme in its disciplines of Commerce and Management that include interdisciplinary areas, subject to MPhil/ PhD regulations of the University. Support CABF Initiative: This is my appeal to all my stakeholders to come actively forward to support and contribute to the CABF (Chartered Accountants Benevolent Fund) initiative of the Institute towards the cause of the profession and its members. It provides financial assistance to our members in distress for fundamental needs including sustenance. You should know that contributions to CABF are exempted under Section 80(G) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Infrastructure Initiatives

Auditorium Inaugurated in Bhilai: I recently inaugurated an auditorium at our Bhilai Branch with a capacity for 225 persons and complete soundand echo-proof interior with WiFi. It is a matter of pride for us that this auditorium is currently one of the biggest auditoriums in the state of Chattisgarh.

Initiatives for Students

Best Wishes to All 2.5 Lakh Students: About 2.5 lakh students (83000, 131000 and 36000 students for Final Examinations, IPC Examinations and PC Examinations respectively) have appeared in the Institute’s November 2011 Chartered Accountants Examinations at 345 centres including three centres abroad. All the examinations were conducted without any inconvenience or issue. The Examination Department is fully geared up to evaluate the answer books and declare the results in time. I wish all students would pass the examination with flying colours. Recommendations for Amendment of Regulation 28E(1)(b): It has also been decided to recommend for amendment of Regulation 28E(1)(b), whereby the study for IPCC would be reduced from existing nine months to eight months to make candidates eligible to appear in the Integrated Professional Competence Examination (IPCE) from the date of Registration for IPCC. Review of CA Syllabus: We have taken a muchdesired initiative and formed a Committee as per direction of the Council to review comprehensively our syllabus for CA course curriculum that has not been undertaken since 2006. Orientation Content for GMCS I & II: We recently deliberated on the proposed contents of Orientation Programme for GMCS-I and GMCS-II and finalised the same. All the necessary initiatives have been taken to prepare the course material for these courses along with a trainer’s manual as soon as possible. Winter is a time for making new promises and finding wayss of keeping up the old ones. We get more time for ourselves in this season. American author Ruth Stout had said: …only in the winter…can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself. I realise, all of us feel that it also is time for creating comfort and warmth for our friends, family and loved ones. However, I do realise that concerns of the impoverished of our nation, who are in dire need of resources during winters for survival, must be first on our agenda. We come across numerous incidents how the crises strike these citizens across the nation during winters. According to a Japanese proverb, one kind word can warm three winter months. Think, then, what one kind act can do. For example, in the beginning of winters, we normally discard our old winter clothes. This time, we can hand over those clothes in person to the people on pavements. This gesture of ours will generate warmth literally as well as metaphorically for those fellow citizens. We must do something for our fellow citizens being on the stronger side of our society. This will be our return against our social debt to society. Such acts make our society capable, happy and warm. When it is summer, we want rainy season to arrive. When we get bored of the rainy days, we want them to be over. In the peak winter, we yearn for spring. Actually we start missing whatever we lose; we love to have whatever is not with us. This is a basic human instinct. Weather in itself is a lesson, i.e. we should learn from our past, face our present and prepare ourselves for future. I would like to recall the beautiful inspiring lines written by the English poet P. B. Shelley, which exude hope and trust:…O, wind, If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? While we leave our fate to the time to be positive and bright, we can be tough on ourselves to turn our fate positive and bright for the society we live in. May we all stakeholders of the profession join hands in this mission! Best wishes

CA. G. Ramaswamy President, ICAI November 23, 2011

Please Post Your Views Here

Conclave of the ICAI

Encouraged by the success of 1st Conclave of ICAI Members in Entrepreneurship & Public Services held at New Delhi; the Committee for Members in Entrepreneurship & Public Services of ICAI is organizing 2nd Conclave on 24th January 2012 at Mumbai.

The objective of the Conclave is to encourage and further enhance the participation of ICAI Members in Entrepreneurship or Public Services in the Institute’s activities.

The ICAI aims at enhancing the efficacy of ICAI activities by factoring perspective and vision of the members in Entrepreneurship & Public Service.

The Conclave is open to ICAI Members who have established themselves as successful Entrepreneurs or are engaged in Public Services such as:

Members of Parliament

Members of Legislative Assembly/ Council,

Members of Local Bodies,

Judges of Supreme Court / High Court

Members of Tribunal

Members of Regulatory bodies i.e. SEBI, RBI, IRDA etc;

Civil Servant; Serving with Central / State Government.

The Conclave would provide an opportunity to the participants to have a first hand interaction with other ICAI members who have reached higher echelons and are playing a very significant role in various segments of the Society.

Your sparing of some time out of busy schedule for the Conclave will be a valuable contribution to the ICAI.

With a view to make your participation comfortable and effective, you are requested to kindly send us your confirmation latest by 15th January 2012 along with your brief profile to Secretariat of the Committee for Members in Entrepreneurship & Public Services, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, ICAI Bhawan, PB No. 7100, Indraprastha Marg, New Delhi – 110 002, India. Ph +91 11 30110487, 39893989 (Extn. 487), fax +91 11 30110591, e-mail: cmeps@icai.in

XBRL filings

You are aware that a select class of companies have to file their financial statements for financial year 2010-11 using eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) vide “Companies (Filing of Documents and Forms in eXtensible Business Reporting Language) Rules, 2011”. Owing to fervent requests from stakeholders, last date of XBRL filings by a company have been extended up to 31.12.2011 or within 60 days from its due date of filing, whichever is later, without any additional fees vide the Ministry’s Circular No. 69/2011 dated 30.11.2011. Please note that companies filing after expiry of this extended timeline would be charged additional fee as per their normal 23AC and 23ACA filings. i.e., late fee for such companies would be calculated with effect from original due date of filing.

You are therefore advised to ensure that your company files its financial statements in XBRL at the earliest. For further information, kindly visit MCA websitewww.mca.gov.in.

Yours Sincerely,

ICAI

E-learning

As a part of its initiatives to create awareness among the members regarding the Clarified Standards on Audit, the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board has launched the first phase of e-learning on these Standards on Audit.

Significant features of E-learning: Step by step coverage on all important aspects of a Standard. Colourful and interactive lessons. Learning at your speed and convenience. Quiz at the end of each module to test understanding.

The First Phase to the E-learning on Standard on Audit covers: SA 210, Agreeing the Terms of Audit Engagements SA 230, Audit Documentation SA 240, The Auditor’s Responsibility Relating to Fraud in An Audit of Financial Statements SA 250, Consideration of Laws and Regulations in An Audit of Financial Statements SA 330, The Auditor’s Responses to Assessed Risks SA 450, Evaluation of Misstatements Identified During the Audit SA 501, Audit Evidence-Specific Considerations for Selected Items SA 570, Going Concern SA 705, Modifications to the Opinion in the Independent Auditor’s Report SA 706, Emphasis of Matter Paragraphs and Other Matters Paragraphs in the Independent Auditor’s Report

E-learning on remaining Standards is in progress and will be released soon.

Other Details: Duration of Course: 7 hours (Maximum time limit- 3 months) Credit of CPE Hours: 3 Hours Course Fees: Rs. 500/- Log on to http://elearn.icai.org for registration and other details.